[Machine transcription]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Brothers and sisters, looking at the gospel lesson today, those last words of Jesus, truly
you will be with me today in paradise.
Please be seated.
Again, last week’s service, Ash Wednesday, we focused on the first word of Jesus from
the cross, Father forgive them for they know not what they do, which was a word of
pardon and forgiveness. And tonight the second word from Jesus, it’s a word of
promise and salvation. And it’s interesting that when Jesus says these
words, today you will be with me in paradise, it’s a promise basically, he’s
not saying it to a religious person or a fine upstanding citizen or even to one
of his disciples, he says them to a convicted criminal who’s guilty of a
capital crime. Two convicted criminals executed with Jesus between them. An
innocent man dying with two guilty ones. Now we don’t know their exact crimes but
But oftentimes thieves is what they’re accredited with, but it’s actually more than that.
Probably insurrectionists or even terrorists might be closer to the reality, but for sure
they weren’t Romans because they weren’t executed by crucifixion, and they’re not common thieves.
they had committed a capital crime and the Empire of Rome found them to be of
great threat so they’re being executed in those days thieves weren’t executed
by crucifixion and these two guys they have the privilege of being able to
speak to Jesus with their final words now one uses his words to insult Jesus
joining the chorus of all the other people and religious leaders and the
soldiers there who were mocking him and shaking their fists at him. He says,
Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. Strange, isn’t it, that this insult
comes in the form of a prayer, a prayer for salvation. Save yourself and us. But
It’s not a prayer of faith, it’s mockery, it’s an insult.
What kind of Christ are you, the man seems to be saying?
What sort of a Messiah are you turning out to be?
Come on, come on, Jesus, flex some of that Messianic muscle
and spare yourself from this death.
And oh, by the way, us too, okay?
He wants to call the shots here.
This guy does believe that the Messiah can do these things,
but he doesn’t believe that Jesus is him doesn’t think that Jesus is capable of
keeping the promise of the Messiah to deliver and save his people and so he
mocks him but the other criminal he talks a little differently a lot
differently actually but first he has some choice words for his I’ll say it
partner in crime hanging two crosses over he says don’t you fear God since
you’re condemned too you aren’t getting mercy from humans don’t you want mercy
from God and then he proclaims that Jesus is innocent we are punished justly
he says, and getting what we deserve. But this man, he’s done nothing wrong.
Contrary to the other criminal, two crosses over, this one does believe that
Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah, that he’s done nothing wrong, and says
that this man hanging next to him dying next to him can deliver and save him
can take him to paradise and give him life and he begs for it
Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom words of faith he has faith
that Jesus is that Christ the one sent from God from God’s kingdom to give life
and paradise to all who believe in him and Jesus responds with that beautiful
promise truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise Jesus says
words of life he promises it for this condemned criminal dying next to him
Jesus says this word of promise and life to a convicted criminal that is one
who’s convicted of his sins and seeking life from God Jesus says those same
words of promise today, but he doesn’t say it to religious or fine upstanding
citizens. He says it to convicted criminals who are guilty of a capital
crime. These criminals are guilty of and convicted of sin
with the punishment of death that’s promised for them. Jesus says this word
of promise to you.
He makes this promise of paradise for you.
But we can be so like the other criminal, the bad one, I mean.
We can try to take what we want from God, make demands of God, call the shots with God.
God. We want God to get us off the hook, maybe even get us off the cross. Praying for Him
to do something for us and to do things for our world. Hey God, aren’t you God? How about
doing something about this mess down here? Can’t you see that people are killing and
abusing even children? Save yourself and us! Save us. What a great request to make
to God and what a great request that is for that primal to make during that time
because when Jesus was hanging on the cross and dying there that’s exactly what
he was doing saving us saving you saving you from your capital crime of sin that
you’re convicted of and deserve to die for don’t deserve mercy from God you
deserve just like those two criminals to hang there and die by crucifixion too but
on the cross Jesus saves you from that saves you from having to die without
this promise of eternal life he saves you from that punishment saves you from
that kind of death and give us gives you promises even life instead he saves you
from the cross that you deserve and instead of dying on it yourself he dies
on it for you and promises paradise for you, promising life. To receive that
promise requires faith. Jesus doesn’t require you to be a religious person or
an upstanding citizen. He requires you to be convicted of your capital crime of
sin confess it and pray God have mercy on me a sinner and then have faith to
take hold of that promise that like this criminal we can say please Jesus take me
out of this world take me to your kingdom take me to paradise and that
It takes faith, faith even like this criminal
dying next to Jesus has.
And there may be days
when we’d really like to be in that paradise,
days that we’d like to be out of this world,
days we wish that we could hear Jesus say to us,
today you will be with me in paradise.
Yeah, we’ve got days like that,
but but the words today you’ll be with me in paradise aren’t just for when we
die they’ll be true at that time when we die but they’re just as true now Jesus
promises this paradise whenever we read speak hear or sign his gospel when we
hear His Word. The Scriptures are words of life and promises of life for us. The
Word of God is paradise, and we’re in paradise when we confess our sins and
hear those words of absolution and forgiveness in Christ’s grace. And
paradise is in receiving the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper
where the words of forgiveness and life are spoken and received in physical
elements. When you hear God’s Word or partake in the sacraments, you’re in
paradise because there are perfect and sinless places in those
things where your capital crime is forgiven and that paradise is given to
you today and every day. You know, actually, if we think about these two
criminals as thieves, which I don’t think they are, but anyway, if we think of them
as thieves, there’s actually three thieves there being crucified because
Jesus too is a thief who steals us out of the sin of this world, steals you from
dying on the cross, steals you out of death, and promises to take you to
paradise, to take you to the place where there is life and no death. Words of life
that he spoke to a criminal, he speaks to you to promise you that life in
paradise. So even from the cross, even in his last dying words, this God-man, Jesus
Christ, speaks words of life and promise for you. Amen.
