The Word of Salvation

Sam.

All right. Good morning, church. Good to see all of you here. This morning on this beautiful day. We’re continuing our series entitled Last Words.

We’re studying the seven last words of Jesus on the cross. Last week, we began this series with the first saying of Jesus, which was, father, forgive them, they know not what they do. And so the first words of Jesus on the cross were a prayer to the Father. Now this morning, we’ll realize as we look at the text today that the second word of Christ on the cross was in answer to the prayer of a criminal next to him. So his first words were prayer to the Father, and his second words were in response to a prayer from someone to him.

And so that’s looking at today as we unpack these last words. We’re convinced that last words matter. We will all one day speak last words. Every one of us will. One day the last words we speak will be spoken, and they’ll often be treasured by our families or they will be a concern to those who hear them.

But we hear these seven last words recorded in the gospels. And today we’ll look at the second one, where Jesus says, truly, I say to you today you will be with me in paradise. And so this is the word of Christ to the criminal on the cross who said, jesus, remember me. He says, truly, I tell you today you’ll be with me Paradise. And so this is the second word, the word of salvation.

Now, who needs salvation today? Who needs salvation today? In the first service this morning, we had people come down front to pray. And some came to pray for salvation. Some came and said, I want to pray that prayer that the criminal on the cross prayed, jesus, remember me.

And so we have people even this morning that have already prayed this prayer. Have you asked Jesus for salvation? Who needs salvation? Who is in need of rescue? Would you be willing to say, I am, I need rescue.

I need salvation. But then other kinds of questions emerge. Whenever we consider salvation, we have questions like this, what do I need to do? What must I do to be saved? What do I need to change?

Do I need to perform some activity or do something in order to receive Christ’s salvation? We ask these kinds of questions. Some questions we ask are, okay, but how can I be sure? You know, if I pray the prayer, how can I be sure that I’ll be saved? You know, if I ask Christ to come into my life, how can I be sure he will?

And then we have other kinds of questions, like, well, I thought, you know, but I thought I prayed. So it’s not just the prayer, it’s the, it’s the heart. I don’t feel any difference. Should I feel different? These are the kind of things that we wrestle with right when we think about calling on Jesus for salvation.

When my father died, I was 8 years old, he was 39. He died after a year long battle with cancer. And after the funeral, all these people are at my house, right? You know, all the people come bringing food and I was sitting at my mother’s kitchen table. I guess everybody kind of moved into the living room and the den in different parts of the house.

I was sitting alone at the kitchen table in my mom’s house. And the pastor came, the preacher came and he sat down next to me and he kind of put his hand on my shoulder and I looked at him and I said, preacher, where’s my daddy at right now? That’s what I wanted to know. I’m the oldest and my dad, he was my hero. And I was like, where’s he at right now?

And he said, gary, he’s with Jesus. And I said, how can you be sure? And he said, because Jesus said so. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Because Jesus said so.

Jesus said, today you will be with me in paradise. I want you to hear these words among the last words of Jesus. Today you will be with me. Last words. Someday we all speak them.

Let’s focus on what Jesus said in his last words recorded in the Gospels. As we look in the Gospel of Luke, we’ll see this second saying where Jesus responded with a promise of salvation to the criminal on the cross who asked him to remember him. I believe today that we can know this promised salvation that Jesus offered to the criminal on the cross. And you might be wondering how, how can we know this? How can we respond?

How can we receive to this promised salvation of Jesus? Well, as we look at the text today, I believe you’ll see three insights on how we can respond to Christ’s promised salvation. But first let’s look at the scripture. We’re looking at Luke 23. We’re going to pick up at verse 32 to get the setting, but we’re going to focus on verse 43, which is the second of the seven last words that Jesus spoke.

But begin with me as you follow along at verse 32, two others who were criminals were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called the skull, there they crucified him and the criminals. One on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments.

And the people stood by watching. But the rulers scoffed at him, saying, he saved others. Let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, his chosen one. The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, if you are the King of the Jews, save yourself. There was also an inscription over him.

This is the King of the Jews, it said. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, do you 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. And he said to him, truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. This is God’s word. Amen.

We’re looking at three insights on how to respond to Christ’s promised salvation. Here’s the first. Recognize that Christ hears the prayer of faith. Recognize that Christ hears the prayer of faith. We’re going to be looking closely at verse 43, and then we’ll look back at the other verses for context.

But just looking at the first part of verse 43, it says, and he said to him, he is Jesus speaking. And Jesus said to him, him is the second criminal, the one who said, jesus, remember me. It’s important to look and see who Jesus is responding to. He is Christ. The first words of Christ on the cross were a prayer directed at his Father.

The second words of Christ upon the cross was in response to a prayer for from a criminal. This is Jesus responding to the one being crucified next to him. As we look at this, it’s important to note who he’s replying to, but it’s also important to note who he did not reply to. Wouldn’t you agree? Because there’s a lot of people talking in this story.

Notice that in verse 32 and 33 it says there were two criminals that were crucified beside Jesus. One on the left, one on the right. Do you have the picture in your mind? We’ve seen it since we were children. The three crosses on a hill called the Skull, or Golgotha, as it was called in another language.

The reason is the mount looked like the face of a human skull. It was an ugly place, a terrible place. This was the place where Jesus, the Holy One, died. Two criminals. Criminals.

In the Greek, it literally is translated evil workers. Evil workers. These two men were sinners. They deserved their death. Notice how the first criminal talked to Jesus.

Let’s consider him. First look at verse 39. Tradition says that perhaps this one was on the left side of Jesus because of the parable of the sheep and the goats, where Jesus said that at the end of days, during the judgment, the goats will go to h***, they will go to judgment to the left, and the sheep will be pulled to the right and go in with the Son. And so some have suggested. Well, the criminal that spoke first was probably on the left, regardless of where he was.

Here’s what he says. Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. Notice how the gospel writer Luke describes his words. It says he railed at Jesus.

That’s not a phrase we use a lot today. He railed at me. The Greek word is es blaspheme. Es blaspheme. The idea is he blasphemed Jesus.

He railed at him. He was sarcastic. If you’re really the Christ, get me and you and all of us down from this cross. I mean, like, prove it. If you’re really him.

He’s speaking sarcastically. If this is a prayer, it’s a scurrilous prayer. It’s a sarcastic prayer. It’s the prayer of an agnostic who’s not really looking for salvation. He’s just looking to get out of the pain that he’s in.

All of us cry out when we’re in pain, but the heart of faith cries out to Jesus. He cried out a question. Are you not? He railed at him. A sarcastic request.

This literally is if you are, are you not? Could be translated. If you’re the Christ, prove it. Get me out of this thing I’m in. Get me out of this cross situation.

Get me off of this. Get me out from under this debt I’m under. Get me out of this broken relationship. Get me out. We want out.

All of us cry out, we want out of the pain. But the heart of faith sees past this to I want salvation.

Not just from my immediate problems. I want Jesus. That’s not what he’s asking for. This was not the prayer of faith. This man did not confess his sin.

He did not ask for forgiveness. This man merely wants down from the cross. He’s like those who waited in line to eat the bread that Jesus gave out. He wanted the free bread, but he didn’t want to believe in the bread of life. He just wants out of the situation.

Isaiah speaks of this person. It says, you iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not.

Isn’t it important in this story to first note who Jesus did not respond to as he was being crucified? It says that the rulers scoffed at him and said, if you’re really the Christ, prove it. And then down below, the ones who were crucifying him, the Romans, it says, they offered him sour wine and says, hey, King of the Jews, do something. You know, show us something. And then they went back to gambling for his clothes.

They’re all crying out to him. And then the criminal on his left says, hey, if you’re really the Christ, get us out of this. All these voices crying out to Jesus, he responds, not one word to any of them. Like a lamb led to the slaughter. He opened not his mouth.

He doesn’t reply. He only takes all of their accusation and all their blasphemy and all of their scoffing. He directs it upward. Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.

But then he hears another voice, doesn’t he? It’s the second criminal. Perhaps at first, according to the other Gospels, he was kind of part of the crowd. But when he heard, father, forgive them. They know not what they do, something just changed in his heart.

Something flipped inside of him. The second criminal rebuked the first criminal. You see it in verse 40. It says, he rebuked the first criminal. His faith was already forming to the point that he began to publicly defend Christ.

He goes, don’t you fear God? Why are you speaking this blasphemy? Why are you speaking like this to this man? Don’t you fear God? Like who?

This guy’s on the cross. What’s happening to him? The Holy Spirit’s already stirring in his heart. Faith is already forming. He’s already going against the grain of the crowd.

The crowd is mocking Jesus, but he’s defending him from the cross. You see what’s happening to this man? Something stirring in his heart. I don’t know where the man had been earlier that week. You see, earlier that week, all the talk in town was about this Jesus of Nazareth who raised the man Lazarus from the dead, even though he’d been in the tomb for four days.

He raised him up, and everybody’s like, is this the one? And they all, on that Sunday before, had cut palm branches and said, hosanna. Hosanna. God saved Son of David. And they welcomed him to what we today call the Triumphal entry.

Listen. You could not live in Jerusalem without knowing who Jesus was. Both criminals knew. Both of them saw the sign over his head. You know.

See, here’s what the Romans would do. They would put an inscription over the criminal’s head and showing the charges and the reason they were being executed. This man was a rapist. Well, this man was a thief. Well, this man tried to overthrow Caesar.

And it would be up there. Here’s what he did. And this is why he’s being executed. Well, what did they put over Jesus head? Pilate instructed them to put Jesus King of the Jews.

That’s why he was being crucified.

They saw that. One saw it and mocked him. The other saw it and believed, he’s dying because he’s dying in my place. He rebuked the first criminal. And then he said in verse 41, we’re receiving our due.

We had this death coming. We earned this death. He’s confessing his sin. Do you hear it? What we’ve done deserves death.

The wages of sin is death, and we deserve this. This is what he’s saying to the other criminal. We had this coming man.

And then he points to Jesus. He goes, you and I had this coming. But this man has done nothing wrong.

Perhaps he had heard what Pilate said as he sent Jesus away to be crucified. He asked for a bowl of water, and he washed his hands before those that had accused him. And he says, I wash my hands of this man’s blood. I find no fault in him. You crucify him, and you sent him away.

Perhaps he had heard this, but more than that, he had heard first person, him say, father, forgive them. They do not know what they’re doing. They know not what they do. This man has done no wrong. Do you hear his heart?

Even as he speaks, his faith grows. He rebukes, he confesses his sin. And then he goes, this man is the innocent one. He’s the Holy One of God. That’s where he’s at in this.

And then he no longer. In verse 42, he stops rebuking and he stops confessing. He stops talking to the other thief, and he turns his head to Jesus.

And I think, Jesus, just picture this. Just get your mind inside this story. I think Jesus looked at him.

I don’t think Jesus looked at anybody else that was mocking him. I don’t think he made. He didn’t look at any of them. He looked up. Father, forgive them.

They know not what they do. And then he hears this thief. He looks at him. He Says Jesus, Jesus, remember me.

Oh, that look, that look of compassion that he saw. No man had ever seen a look of love like this. But in the face of Jesus, he looked at him and he goes, I want to be with you. Remember me. There he is, this brutal, bloody scene.

And there’s the Holy One of God, the love of God, looking back at him. Jesus, he says, remember me. Looking at verse 42. If you look under the words, look under in the Greek, it’s a constant plea. It’s in the imperfect tense, which literally.

It’s not just he said, remember me. It’s more like he was saying, remember me. Can you kind of get. In other words, he didn’t just say it once. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, remember me.

Jesus, remember me. Like that. It was a constant plea. Jesus was looking at him.

Everything faded away when. Only two faces looking at each other. For a moment, he didn’t even feel the pain. Perhaps for a moment it was just like a tunnel between the two of them. Jesus, remember me.

This is how the second criminal prayed. It was a cry for a rescue, for salvation. This word remember in the Bible means saves. Jesus, save me. Because when God remembers, God saves.

Look, in Genesis 8:1, God remembered Noah and saved him from the flood. In Genesis 19, God remembered Abraham and spared his nephew Lot from Sodom and Gomorrah. In Genesis 30, God remembered Rachel and opened her womb so she could give birth to a child. In Exodus 2, God remembered His covenant with Abraham and and delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. And In Luke chapter 23, God remembered the criminal hanging on the cross.

Jesus, remember me. He prayed.

That’s all he knew. He’d not taken catechism. He’d not been to baptism class or to church membership. He had not been discipled. He was a criminal, a sinner, far from God.

But in that moment, the Holy Spirit stirred his heart and he looked at Jesus and he called upon the name of Jesus, and he said, save me. Remember me.

First John, chapter five says, this is the competence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Is God listening? I’m praying. Is he listening? He says if you’re praying according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the request that we have asked of him.

Is it God’s will to save you?

Oh, what love expressed. What length God has gone to. To save you? Is it his will? Absolutely.

He’s not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to faith. It’s his will. Yet like the thief on the cross, he was dying for both of them. He says, father, forgive them, for they know not what they’re saying.

They know not what they’re doing. His forgiveness was not just for the two thieves. It was for those mocking him, for those killing him. It was for all. But only one said, jesus, remember me.

Before today is over, before this sermon finishes, I’m going to give you an opportunity to pray. Jesus, remember me right there in your seat. He’s listening. Not Jesus, get me out of this. Not Jesus, get me off this suffering cross.

But to be like the second criminal who didn’t ask that. He didn’t say, get me down. He didn’t say, get me out of this. He said, remember me. I want to be with you.

Save me. Wherever you are, let me be there. You’re king wherever you’re king at, remember me when you come into your kingdom. King Jesus.

This is the first insight. Jesus hears the prayer of faith. Here’s the second. Trust that Christ answers immediately. Trust that Christ answers immediately.

We’ve only considered, and he said to him, now let us consider the next part. And let’s put together the two phrases. One from the criminal, one from Jesus. First, the one from the criminal. He says, when you come into youo kingdom, remember me, Jesus, when you come into youo kingdom.

When is a timing word, not a doubting word. He doesn’t say, if youf come into youo kingdom. Which is what the other criminal had said. Are you not the Christ? If you’re the Christ?

This is not a conditional phrase. This is a confident phrase. He goes, when I know you’re King, I know you have a kingdom. When you get there, remember me. I’d like to be part of that.

I’d like to be with you. When.

Not if. When.

How does Jesus answer the question? Was a confident question. When the only detail in the question was, when’s it going to happen? Not if it’s going to happen. When will you save me, remember me, save me?

When will it happen? And so Jesus answers the question. He begins with the word truly. This is an amazing word. In the Greek, it’s amen.

Amen. Whenever I read the Word to you earlier, I asked you with a question mark. I said, this is God’s word, Amen. And many of you said, amen. What were you saying?

I was asking, do you agree with this? And you said, yes, we agree with this. The word Amen means even more than that. It means not only Do I agree with it? But let it be so in me.

Amen. It’s the truth. Let it be so in me. Now, you said amen after I said something. But Jesus, Amen himself before he even said a thing.

Who else but God can do a thing like that? Amen. I’m telling you something that’s true. Throughout the Scriptures he often used the double amen. And it would be translated, truly.

Truly, I say unto you, sometimes it’s translated. I tell you the truth, but it’s the double amen. He goes, amen, Amen. Da da da da da. But here he goes, amen.

I say to you, what I’m about to tell you, you can take to the bank.

I know you’re asking. You’ve expressed confidence. I’m giving you back.

I’m depositing into you faith to believe now. Amen. I say to you. Truly. I say to you, you’ve asked for me.

Here I come like that. You can take this to the bank. Amen. And then he says, today. Truly, I say to you, today.

Jesus, will you remember me when he goes? Today? How about today? It better be today. They’re dying on the cross.

There won’t be a tomorrow for this thief. He won’t make it till tomorrow. By tomorrow he’ll already be facing the judgment seat and he’ll be going into a Christless eternity and facing an eternal place called h***. Without Jesus, it better be today. He didn’t say tomorrow.

He didn’t say, after you do X, Y and Z, he goes, you know what? You need to get down from the cross and you need to do this and do this and keep that commandment and follow this. Well, the man couldn’t do any of those things. Salvation is beyond him. If these things are required, thank the Lord.

They’re not required. None of these things are required. What is required, Jesus, remember me is required. Confessing with the mouth Jesus is, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. King Jesus.

Jesus your Lord. And I believe in my heart about you, about who you are. You’re the Holy One. This man has done nothing wrong. He said, when?

Today. This very day. It’s an urgent request. And it receives an urgent reply. Today.

But it gets more complicated. Today you will be well. Will be is future tense. Today you’re saved. And you will be with me.

When are we saved? The moment we say, jesus, remember me. The moment we breathe it.

Well, how do we know? Well, you will be. You’ll know. You’ll already know. But then you will know.

There’s this already not yet thing going on here. Jesus has saved us. He is saving us, and he will save us. Jesus saves. When you say Jesus, remember me.

He saves you in that very moment. That very moment, right. The minute you pray it. You don’t have to do anything to earn it. You can do nothing to earn it.

You’re hung on the cross. You can do nothing. You’re dying for your sins. You’re already dead. You’ve already been.

The thing is above your head. The inscription’s already there. This is a sinner headed for h***. Right now, the only thing you can do is say, remember me, Jesus. Remember me, Jesus.

That’s all you can do. You can’t come down and help yourself. Once you get to that place, though, once you recognize, I can do nothing but look at him say, remember me, Jesus.

He says, when? And then he goes, today you will be. I will save you in this very moment, and I will keep you. And then someday I will take you to be with me. What’s going to happen pretty quick for this fellow this very day.

Oh, we see so much in this that Jesus says to the criminal on the cross, today you will be. Isaiah says, before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking, I will hear. I think whenever the criminal on the cross began to form the words, when he looked at Jesus and made the shape of Jesus in his mouth, that the answer was already yes. Because the heart precedes the mouth.

The heart was already believing before the mouth called. And in that very moment, Isaiah says, before you even called, I heard you. Before you even spoke, I answered you. Here he is. He’s going.

Jesus. He’s already going to My yes is on the table. I was calling you before you were born. I loved you with an everlasting love. I say it to you before you even ask.

But yes, I remember you. In Psalm 91, it says, the Lord says, I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. When they call on me, I will answer. I will be with them in trouble.

I will rescue and honor them. Have you called upon the Lord? Have you said, jesus, remember me? You see, that name Jesus is important. He said, jesus, remember me.

Look what Peter said in his very first sermon. Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. What’s the name? What’s the name above every name? There’s no name given under heaven except by which we might be saved.

And that’s the name of Jesus, right? That’s Acts 4:12. Jesus. That’s the name. Who do you call upon?

Jesus. When you can’t think of anything else to say, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, remember me. Not as a cuss word, not as a doubt word, as a faith word asking for salvation.

If you’re married here today and guys don’t answer it out loud, I don’t want you to get in trouble. Do you remember the day, the day of your anniversary? Some of you are like going, it’s in my smartphone. Let me get that out. It’s written down somewhere.

I got it on the inside of my ring. My wife made sure she inscribed my ring. It’s right there on the inside. It says, RDC to GWC 6279. That’s when I got married.

I don’t remember all the details, but I remember a lot of the details.

Was it when you get down on your knee and ask for her hand? Did that make you married? Was it when you the engagement ring upon her finger, Was that the moment you were married? Was it when you ordered the tux? Was it when you had the ceremony and said, I do?

Was it when the preacher said, I now present to you Mr. And Israel, when exactly were you married? Well, it was somewhere in there. It’s like somewhere in there it happened. But if I were to ask you, are you married? You’d say, you better believe it.

You have no doubt about that. You know if you’re married or not, but you can’t. When did it happen exactly? It was somewhere in there.

I said, I do. And so did she. Here’s what I want you to Christ is the husband and the church is the bride. And he has already said, I do. He in fact, has said, I’ve done it.

I have already said, I do. I’m asking you now to be mine. I desire you, I want you. I died for you. My yes is on the table.

How about you?

Will you say yes? And if you do, he has already said yes. Here’s the third. Here’s the third insight. So the first is that Jesus hears the prayer of faith.

The second is he answers immediately. And the third is rest in Christ’s eternal presence. We’re at the last part of verse 43. Today you will be with me in paradise. With me in paradise.

First, let’s look at this word paradise. That word’s only in the Bible. It’s only in the Bible three times. It’s a word that comes from the Persian language. The idea seems to be in the Persian, it’s a king’s walled garden.

So it’d Be like a gated garden that the king would have built for himself and for his family and maybe for those that were closest to him. Where entrance. You had to be a family member of the king to get into it. And it would be filled with these beautiful plantings and just a place of beauty and of delight. And so it comes from the Persian, if you’ll remember, the Israelites were in captivity to the Persians for a while.

The Babylonians had carried them off. And then the Persians overthrew the Babylonians. And so then they were under the Persians. This is when the Book of Esther was written, for instance. She was under King Xerxes.

Xerxes was Persian. So this was a season. So they learned a lot of Persian words. And so this word paradise, which came from the Persian meaning a king’s walled garden, came into Jewish language, Hebrew language. It only occurs three times in the Bible, and two times it’s in the voice of Jesus.

He speaks it twice. The apostle Paul speaks it the other time. So for the Jews, it came to mean a picture of the Garden of Eden, like paradise and the Garden of Eden, they kind of use it synonymously. So Jesus seems to use the word in a similar way in Revelation 2, 7. This is Jesus speaking.

He’s speaking to John, and he says, john, tell the churches this. He says, he who has ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. And so you see the imagery of the Garden of Eden where the tree of life was. Except now he seems to be pointing to heaven.

He’s using paradise, like heaven is kind of like what God always meant for us to have, except now you’ll have eternal life, the Tree of Life. So he’s using it like that.

Some believe he was referring to what the Jews call Hades. Hades, if you look at Luke, Chapter 16, was a place that was the abode for the dead. Hades was not h***. Hades was a place where all the dead went according to Jewish understanding. Except in Hades, there was a boundary separating the righteous from the wicked.

And In Luke chapter 16, in the parable of Lazarus, and the rich man Jesus talks about, and he says, lazarus went down into Hades, except he went into what was called Abraham’s bosom and to the side with the righteous. But the rich man died, and he went into a place that was burning, and there was a boundary between them. And this was a place called Hades. And so some believe that paradise is where Jesus descended After he died on the cross, that he descended to Hades, and he emptied Abraham’s bosom, which. Which was paradise, and brought it into heaven.

A third view is found from what Paul said. The Apostle Paul used the word synonymously with heaven. In Second Corinthians, chapter 12. He was speaking of himself in the third person. He said, I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven.

Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise. So that’s the third time you see paradise in the Scripture. And he says, I was caught up into the third heaven.

Now, the third heaven is the unseen heaven. The first heaven is the blue sky. The Jews had three heavens in there, thinking during the daytime. That’s the first heaven. Blue sky, sunshine.

Second heaven was nighttime. Stars, moon, you can see farther. Third heaven is the unseen heaven. That’s the heaven as we view it. He says, I was caught up in the third heaven.

I don’t know if it was physically or in the Spirit, but I was caught up in it. And I saw things that are too wonderful to even speak of. And then he called it paradise synonymously. So which is it? Pastor, we’re waiting.

You’ve given us three views. Which one do you believe in? I don’t know. But here’s what I do know, and here’s what really matters. Paradise was a footnote.

With me is the fact today you will be with me. Here’s what Jesus is saying to us. You’re going to be with me, and with me is paradise. With me is heaven. With me is wonderful.

Wherever I am, that’s heaven. Wherever Jesus is, that’s where the kingdom of God is. That’s heaven, Paradise. I’m not sure which one it is. Is it synonymous with heaven?

Is it one of these other views? Here’s what I know. What matters is. Underline it in your text. You will be with Jesus.

He says, you’ll be with me. Here’s what Charles Spurgeon said about this. He says, if the Lord said, today shalt thou be with me, we should not need him to add another word, for where he is is heaven to us. He added the word paradise because else none could have guessed where he was going. Think of it, you uncomely soul.

You are to dwell with the altogether lovely one forever. You poor and needy ones, you are to be with him in his glory, in his bliss, in his. In his perfection, where he is. And as he is, you shall be way to go, Dr. Spurgeon. Preacher Spurgeon.

Jesus is our heaven, wherever he is. Now, some of us are troubled about this. Where are you going, Jesus? Is it paradise? Is it Heaven?

Whatever the name of it is, he says this. He says, let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you.

I go there to prepare a place for you. That where I am, you may be also. It’s a prepared place. It’s a perfect place. It’s an eternal place.

I don’t know if you should call it heaven or paradise, but it’s with Jesus.

He says, you’ll be with Me today. You will be with Me when we get to heaven. Someday. There he’ll be. I don’t know his name.

He’s unnamed. Both criminals are unnamed. Because both criminals represent us. The names are left anonymous, so you can put your name there. Which one are you?

Which side of the cross are you on the left or the right? Are you the unbelieving, doubting agnostic who says, eh, Jesus, if youf’re really real, fix this for me and maybe I’ll believe youe. Get me out of this mess and maybe I’ll believe. Or are you the one who said, jesus, I’m a sinner. I deserve to die.

I’m not asking you to get me out of this. I’m just asking you to remember me in your kingdom. I want to be part of your kingdom. I want to follow you. Which one are you?

Which one are you? Which criminal are you? If you say, Jesus, remember me, he says, amen. Truly, I say to you, you will be with me today. You will be with me in Paradise.

This reminds me of a hymn that I grew up singing, written by William Cowper in the year 1772. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath the flood. Lose all their guilty stains. Lose all their guilty stains.

Lose all their guilty stains. And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.

Listen to this second verse. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there have I, though vile as He, Washed all my sins away. Washed all my sins away.

Washed all my sins away. And there am I, though vile as He, Washed all my sins away. I am that criminal. I deserve death. But Jesus has answered my prayer.

Jesus, remember me. He has looked at me with his loving face of grace and compassion. He has said, today you will be with Me? How about you? Which one are you?

Which side of the cross are you on? Will you join the dying thief in responding to Christ’s promised salvation, praying a prayer of faith, believing, knowing that he answers immediately and receiving the rest that he alone can give in your soul? Let’s pray. Lord, I first pray for the one here today that finally has come face to face with the cross of Christ, finally understood what it is that Jesus has done for you, that he is asking you now, will you receive me?

And he’s just waiting for your prayer. He will not answer. He will not even hear your doubt, your accusing blasphemy, your sarcastic reply. He just says, father, forgive them when we do that. But if you would say with me right now, Jesus, remember me right where you are, right in your seat.

That’s what he’s waiting for. Jesus, remember me. I believe that you died on the cross for me, that you rose from the grave and live today. I believe that. Jesus, save me, forgive me of my sin.

Come into my life. I want to be with you. I want you to come and live in me and make me the kind of person you want me to be. I want to spend eternity with you and I want to start right now following you. Jesus, remember me.

And Jesus says to you, today you’ll be with me.

Others are here today. Would you be encouraged by this? Would you be reminded of what a great love and what a great gift salvation is In Jesus name, Amen.