THE SAVIOR WHO REMEMBERS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 30, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: March 30, 2022 from Luke 23:39-43

Theme: Jesus remembers all who sincerely call upon Him by faith for salvation.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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In our last study of Luke’s Gospel, we read of how our Lord was taken up to Golgotha and was crucified. Luke tells us nothing of the actual crucifixion itself. Rather, his focus is on the events that followed afterward, and on the words that were spoken—especially those of our Lord.

If we look at the four Gospels together, we find that there were seven separate sayings that were uttered by our Lord on the cross. The first is what we’ve already found in Luke 23:34; “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Chronologically speaking, the third of our Lord’s sayings is found in John 19:26-27; “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son!’ Then He said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother!’” The fourth saying is found in Matthew 27:46; “’Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” The fifth is found in John 19:28, “I thirst!”. The sixth is in John 19:30; where He said, “It is finished!” And the seventh was in Luke 23:46; when He cried out with a loud voice “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” … and then He breathed His last.

All of the seven sayings of our Lord from the cross are humbling and edifying to consider. But this morning, we give special attention to the second of those seven sayings. It’s part of a remarkable conversation that occurred on Calvary Hill. Luke 23:39-43 says;

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

What a glorious saying that second saying from our Lord is! “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” It has brought comfort to many Christians throughout the centuries as they faced death. And the most remarkable thing about this saying is that it was uttered to a condemned criminal—one who had no opportunity to ‘reform his ways’, or ‘turn over a new leaf’, or ‘get religion’, or ‘do enough good works to outweigh the bad’. All that he could do was say, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom”. And that was enough.

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What exactly was this man’s crime? We’re not told. In Matthew’s and Mark’s Gospels, we’re told that he was a “robber”. But he may have been much more than just a thief; because in the original language, the same word was also used to describe Barabbas—the man that Pilate released instead of Jesus. Barabbas was much more than a common thief. Luke 23:19 tells us that he was “thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.” So; even if we don’t know what this particular criminal did, we can know for sure that it must have been pretty serious. It gained him the death sentence from the Roman government on a cross.

But perhaps it was intended by God that we not know the specifics of this man’s crime. That way, he becomes an example to anyone who has sinned against God and is worthy of judgment—and also of how any condemned sinner can receive the gift of eternal life. It’s by trusting in the crucified Lord Jesus and crying out to Him, “Remember me!” That was enough to save this man; because the Lord Jesus Himself promised salvation to him at that very moment.

That crucified criminal’s story gives us the greatest news that sinners like us could ever hear. It teaches us that Jesus remembers all who sincerely call upon Him by faith for salvation.

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Now; this story comes to us in the form of a conversation. Only Luke tells us about this conversation. All three of the participants in this conversation were about to die; and before the conversation occurred, two of its participants were united in their blasphemous scorn of Jesus.

Luke quotes one of those two. So; let’s consider …

1. THE BLASPHEMY OF THE FIRST CRIMINAL (v. 39).

His words probably give us a good indication of what both criminals—at first—had been saying. Luke tells us, in verse 39, “Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, ‘If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.’” In this respect, the criminal was simply saying the kinds of things to Jesus that the crowd itself was saying to Him. The Gospel writer Matthew tells us, in Matthew 27:39-43;

And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (Matthew 27:39-43).

And what’s fascinating to notice is that the people were not reviling Jesus for any crime that He committed. Instead, they were mocking Him for who He claimed to be—and in fact, for what they actually seemed to have thought Him to be, and for what they seemed to know that He had actually done. The first criminal’s words seem to reflect their same attitude. In fact, while the New King James Version has it that he said, “If you are the Christ …” (as if there was some uncertainty about the matter), other translations reflect some versions of the ancient text that put it in a much more certain way (as in the New International Version, “Aren’t you the Christ?”).

There have been many people who—at the point of death—knew exactly who Jesus is; and yet rejected Him with scorn and blasphemy. Just think how hard the sinful human heart is!

And at first, both of these criminals were speaking to Jesus in this way. But somewhere along the way, the heart of one of them had changed. This is where Luke shows us …

2. THE REPENTANCE OF THE SECOND CRIMINAL (vv. 40-41).

Given the fact that they both had been blaspheming the Lord, there’s really no other way to explain the transformation than by the word ‘repentance’—that is, by a complete change of his inner disposition. Luke goes on to tell us in verses 40-41, “But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.”

How did this change come about? Perhaps it was because, as he hung next to Jesus, he heard the things that Jesus had said—and because he had begun to think about those things deeply. He had heard Jesus pray repeatedly (because the original language requires that we interpret it as an ongoing prayer) that the Father would forgive those who crucified Him. Perhaps he would have been remembering Psalm 22—a psalm that describes, in vivid detail, the very things that Jesus was experiencing; and even the words “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Perhaps, he was remembering all the stories he had heard about Jesus’ miracles and acts of healing; and he realized that he had been mocking a prophet of God—and perhaps even someone more than just a prophet. But however it happened on a human level, it was ultimately an act of God’s redeeming grace. This criminal suddenly realized that he was dying as a condemned sinner, and was about to stand before a holy God in judgment; and that he was dying in the presence of a truly holy Man. And he himself was not ready to meet the Judge.

The criminal showed his repentance in three distinct ways. First, he told the other criminal, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?” There they both were—just a short while away from standing before God to give an account for their lives of sin. And yet, what a wicked thing they were doing!—mocking and reviling a Man of God!

Second, the criminal showed his repentance in that he said—with reference to the punishment they were right then suffering—“And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds …” They had committed crimes against God and man; and now, they were receiving their just reward—both presently from men in this world, and shortly from God in the world beyond. He was admitting that he was a sinner who was worthy of the death sentence.

And third, the criminal showed his repentance in his testimony of Jesus. He admitted the justness of what he and his fellow criminal were experiencing; “but this Man has done nothing wrong.” This Man who hung between them was suffering the same condemnation that they were suffering—but He was doing so innocently. He had committed no crime of His own; and yet, He was hanging in the midst of criminals—suffering their condemnation along with them.

Now; could it be that, by the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, the words of Isaiah 53:11-12—concerning the Messiah—were suddenly opened up to this repentant criminal’s heart? That passage says;

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:11-12).

It may be that this was the case; because it’s then that we go on to read of …

3. THE HUMBLE PLEA TO BE ‘REMEMBERED’ (v. 42).

In verse 42, we read, “Then he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’” Consider that, behind this request, there had to be a profound understanding of some essential gospel truths. The criminal knew that there was life beyond death—that though his body was about to die, his soul would live on and stand before God. And he knew that this holy Man named Jesus had a kingdom awaiting Him beyond death; and that He was going to receive that kingdom and reign over it. He also knew that—somehow—this Man Jesus was suffering for the transgressors of sinners like him. And finally, he knew that if he appealed to Jesus, Jesus would show mercy to him, forgive his sins, and ‘remember’ him when He came into His eternal kingdom.

The Baptist Bible teacher Herschel Hobbs wrote;

In a sense both of these thieves prayed. For they both asked Jesus to do something for them. The one introduced his prayer with a curse, asking only for physical relief. Jesus made no response to this request. The other began by confessing his sin, asking for spiritual salvation. The one thief entered hell with a so-called prayer on his lips. But the other’s experience was quite different.¹

And what a simple prayer it was that he prayed! It was few in words; but it was enough, because it was a prayer of faith in an all-sufficient Savior. This, finally, leads us to …

4. THE GLORIOUS PROMISE OF THE SAVIOR HIMSELF (v. 43).

In verse 43, we read, “And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” “Paradise” (which basically means ‘enclosed garden park’) is a figure for the glorious bliss of heaven. Imagine the joy of the criminal at hearing those words from Jesus!

And notice that our Lord told the man “today”. It may have been that the criminal hoped for ‘remembrance’ some time long in the distant future. But Jesus assured him that he would be with Him in Paradise “today”. It would only be a couple of hours at the most before this man would walk with Jesus in Paradise. That means that he—a condemned criminal—was the first person ever to enter heavenly glory through an immediate and conscious faith in the crucified Lord Jesus! And if this could be true for someone like him, then there’s hope for sinners like us!

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Harry Ironside wrote, “In the Bible there is one man who was saved at the last moment. There is one, that none might despair; only one, that none might presume.”²

We should never presume. We should never put off believing on Jesus until the last minute. But this man’s story teaches us that all who sincerely do cry out to Jesus for salvation—even with nothing else but the humble request, “Remember me!”—will be remembered by Him!

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¹ Herschel H. Hobbs, An Exposition of the Four Gospels, Vol. 3 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1966), p. 337.

² H.A. Ironside, Addresses on the Gospel of Luke (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1947), p. 685.

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