Criminals: Luke 23.39-43 (ESV)

Monologue by the Thief on the cross:

I'm confused.  Maybe you can help me.  What is Daylight Savings Time?  In Heaven the Son shines all the time.  I am a citizen of Heaven.  I'm remembered as being crucified with Jesus.  I was the one crucified on the left of Jesus.  There's so much I can share with you.  I'm in Heaven now and I have a wonderful life now but my life wasn't always that way.  

Our hearts become hard.

 Life is difficult.  Jesus and I went through trials together.  We were sentenced to die together.  I was crucified before Jesus was.  Nobody made a big deal about my crucifixion but all these people had gathered because of Jesus.  I never trusted any of the religious leaders.  I wondered what the religious leaders were doing at a crucifixion at Passover!  It's Passover and they're around dying people.  It wasn't right.  The people were mocking Jesus.  He claimed to be the Messiah.  Life is hard and our hearts can become hardened.  

                        ³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 

 The other guy that was crucified with Jesus cried, "Are you not the Christ? Save us and yourself."  When I heard that guy mocking Jesus something clicked inside of me.  How did we get so hard?  I wondered if that guy even feared God.  

All of us stand before God at some point.  We were about to be in God's court.  Growing up I remember mom cooking in the kitchen for festivals.  I'd sneak in the kitchen to get some food and I'd get caught.  I'm thinking about all that's happened.  Jesus is different.  Why is my heart so hard?  Why would we taunt Jesus?  As I think about how I ended up in this place I realize I have chosen my own way.

We have chosen our own way.

We were receiving the reward for our deeds.  Jesus knew I'd done wrong.  I was a thief.  I made my own choices and I was about to meet God and be responsible or what I'd done.  I needed to acknowledge I'd done wrong.  

                        ⁴¹And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds;

Jesus never fails.

 I thought back about Jesus' life.  He never failed. Pilate found nothing wrong with Jesus.  Herod found nothing wrong with Jesus.  I felt the same way about Jesus.  This man did nothing wrong.  

      but this man has done nothing wrong.” 

Years ago I was a Zealot and I hated the Roman government.  They came into our town and our country and took over.  My group would go try to infiltrate other religious groups.  I remember John the Baptist.  He was awesome!  He had this way of digging into the religious leaders. One day at a river he asked them, "Who told you snakes to come out here?"  He had fire!  The first time I saw Jesus was when he was with John and John said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world."  What did John mean by that?  The Lamb of God?  

We were crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem.  We could see the Temple while on the cross.  Every day a lamb was sacrificed there.  It was Passover.  What's all this mean?  Jesus is the Lamb of God.  Jesus, He is the Lamb of God.  He took our place. It became clear to me that Jesus is King. We Zealots wanted to restore the Kingdom but I soon realized it's not about my kingdom but about God's Kingdom. I began to realize it's Jesus' Kingdom that matters.  

We give ourselves to Jesus as King.

Jesus is King and that's all that matters.  I am a thief and I do not deserve anything. I messed up my life.  I wanted Jesus to remember me.
                        ⁴²And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 

 What a dumb thing to say, right?  I thought about all the things Jesus said.  The Kingdom Jesus was building was different than any other.  Jesus would rise again.  I wanted to be a part of His Kingdom.  I wanted to be right with Jesus.  It didn't make sense for Jesus to even listen to me.  When I said those words I didn't even feel like there was anyone else around.  The crowd was there and the darkness was falling but nothing else mattered to me except Jesus and me.  I gave myself to Him.

Jesus gives everlasting hope.

What does Jesus say to a guy like me?  He gave me everlasting hope.  I'll never forget and I confess that I do not deserve this.  Jesus is my King and my Lord.  Jesus looked at me:
                        ⁴³And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

 At first I was confused because the word "paradise" meant a park, but then I realized it also means "Eden."  I was going back to Eden.  Isaiah 51:3, "For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of a song."

The garden of Eden is restored.  This is a new place he was talking about.  He also restored ME.  I got to go to Heaven and be restored.  It's not just about going to Heaven, but about restoration.  Jesus looked at me and restored me while He was dying.  I'm now in Heaven, in Paradise where everything is how it is supposed to be.  I have new life and a new future.  Everyone has a similar story.  We got it wrong but we can meet Jesus and Jesus can restore us.  Jesus can transform us.  I don't know what you've done but surely you've messed up too.  Jesus wants us to trust Him and give Him our lives.

Sermon by Dr. Scotty Carpenter.  Sermon Notes by Jeni Martin Johnson.