Well good morning everybody. You might like to turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 23.
We're going to read from verses 35 to 43. So it's Luke chapter 23 and verses 35 to 43.
And last time I was with you on a Sunday morning we were looking at the first of the sayings of
the Lord Jesus from the cross and I'm a great believer in simply just moving on to the next
thing and keeping going and trusting the Lord to speak to our hearts. So we're going to look at the
second saying from the cross which actually just continues on where we left off the last time where
Jesus prayed, Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. So read from verse 35.
It'll also be on the screen in front of you.
The people stood watching and the rulers even sneered at him. They said he saved others let
him save himself if he is God's Messiah the chosen one. The soldiers also came up and mocked him.
They offered him wine vinegar and said if you are the king of the Jews save yourself.
There was a written notice above him which read this is the king of the Jews.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him. Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us.
But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God he said since you are under the same sentence.
We are punished justly for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.
Then he said to Jesus. Then he said Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.
And Jesus answered him. Truly I tell you. Today you will be with me in paradise.
So Father we pray that as we look at your word this morning that you might bring comfort to our hearts.
That you might increase our faith. That you might give us greater confidence in the words of the Lord Jesus.
And a greater hope for the things that are to come.
And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.
Well I have no idea what comes to mind when you think of the word paradise.
Some of you are probably immediately thinking of a sun holiday.
The feeling of warm sand between your toes and the sun upon your skin.
Well it doesn't get much better than that.
If you are busy parents.
And as much as you love your children.
And I know you do.
Perhaps your idea of paradise is a weekend away without the children.
If you are grandparents with an empty nest.
Nothing fills you with greater joy than all of the grandchildren coming.
And staying for the weekends.
And for others it might be the idea of simply getting away with a group of friends.
And enjoying one another's company for a few days.
You see the reality is that your idea of paradise and mine are probably altogether different.
But for a moment I want you to think less about the place.
And more about the feeling.
Because however different our ideas of paradise might be.
They probably stir up the same kinds of feelings.
Fulfillment.
Peace.
Delight.
Contentment.
Joy.
Pleasure.
That place that you would like to stay forever.
And never have to go back to the daily routine of normal life.
That's the promise of paradise.
And that's exactly what Jesus offers one of these criminals who hangs on the cross next to him.
The promise of paradise.
Now it's difficult to know what this man knew about Jesus before the day of his execution.
He has certainly heard Jesus ask God to forgive the people who are responsible for his death.
And he seems convinced that Jesus is the promised Messiah.
So here on the cross in verse 42 with his dying breath he says,
Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Well it is a bold request isn't it?
By a man who has absolutely nothing to offer.
But he asks it just the same.
And more surprising yet is Jesus' response.
Truly I tell you,
Today you will be with me in paradise.
You see the promise of paradise is given to this man immediately upon death.
It's more than he could ever imagine.
He simply asked Jesus to remember me when you come into your kingdom.
His thinking is far away.
It's in the future.
It's distant.
It's out of reach.
But Jesus responds,
Truly I tell you,
Today you will be with me in paradise.
The answer to this request would come much sooner than this man had hoped.
He wasn't going to rest in some kind of unconscious state,
awaiting the kingdom of Jesus to be established,
sometime in the way off distant future.
His soul wasn't going to be put on ice,
awaiting the resurrection of the body.
No, he would be with Jesus that very day.
As believers in Jesus,
this is the wonderful hope that we have.
That though our bodies are buried in the ground,
we do so in sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the body when Jesus comes again.
Not resting in some kind of unconscious state until he comes.
But no, immediately upon death,
we enter into what Jesus calls paradise.
But we are probably more familiar with calling heaven.
Now popular thinking about heaven usually conjures up all kinds of images of clouds and harps and the angels.
And the reality is that the Bible doesn't give us a lot of information about heaven.
Truth is, it's pretty light on the details.
Rather, when the Bible speaks about heaven,
it's less focused on the what and more focused on the who.
Ultimately, the promise of paradise is less about a place and more about a person.
And we see that here in the words of the Lord Jesus.
He tells this dying man that immediately upon death,
he will be with Jesus.
Jesus says, truly I tell you today,
you will be with me in paradise.
You see, ultimately that is what makes heaven heaven.
The presence of Jesus.
Remember the apostle Paul described it as being away from the body
and at home with the Lord.
Yes, the body dies.
Yes, the body is put to rest in the ground.
But the soul, the person, is immediately at home with the Lord.
It's for that reason that Paul, as he's in prison and threatened with death,
could write,
I desire to depart and be with Christ,
which is better by far.
It's what enabled the first Christian martyr, Stephen,
to say with his dying breath,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
See what both Paul and Stephen are confident of?
Immediately upon death, they would be with Jesus.
Now, many of us take comfort in the knowledge that in death,
we will be reunited with a loved one who has died in the Lord.
I completely understand why we do that.
But the comfort of the gospel is far greater than that.
The comfort of the gospel is that they will be with Jesus
and that we will be with Jesus
and it is the presence of Jesus that makes heaven heaven.
Not the presence of those that we love.
And it's the presence of Jesus
that would welcome this dying criminal into paradise.
This dying thief immediately upon death would be with Jesus
awaiting his coming kingdom.
Remember, that was his request in the first place.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Now, when Jesus responds by telling the dying man
that he'd be with Jesus in paradise that very day,
he's not attempting to correct the man's theology.
He's not saying,
no, forget this talk about a coming kingdom.
Today, you're going to be with me in paradise.
No, the man's understanding does need to be expanded.
It does need to be filled out.
It is incomplete,
but it is not incorrect.
And perhaps the same thing could be said
about our thinking.
You see, if your future hope is only of heaven,
of paradise,
of what happens immediately upon death,
then your theology is just as incomplete
as the dying thief.
His thinking was too far into the future,
but perhaps yours is too immediate.
You see, the dying thief is thinking
only of the future kingdom
with little or no understanding
of the immediate promise
that Jesus offers of paradise.
But perhaps yours is only focused
on the immediate promise of heaven
with little or no thought
of the world that is yet to come.
What the Bible describes
as the new heavens
and the new earth.
You see, the end of the Bible,
and I know that you've been looking
at this recently,
finishes with the most incredible imagery,
picturing the new Jerusalem
with God himself as the temple
descending from heaven
so that as John describes it,
God's dwelling place
is now among the people
and he will dwell with them.
It is literally heaven upon earth.
God makes this new earth
his dwelling place.
And all who've trusted in Jesus
will enjoy a real resurrected physical life
on a real renewed physical earth.
It will be a world
in which you really do get to feel
the sand between your toes
and the sun upon your skin.
A world in which there is fulfillment
in all of the work that you do.
Pleasure in the relationships that you have.
Joy in the things you get to do with others.
Peace with your neighbors.
Delight in the food you eat.
And intimacy with the God that you love.
The world that is to come,
the new heaven and earth,
is a physical one.
Not only with sights and sounds,
but with touch and smell and taste.
It's a world just as physical as ours.
C.S. Lewis would say
more real than ours.
And it is the final destination
of all of God's people.
Until that time,
we experience what theologians call
the intermediate states.
Immediately upon death,
the believer in Jesus
is immediately present with Jesus in heaven.
What the Apostle Paul describes as better,
is the final destination of all of God's people.
That will only happen
when Jesus returns to the earth from heaven,
defeats all of his enemies,
raises even our dead bodies from the ground,
and ushers in his everlasting kingdom
on a new heavens and earth.
If the criminal's concept of the afterlife
was incomplete and limited,
because he was missing the assurance
of paradise upon death,
ours is just as incomplete.
Perhaps even more incomplete than his.
If we are missing the very best parts
of all that God has promised,
a real, resurrected, physical life
on a real, renewed, physical earth,
on which God will dwell
with his people forever.
The criminal on the cross
simply asks Jesus to remember him
when he comes into his kingdom.
But Jesus gives him the promise of paradise.
Immediately upon death,
that he would be with Jesus,
awaiting his coming kingdom.
And it's the same promise
that Jesus offers to all
who will turn to him in faith.
The promise of paradise.
Immediately upon death,
that we will be with Jesus
while we wait for his coming kingdom.
A renewed heavens and earth
where we will enjoy life
with our saviour
as it was always intended to be.
Now, in the advertising world,
when you're offered the promise of paradise,
no matter if it's a two-week sun holiday,
a weekend spa break or retreat
where you get to indulge
in your favourite hobby,
you know that there is going to be a cost.
As the sales agent tries to sell you
the promise of paradise,
you already have this question
going around in your mind.
What will this cost?
So what is the price of paradise?
We've heard the promise of paradise,
but how much will it cost?
Well, here, the promise of paradise
is offered to someone
who was deserving judgment.
The two men crucified with Jesus
are identified throughout as criminals.
We see that in verse 32 and 39
and again in 40.
They are lawbreakers.
These are men whose crimes
are so serious, in fact,
that they have been sentenced to death.
And in the Roman world,
that was by means of crucifixion.
Now, in other cultures
and at different times,
executions were swift.
Whether it was the guillotine in France
or the gallows in England,
it was meant to be quick and clinical.
But it was not that way in the Roman world.
Crucifixion was purposefully designed
to be slow and painful.
The condemned person
hung upon the cross,
experiencing both excruciating pain
in their body
and suffocation in their lungs.
It could go on for hours,
even into death.
But it was a warning to all around
that this was the judgment
that fell on those
who broke the Roman laws.
Now, one of those criminals
is able to recognize just that.
Look at verse 41.
He says to the other,
we are punished justly
for we are getting
what our deeds deserve.
On each side of Jesus
hang those who are deserving judgment.
But there is a greater judgment
than that of the Roman Empire.
It is a judgment far greater
than any judgment
that we could experience in this life.
And it is the judgment of God.
It is a punishment
that never comes to an end.
It is the eternal judgment of hell.
One of these criminals fears God
just as little as he has feared
the Roman Empire.
But the other is aware
that whatever judgment he faces now,
there is an even greater judgment
yet to come.
He pleads with the other criminal
that if he will not take seriously
the judgment of the Roman Empire,
that he will at least take seriously
the judgment of God.
He pleads in verse 40,
don't you fear God?
Stop these insults.
Stop the mockery.
Don't you understand
who it is that hangs on the cross
beside us?
But this man dies
as he has lived
with concern
neither for the laws of men
nor for the commands of God.
Breaking the laws of Rome
left both of these men
deserving judgment.
But ignoring,
breaking,
and disregarding
the commands of God
leaves every one of us
deserving far greater judgment.
It doesn't matter
whether you are the greatest
of lawbreakers
or the most careful
of law abiders.
All of us find ourselves
in the same positioning
of deserving
the judgment of God.
For each of us
has failed to live
as we should.
Loving God
as we should.
Caring for others
as we should.
Whether we realize
it or not,
we are those
who are deserving
of judgment
the greater
judgment
of God.
But between
these two criminals
was the one
who had done
nothing wrong.
Once again
this is obvious
to one of the criminals.
He can't understand
the way in which
the other one
is insulting Jesus.
They're all
under the same judgment
but he can see clearly
in verse 41
this man
has done
nothing wrong.
Now it's hard again
to know what this man
knew or how he came
to this conclusion.
Had he heard about
Jesus and his ministry?
Had he heard about
the miracles of Jesus?
Or did he hear
the teaching of Jesus?
Has he heard about
Pilate declaring
the man innocent
and yet condemning
him to death?
Or is it simply
what he's observed
of Jesus
as he hangs
on the cross?
We don't know
but he had seen
enough to know
that next to him
hung one
who had done
nothing wrong.
You see
here is the price
of paradise
that the one
who had done
nothing wrong
would die for
those
deserving
judgments.
I'm sure
you noticed
that three times
Jesus is encouraged
to save
himself.
First in verse 35
the crowd
standing around
watching and the
rulers sneered at him.
They said he saved
others let him
save himself
if he is God's
Messiah
the chosen one.
It's followed
by the soldiers
who mock him
in verse 37
if you are the
king of the Jews
save yourself.
the final time
by one of these
criminals
hanging next to him
in verse 39
aren't you the
Messiah
save yourself
and us?
Couldn't Jesus
have saved
himself
if he really
was God's
promised Messiah?
Wouldn't Jesus
have had the power
to strike down
his enemies
with a single
word?
couldn't Jesus
have prevented
all of this
from happening?
Well we know
of course he could
but the price
of paradise
was that the
one who had
done nothing
wrong
would die
for those
deserving
judgment.
After all
who has the
right to
paradise
to eternal
pleasure
to enjoy
life with
the holy
God
except the
one who
deserves it.
One who's
lived a
spotless
life.
One who's
innocent of
breaking any
of the
commands of
God.
One who's
only ever
loved God
perfectly.
Jesus
alone
was
deserving
of
paradise.
But for
you and I
to enjoy
paradise
death.
Well a
price had
to be
paid.
The one who
had done
nothing wrong
would die
for those
deserving
judgment.
Isn't that
what's happening
on the cross?
Of course
Jesus could
save himself.
Of course
Jesus could
strike down
his enemies
with a
single word.
but if
he had
done that
he could
not have
spoken
these
words
to the
criminal
who is
dying
on the
cross.
Today
you will
be with
me
in paradise.
Indeed
he could
never have
made that
promise
to any
of us.
you see
the price
of paradise
was one
that we
could never
pay.
That
psalm that
Ralph read at
the beginning
showed that
very clearly.
And yet
here it is
offered to
us
freely.
The dying
thief bears
witness to
that.
He could
do nothing
to earn
his place
in paradise.
He had
no time
to do
anything.
He lacked
all ability
to do
anything.
He simply
looked to
Jesus
in faith.
And that
is the only
way that
any of us
find a
place in
paradise.
When we
realize that
we could
never do
anything to
earn our
place there.
That we
could never
pay enough
to secure
our place
there.
That we
could never
do enough
to deserve
our place
there.
But rather
like this
dying
criminal
we look
to Jesus
in faith.
Trusting
that what
he has
done
has secured
for us
what we
could never
achieve for
ourselves.
The promise
of paradise
immediately
upon death
while we
wait for
his coming
kingdom.
let's
pray
together.
Father as
we read
these words
we see
this man
being offered
something far
greater than
he can
possibly
imagine.
His request
has been bold
enough and
yet he's
given even
more still.
and we
know that
that was
only possible
because the
one who
had done
nothing wrong
would die
for those
deserving
judgment.
And
Father we
thank you
that that
promise that
is extended
to this
man is
extended to
us and
indeed
extended to
all who
will turn
to Jesus
in faith.
That we
too can
enjoy paradise.
That we
can be
with
Jesus
while we
wait for
his coming
kingdom.
Oh
Father it's
beyond our
comprehension
all that you
have planned
for your
people.
But we
pray that
again today
that you
will have
helped us
to further
grasp
something
more
of the
life that
lies ahead
and that
it most
certainly
is not
because of
anything
that we
have done
but only
because of
what the
Lord Jesus
has done
for us.
And we
pray this
in his
name.
Amen.
In just a
moment we're
going to
stand and
we're going
to sing
together
Jesus
Pet It
All.
And then
after that
Ralph's
going to
lead us
in a time
around the
Lord's
table.
So when
the musicians
are ready
we'll stand
to sing.