Title: Jesus and the Thief
Bible/Luke 23:39-42,
Title/Jesus and the Robber
Pakistan is an Islamic country. Islam is also known as Islam or Mohammed. A young Christian woman in Pakistan was arrested and sentenced to death in front of Muslims for saying that Jesus gave his life to save us and what Muhammad did for you. It is said that he was spared the death penalty and was released after being punished.
[John 13:1] “---Jesus knew that the hour had come when he would leave the world and return to the Father, and he loved his people in the world, and he loved them to the end.” Jesus came into the world to call sinners to repentance. He did his best to save sinners until the very end, until the last moment.
Today's verse is about Jesus being crucified and dying, and two thieves were crucified on either side of the cross. And one of the robbers repented of his sins and believed in Jesus, so he was saved just before he died and went to heaven with Jesus. In this text, there is a word from God to us.
1. There is no sin that does not need forgiveness.
In the Bible, when referring to sin, such words as felonies and great sins are used. [Exodus 32:21] “Moses said to Aaron, What have you done to this people, that you have caused them to fall into grave sins?” Aaron said to the golden calf idol was called a felony. It is a felony to make an idol. It is not a light sin. It is a serious sin. In Job 31:9-11, “When my heart was seduced by a woman and looked at the neighbor’s door and waited and waited, then it is right for my wife to turn the rod of another and sleep with another. This is a felony, an evil punishable by the judge, and destruction. It is a fire that devours to the fullest, and it will consume all my produce, even to the root.” It is a grave sin to have a lustful heart toward another woman. It is such a great sin that even if he had such a temptation in his heart, his wife would be robbed by another man by turning another man's mill, and it should be ruined with nothing left.
In general, people take sin seriously. Murder, robbery, fraud, and adultery are serious sins, and not obeying traffic laws, swearing, slandering, and slandering others are not sins. However, it cannot be argued that sin is actually large or small. The heart and motive of committing a sin are at issue. Even if you have not committed adultery, you have committed adultery. Even if God does not commit murder, if he hates or swears at him, he treats him the same as if he killed him. Therefore, his heart must be pure and pure.
Those crucified with Jesus are robbers. Luke called them evildoers. Matthew said he was a robber. The expression is different, but the meaning is the same. They weren't good people. He was caught robbery and sentenced to death. [Matthew 5:26] Truly, I say to you, you will by no means come out of there until you have repaid all the money, even if it is not.
After you go to jail, you will never be able to get out until you pay everything back. The opportunity to repent of your sins and the time to be forgiven is only when you are alive. If you die and are thrown into hell, you will never come out of it. All sins must be forgiven before death.
2. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven. (Exception for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit)
These two men were unhealthy people. These are people who are far from living kindly for themselves, let alone benefiting anyone else. People who have never done good deeds. If it had a long tail, he would have been caught after robbing him for the rest of his life. It is heavy in terms of the gravity of sin. It is a sin that deserves great punishment.
But God placed them even near the cross. Because there is no unforgivable sin. There is a little thief. There is a big thief. It is called 大盜. These are robbers and evildoers. a great sinner But God placed them next to Jesus, who was crucified to save sinners. It is for forgiveness. If the sin is so serious that there is no possibility of being forgiven, he would not have stayed with Jesus. There is no sin that cannot be forgiven except for the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.
3. It is never too late to be saved.
Man lives in time and lives with time. If you have time you can do it, if you don't have time you can't. They say they can't because they don't have time, they say they can't because they don't have time. They say they don't have time to die. Some people say that they can't believe in Jesus because they don't have time, and they can't go to church because they don't have time. That's because there's so much to do. It's because I'm trying to do a lot of work alone. If I have a lot of work, share it with other people, do it a little bit, do it later, then I might have time, but his greed blocks me, so I don't have time to do it all alone. I don't have much time to do the work myself, so I don't have time.
We have two dogs at home, but they have different personalities. One guy trembles when giving food. But one man stands still. Do you give more because you are shivering, or do you not give because you are still? Not like that. The owner knows everything and gives it appropriately. A Christian must believe in God's sovereignty. Even if you're not good at your job because you're clumsy, the world doesn't fall apart because of it. Have human beings ever worked as perfect as God? It is not. Yet the world did not perish. Because God rules the world. You must have faith that God will do good even if you are clumsy and not good at it. If you have that kind of leeway, you can entrust the work to someone else and use the same 24 hours effectively.
Two robbers came to Jesus in the last moments of their lives. There is not much time left. It didn't come voluntarily, but it was forcibly drawn by the soldiers. Only the rustic remains. How precious is the remaining time? Even though I came so late, I was saved. It's never too late to be saved. Even now, if you believe in Jesus here and now, you will be saved.
4. Salvation is God's grace and gift.
If a person is saved by ordinary deeds, if God sees the person's actions and saves them, can these thieves be saved? Are you worthy of salvation? What good deeds would give those caught robbery for the rest of their lives to give them a chance to be saved? But God sees works and does not save. [Titus 3:5] He saved us, not because of our works of righteousness, but according to his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
Salvation is God's grace and gift. God saves those he wants to save and gives grace to those he wants to give grace to. That is why [Exodus 33:19] "said the LORD -- I give grace to whomever I will give, and to whom I will have mercy I have mercy."
Why does God not save according to works, but by the grace of God? (Ephesians 2:8) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:9) ]It is not of works, so that no one can boast. Because I am good, I have done many good things, so I have saved you-- so that they do not boast. I am only saved by the grace of God, so I am going to say that. Praise those who are saved by grace. However, there is nothing to praise for those who think that they are good and saved.=The grace of the Lord who saved a sinner like me is amazing
5. Salvation is given to those who deserve it.
If you see that the robbers came to the flesh, they were dragged away by the soldiers, but it is grace that they came to Jesus. It is grace to die on the cross like Jesus. I went to Jesus at the last moment and saw Jesus with my own eyes, so there is nothing other than grace.
Wasn't he the one who came closest to the cross of Jesus? But only one of them was saved. Jesus promised only one, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Why? Because only one of them understood everything. At first, the two robbers cursed and slandered Jesus together. But as time passed, one realized his mistake. Although Jesus was crucified like himself, he realized that he had done nothing wrong.
Jesus had no sin to be crucified. A thief has a sin that deserves to be crucified. However, it is grace for the thief that Jesus was crucified with. It is grace that a thief was crucified with Jesus, and it is grace that Jesus was crucified like a thief. But one thief was saved and the other was not.
Salvation is for those who deserve it. Those who do not receive it even if they put it next to the cross will not receive it. Are there people these days who do not believe in Jesus because they do not know Him? Is there anyone who can't attend church because there is no church? Grace is received by those who deserve it. A proud person will not receive it, and a person who does not know him/herself will not receive it. The thief even brought him to the cross, but he was not saved. Until the very end, they cursed and criticized Jesus. poor man
[Psalm 49:20] “Those who are in honour, but do not understand are like beasts that perish.” How precious is it to be near the cross of Jesus? It was brought to the side of the cross and was meant to be seen, heard, and realized in all circumstances. To be human is to know how to understand. A person who is human knows how to understand. But an unhuman person does not understand. However, there are people who do not understand even when they die. What is the difference between an animal and a beast?
It is God's work to bring him to the cross. It is his work to believe. God only takes him near the cross. What I believe is what I have to do. Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” The Lord knocks only outside the door of the heart. Do not force open and enter. I have to open the door. It is the person who hears the knocking and has to open the door.
What a great grace to have the Lord come to the door of my heart out of so many people. How great a grace to come to the cross of Jesus among so many people. What a great honor it is to die with the Lord, but how pitiful that we did not realize it until the very end. How blessed are those who realize at the moment of death and are saved? Life in the world ends like that, but the Lord took you to paradise, so what a great honor it is to begin life in paradise with the Lord.
It is said that Mencius' mother moved three times to educate her son. It is said that when he moved near the school, he studied and became an adult. People are greatly influenced by their surroundings. God makes you live near the church, makes you live in the church, and makes you see the cross when you open your eyes--- it is grace. It is a message to understand and be saved. If you are saved, you have realized your dignity, and if you lose the opportunity of salvation, you are no different from the beasts that perish.
I pray in the name of Jesus that you will come to know the sovereignty and grace of God.