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He [Jesus] replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”
Summary and Function
Summary: Jesus is God in the flesh, fully God and fully human. He’s the heart of God with flesh wrapped around it. To know Jesus and his character is to know God and God’s character. We can know Jesus’ character by looking at what he said while dying on the cross.
When Jesus was crucified, there were also two thieves being crucified on both sides of him. When one of them repented and asked for mercy, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”
This statement demonstrates three truths: 1) Jesus is God in the flesh, 2) Jesus is merciful to the end and 3) we are saved by grace through faith and nothing more
Purpose: To help the congregation to better understand God’s love and to respond to that love with repentance and faith
The Sermon
I. Introduction: Having really bad days
1. A typical reaction when we have a bad day
- You had an extremely bad day. You’re exhausted and at your wits end.
- All you want to do when you get home is sit in front of the t.v. and vegetate.
- When you get home, however, your wife has an errand for you to do.
- Instead of saying, “Yes dear” you growl at her and continue watching t.v.
2. When things go badly for us, we have a tendency to become self-absorb, selfish
and inconsiderate towards others. When people ask favors from us, we tend to
say NO! Jesus, however, is the exact opposite.
II. Jesus was asked to show mercy on a bad day
1. Jesus’ bad day
- Falsely arrested
- Ridiculed and beaten by his arresting officers
- Endured an humiliating mockery of a trial
- Received almost no food or sleep for over 24 hours
- Betrayed by his followers and closest friends
- Whipped 39 times with a leather whip that had shards of metal and bones embedded in it. This was to tear the flesh as he was being whipped.
- Mocked by the soldiers and spat upon.
- Forced to carry a heavy cross until he was to exhausted to continue.
- Nailed to a cross through his hands and feet. There were two criminals on both sides of him who were also being crucified. One of these criminals ridiculed him.
2. At the end of this bad day, the undeserving criminal who didn’t ridicule Jesus had
the audacity to repent and ask Jesus for mercy.
- Criminal said, “Do you [addressing the other criminal] not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”
- Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”
- I would have said, “Look here, you said it. You deserve this and I don’t. So suck it up!!!”
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Jesus, however, showed compassion and love in the midst of his suffering. At the end of a long and bad day, Jesus demonstrated unconditional love and brought salvation to a repentant sinner.
III. Jesus’ statement, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” reveals
three truths.
1. Jesus is God in the flesh.
- Only God can grant forgiveness and allow people into heaven. Only God can save. Jesus clearly claimed this authority for himself when he said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”.
- Jesus said, “…today you will be with me in paradise” How could this be if Jesus was going to be dead for three days and then spend 40 days with his apostles in his resurrected body? This could only be true if Jesus was God along with God the Father. To be with the Father or the Holy Spirit is the same as being with Jesus because all three make up the one true God. (There is one God made up of 3 persons. To worship one is to worship all 3 because the 3 make up the one.)
2. Jesus is merciful to the end. Jesus was on his death bed when he granted
salvation to the repentant criminal.
3. We are saved by grace through faith and nothing else
- The criminal did absolutely nothing to earn his salvation. He had no time to do any good works.
- He simply repented and had faith.
IV. Conlcusion
1. How do we respond to a God who’s willing to become one of us and suffer on the
cross for us? How do we respond to a God who is quick to show mercy to a
repentant sinner in the midst of his own suffering?
2. We respond with repentance and faith.
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