Would you please turn with me again in your Bible to Luke chapter 23? And just to put the verses that we've already read in context, let's begin at verse 32. We'll be considering those verses onward. 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. 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. Let's pray. Oh God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we gather here this morning to glorify you. And we hope to do this by magnifying and glorifying the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior. knowing that He is the radiance of your glory, and that to give honor to Him is to give honor to you. Lord, be present in this place by your Spirit this morning, and glorify yourself through Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Our text this morning describes particular details of the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. That was the awful and yet wonderful day that the sinless Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, God in the flesh, the God-man, offered Himself up as a blood sacrifice to God the Father on behalf of sinners. That was the day that Christ opened the way to heaven for fallen, sinful, corrupt, and rebellious creatures so that we could be forgiven for our sins and reconciled to God, our Creator. Everything that went before pointed forward to that day. Everything that has happened since looks backward to that day. That crucifixion and the resurrection that followed might rightly be called the focal point of human history. Our passage is part of the gospel narrative. It tells us facts about what was done and what was said during the early hours of that crucifixion. It offers little in the way of doctrinal explanation of what was accomplished and how it was accomplished by Christ on the cross. Those are found sometimes in the shadowy prophecies of the Old Testament, but more often in the plain teaching throughout the pages of the New Testament. Just as a preliminary matter, we're going to work down through these verses that we've read with some brief comments about them, because they paint a stark picture of what was taking place on that hill that day. Just to comment briefly about what was being accomplished there. The Bible says, for our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin. so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. It says, he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed, for you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls. here in his love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means that Christ himself was a sacrifice which appeased and quieted the wrath of God against those for whom he died, and instead caused God to look with favor upon them. The gospel tells us that whoever believes in Christ will have sins forgiven and will receive eternal life. This is because the believer's sins were counted to Christ on the cross. He bore them and paid the penalty for them. Christ's righteousness is then counted to the believing sinner. Sins were counted to Christ who had no sin of his own. And Christ's righteousness is counted to the believer who has no righteousness of his own. This morning, though, we're going to be looking at the events that happened and the words that were spoken during those first few hours. These narrative facts give us a lot of instruction in the way of salvation. Verse 32. Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. This was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy found in Isaiah 53, where it says that the Christ, when he poured out his soul unto death, would be numbered with the transgressors. We're told here in Luke that the two men who were led to execution with him were criminals. The old King James translation renders the word Mappifactors or evildoers. They were indeed evildoers. But the parallel passages that we can read in Matthew and in Mark shed even more light upon who these men were. In those passages, we are told that they were robbers. The older translation describes them as thieves, but they were more than thieves. A thief is someone who steals your property when you're not looking, usually by stealth. A robber takes theft to a higher level. A robber is someone who takes your property from you personally by force and violence or by the threat of force and violence. He steals your property from you face to face. The same Greek word that describes these two men as robbers is used in Luke 10 in the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers. who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. In modern terms, we would call these two men bandits, hold-up men, stick-up men. These two men who were crucified with Jesus were hard guys. Verse 33 tells us, 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. The place where they crucified Jesus was called the skull. That's the translation from the Greek. In Hebrew, the word is Golgotha. In Latin, the word is Calvary. And it's from that Latin word that we have gotten our English word Calvary. meaning skull. Nobody really knows for sure why it was called the skull. Some think that it was because as a place of execution, skulls could still be found around the site. Others think that it was a hill that was in the shape of a skull. Either way, it was a grim name for a grim place that was used for a grim purpose. And it was also located outside the gates of the city. And we're told why in Hebrews chapter 13. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sins are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. He was the true sacrifice who shed his own blood outside the gate instead of the animals that had been sacrificed for centuries before. In verse 34, Jesus says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. The Lord Jesus Christ, when nailed to the cross, prayed for the people who were murdering him. This fulfills the prophecy in Isaiah 53, yet he bore the sin of many and makes intercession for the transgressors. And several weeks after his death, we read in the book of Acts how this intercessory prayer was answered. In Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost, he confronts the men of Israel. He tells them to hear these words, how that Jesus of Nazareth, the man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your sight, as you yourselves know, This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men." And he goes on to say, God has made this Jesus both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified And it says, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. for the promises for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls. So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about 3,000 souls. God the Father did forgive them, at least those who crucified Christ without knowing what they were doing. They repented and believed in Christ. They became Christians. Christ's prayer from the cross was answered. It tells us that they cast lots to divide Jesus' garments. Before they crucified Him, they stripped Him. And then they gambled to see who would get His clothes. that fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy from Psalm 22. They divide my garments among them and from my clothing, or for my clothing they cast lots. When we come to verses 35 to 37, it tells us, 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. The rulers scoffed at him. The soldiers mocked him. And the words they used were strikingly similar. If he is the Christ, if you are the king of the Jews, They challenged him to come down from the cross to save himself and to prove his claim to be the Christ and the King of the Jews. These words have a very familiar ring to them, don't they? They echo words spoken to Jesus on an earlier occasion at the beginning of his ministry. During Christ's temptation in the wilderness, Satan said to Jesus, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become bread. If you are the son of God, throw yourself down. Now in the final hours at the end of his ministry, similar words are being hurled at him. Let him save himself if he's the Christ. If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. It may well be that these mockings at the cross were indeed the last temptation of Christ. Jesus was challenged to use his miraculous power to benefit or to save himself to come down from the cross. Just as he would not do it in the wilderness to benefit himself, he would not do it on the cross. He would not use his supernatural power to save himself. He could have ended the torture that he was suffering. He could have prevented the horrible experience of having the outpoured wrath of God poured upon him as he bore the sins of his people on the tree. But this he would not do. He came to do his father's will and to do it perfectly. He had come for this purpose, to die as the sacrifice for his people. And thanks be to God that he didn't come down from that cross. If he had, the entire human race would perish in its sins. Verse 38 says, there was also an inscription over him. This is the King of the Jews. Earlier in the same chapter, when Jesus stood before Pilate before being condemned to death, we read that Pilate asked him, are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered, it is as you say. Of course, the sign that was put over him was meant to mock him, to make him a laughingstock. were told in other gospel accounts that it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin so that everybody who came by would understand what was being said and could join in the mocking. The chief priest had asked Pilate to change that, not to say that, but to write, he said, I am the king of the Jews. And Pilate said, what I have written, I have written. The inscription? intended to mock him, announced the truth about him. Then we come to verses 39 to 40. 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. Here we see one of the robbers on one of the crosses next to Jesus joining the chorus of the rulers and the soldiers. He's echoing the mocking of Jesus, and he's saying, if you're the Christ, save the three of us. In the parallel accounts in Matthew and Mark, we're told that the robbers, plural, reviled Jesus. Now, it may be in those accounts that The language is simply using a way of speaking to attribute the actions of one person in a group to the entire group. Or, in the more literal sense of what it says, it means that both robbers were reviling and mocking Jesus at the beginning of the crucifixion. That means that one of the robbers that we're going to be reading about now had an incredible change of heart. He had an incredible change of heart whether he had joined in initially or not. He was a hardened criminal who was now making a complete turn in his attitude toward Jesus. And what follows with this second robber is an amazing exchange. This robber rebukes his companion 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. These verses give us a very brief but a very clear example of repentance and faith and of the pure grace of God through Jesus Christ. I'd like to point out four things that these verses tell us that this repentant robber had come to understand. First, he understood that God is to be feared. The verse says, the other rebuked him saying, do you not fear God since you are under the same condemnation? This robber understood that God is the judge. and the judge is to be feared. If this robber merely expected to die on the cross in the next few hours and then just to pass into non-existence or into oblivion, he'd have no reason to fear God. His life would soon be over and nothing would follow. The worst that could be done to him was already being done to him. He had been condemned to die by the civil authorities. But this man understood that he still had to face God and then the judgment. The fear of God is described, taught, and commanded throughout all the scriptures from beginning to end. Listen to just a few places where scripture tells us about this. God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation every day. The words of Christ himself, and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Christ again. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will tell you whom to fear. Fear him who after he is killed has authority to cast into hell. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire. In Romans chapter 3, the scriptures describe the condition of the entire corrupt, sinful, unbelieving human race by saying, there is no fear of God before their eyes. By contrast, many places in scripture describe believers in God as those who fear Him. This robber rightly understood that the living and true God is to be feared. Second, he understood that he himself was rightly under condemnation. In other words, the sentence of death that the robbers received was fair and just because they were getting exactly what they deserved. They were getting justice. Go into downtown Pittsburgh. and go to the county courthouse on a day when court is in session. And go to any courtroom where a criminal is being sentenced for his crime. He's appearing before the judge. He's now standing there to be sentenced. Before the judge passes sentence, the defendant and his attorney are given the opportunity to speak to the judge. When they do, it is almost never that you will hear either one of them speak the way that this robber on the cross spoke. What you will hear is an argument as to why the defendant deserves mercy. It will tell the judge why the man deserves mercy. There is a profound understanding of what mercy is. is the opposite of justice. Mercy is the exception to justice. If you are given justice, you are given exactly what you deserve. If you are given mercy, you are not given what you deserve. You are being treated in a way that makes an exception to justice. You will almost never hear a defendant say to the judge, whatever you give me, whatever punishment you sentence me to according to the law, I deserve it. The robber on the cross understood that. He made no excuses for himself. He understood who he was and that he was justly condemned. Third, he understood that Jesus is the king. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Just think of how astonishing that is. Sometime between the third and the sixth hours, between 9 a.m. and 12 noon, an amazing change took place in this robber's heart. He likely began, as with the other robber, reviling and heaping scorn on Jesus. And now he understands that Jesus is coming into a kingdom, his kingdom, as the king. Imagine the circumstances that you have here. Jesus has been sent to execution with this robber. They're dying together. Jesus has been stripped of His clothing. His hands and His feet have been nailed to the cross. He was already bloodied and bruised from beatings and floggings and from having a crown of thorns crushed down into the flesh of His forehead. He's a ghastly, sickening sight hanging on the next cross. The inscription is fixed over his head mockingly, the King of the Jews. And now this robber believes it. While the crowd mocks and taunts Jesus, this robber now knows that Jesus is the Christ, the King of the Jews. He also understood something that even Jesus' own disciples often had difficulty with, that the kingdom of which Jesus is the king is not now of this world. He could see that Jesus was dying. He could see that in spite of all the challenges to come down from the cross, Jesus did not come down from the cross. He could see that Jesus was going to die. So he understood that Jesus was entering into a kingdom after death. While all the religious rulers, the scribes, the soldiers, the crowd laughed and mocked Jesus, this bandit, this hold up man, believed in Christ. How could this be? He never saw Christ perform miracles. We aren't told that he ever heard Jesus preach. There was absolutely nothing about Jesus' appearance as he hung bleeding on the cross that would make anyone think that he was a king, the Christ, the Son of God. How could this be? And the answer is very simple. The robber came to understand these things in the same way that the apostle Peter came to understand these things. Remember back at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said to his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. Flesh and blood didn't reveal it to Peter. Flesh and blood didn't reveal it to the robber on the cross, and flesh and blood doesn't reveal it to anybody. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Fourth, this robber also understood that his only hope was in the mercy of the King. Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Two little words, remember me. The robber obviously was not asking Jesus to remember who he was or what he had done throughout his whole life. If he was remembered in that way, he would go to condemnation. No, this was simply a plea for mercy. A plea to the King for mercy. The robber understood that unless the king granted mercy, he perished. If the king remembered him, he had hope. These two little words were part of the prayers of several of the people of God throughout the long history of Israel. When Samson was blinded and bound in the temple of the Philistines, just before he collapsed the pillars and brought the temple down, he prayed to God, remember me. When a barren Hannah, the mother of Samuel, prayed to God for a son, she prayed, remember me. After Nehemiah had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, he prayed to God, remember me. When Job was deep in his afflictions, he asked God, remember me. The prophet Jeremiah, during his persecution, prayed, remember me. But perhaps the closest to the plea of the dying robber was found in David's prayer in Psalm 25. Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions according to your steadfast love. Remember me for the sake of your goodness. That robber was in good company when he made his plea to Christ. Remember me. Notice that there was nothing that the robber could do but ask for mercy. His hands and his feet were nailed to the wood, just like Jesus. He's going to be dead in a matter of hours. He can't go anywhere. He can't do anything. Good works are impossible for him. He can't participate in any kind of religious activity. He can't do anything but believe in the Christ and ask for mercy. This may be the clearest real-life example in the Bible of justification by faith alone apart from works. Although the words are different, the robber's plea is very reminiscent of the account that Jesus gives of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In Luke 18, it says that two men went up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee prayed, thanking God for how much better he was than other men. The tax collector, standing afar off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Jesus tells us this man went down to his house justified, rather than the Pharisee. God be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus, remember me. In both instances, God granted their pleas. Finally, in verse 43, it says, Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. This may be one of the most stupendous statements in all the Bible. The Lord Jesus Christ, hanging, bleeding, dying on a Roman cross, grants the robber's plea and bestows upon him the pure, saving grace of God. He speaks with the authority of the King, with the authority of God. Truly, I say to you." Every word that ever came out of Jesus' mouth was the truth, but many times He would begin something that He was going to say with, truly, I say to you, or truly, truly, I say to you. It means the words are certain, verily, verily, amen, amen. He used that phrase, truly I say to you, all through the Sermon on the Mount while the king was laying down the law for his own kingdom. And now hanging on a cross, dying, he says to this man, truly I say to you. The next words were certain. They were beyond doubt. Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Not someday, not at the end of a life of walking the straight and narrow path and being afflicted with the afflictions of this world and the temptations of this world. Today, before the day is over, you, what he's saying is you, bandit, hold up man, you will be with me, the Christ. Son of God in paradise. And we know what he means by paradise. In 2nd Corinthians, Paul tells us about being caught up into paradise, and he identifies it as heaven. In Revelation, We're told about paradise and it's speaking of heaven. Jesus is telling that robber, for a certainty today you will be with me in heaven. Can there be a clearer, more powerful picture of the sovereign grace of God in salvation? He has mercy on whomever He wills. And in the coming ages, He will show us the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Praise God. Praise Christ. Praise Him for His amazing grace to poor lost sinners. A few minutes for some application. In any public gathering of a Christian church on the Lord's Day, there's almost guaranteed to be present, both believers and unbelievers. A passage like this speaks to both. First, to believers, to Christians. You do understand, don't you, that all of us are the robber on the cross. We may have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ by different paths and from different backgrounds. Some of us may have been criminals. Some of us may have been religious, self-righteous Pharisees. We've come from every known category of sin. But in God's sight, we're all the same. There's not a nickel's worth of difference between any of us and the robber on the cross. If we have come to believe in Jesus Christ, it's because God the Father has revealed him to us. If we have been saved from our sins and given eternal life, it's because the King has shown us mercy. May we give him unending worship and praise. May we thank him forever for his grace toward us. And may we in this life walk worthy of the gospel. to the unbelievers who may be here this morning. Deep down, you probably know who you are. I don't know who you are. But Jesus Christ knows who you are. If you're sitting in this church this morning, It's because God brought you here. These words are for you. They aren't pleasant words, but they're the truth. The Word of God describes you. The Bible says that you were spiritually dead in your sins. that you are separated from Christ, without hope, and without God in the world. It says that you are a rebel against the God who made you, and that you are waging war against God. The Word of God says that you are a lost sinner. on your way to an eternity in hell? Do you have even a measure of the understanding of reality that the robber on the cross had? Ask yourself these questions and answer them with Judgment Day honesty. Do you understand, as the robber did, that God is to be feared? Is there any fear of God before your eyes? God is the righteous judge before whom you will stand on Resurrection Day. Without a Savior who died in your place and paid for your sins, you'll stand alone and bear the full condemnation of God in that judgment. You will not be able to stand, and you will hear the terrifying words, depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. You may say, I believe in God. I believe in God, but my God is not like that. My God would never do such a thing. But you have never come to grips with the living and true God or with His Christ. You are a complete stranger to the God who has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. The truth is, your God is nothing but a creation of your own imagination. He's an idol that you fashioned and clothed with the characteristics that please you. Do you fear the living and true God? Do you understand, as the robber did, that you are rightly and justly under God's condemnation? You may not think that you are. You may not feel that you are. You may be very satisfied with your life and the way things are going for you. You can't imagine that God would be angry with you. But He can't tolerate sin. He will not allow sin in His presence. He is the Holy of Holies. It's very important you face this truth instead of depending on your feelings. In John 3, verse 36, it says, whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. Notice that it does not say that the wrath of God is distant and someday may come upon you. It says that whoever does not believe the Son, whoever does not obey the Son, the wrath of God remains on them. It stays on them. It stays right where it's always been. And it will come ultimately. in full horrifying force on the last day. Do you understand that Jesus is the King? The only sight the robber had in front of him was a bleeding, bruised, beaten Jesus on a cross. You have the full testimony, the full light of Scripture that tells us who Jesus is. At his birth, the wise men came looking for the one who was born King of the Jews. At the end of his ministry before Pilate, when Pilate said, are you a king? He said, I am. You say that I am. For this purpose, I was born. For this purpose, I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. After his resurrection, he tells his disciples, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And after his ascension into heaven, we're told he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Jesus is the king of heaven and earth, and you must have heart dealings with the king if you are ever to be saved from your sins and reconciled to God. Do you understand that? Do you understand that your only hope is if this King shows you mercy? Your only path to God is through this King. He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The Bible tells us there's salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Settle it in your mind and in your heart. There's no other way to God except by coming to Jesus, the King. All other roads lead to hell. The King must extend mercy to you. But praise God, the king loves to show mercy. He came to save sinners. He came to save his people from their sins. He has saved and He will continue to save every kind of sinner that there is. It doesn't matter how horrible your sins. It doesn't matter what the nature of your sins may be. It doesn't matter if your sins are a mountain that reach to the heavens. If the King has mercy on you, He will wash away your sins in His own blood. He blots them out. He saves the sexually immoral. He saves idolaters. He saves adulterers. He saves homosexuals. He saves thieves. He saves the greedy. He saves drunkards. He saves revilers. He saves swindlers. In 1 Corinthians, after reciting that list of sinners, and describing them as those who will never inherit the kingdom of God. The apostle Paul then says to the Corinthian Christians, and such were some of you. But you were washed. You were sanctified. You were justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. And we could add to the apostles' words And such were some of us. That's who we were. He came to save his people from their sins. The gospel is a two-edged sword. It's a message of eternal life, and it's a message of eternal death. Don't think that by this example, the dying man saved in his dying hours, that that means that you can put off having heart dealings with the king until your deathbed, or even until tomorrow. For all you know, this may be your last day on earth. You may be dead when the sun goes down this evening. And then you will be in eternity, either with the King or in hell. If God, by His grace, has enabled you to hear His voice speaking in and through His Word this morning, don't harden your heart. The Word of God says, today if you hear His voice, don't harden your heart. If you slough it off and walk out of this place today, you'll walk out with a heart that's harder than the one you came in with. God has set before you life and death. Why will you die? Choose life. But how do you choose life? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to Jesus. End your rebellion and stack arms. Come to your rightful king. Bow before your king. and ask him for mercy. He's a good king. He's a great king. He's the greatest of all kings. There's never been a king like him and never will be a king like him. And to you, a repenting rebel, he will grant a full and free pardon. of all your rebellion and all your sins. He will welcome you into his eternal kingdom. He will make you a new creation. He will make you a son or a daughter of God. The king has given his word. Whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Cry out to this great king. Cry out to him for mercy. He sits on the throne of heaven. He knows your every thought. He sees every hidden place in your heart. And he will hear a silent cry from the soul for mercy. You can make that plea as simple as people who have walked the path before you. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. Or in the words of a dying robber, Jesus. Remember me. Even me. Let's pray. Oh God, we just fall before you and worship you. You are great and greatly to be feared. and yet you are a good and merciful God, and you have provided a way for poor lost sinners to be reconciled to you by sending your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the King. Glorify yourself in this place this morning, Lord. Magnify your name and be pleased even to call one of your lost sheep to yourself this day. We praise you and we worship you in the name of Christ, our Lord and our God.