Please turn in your Bibles to the last chapter of the Bible, the final chapter of the book of Revelation, Revelation 22. Revelation 22 will be the scripture reading for today. The sermon text will be in the Gospel of Luke, but today the scripture reading is Revelation chapter 22. This is the word of the Lord. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the land, through the middle of the street of the city. Also on either side of the river, the tree of life, with its 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. And he said to me, these words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book. I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. But he said to me, you must not do that. I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. And he said to me, do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evil doer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay everyone for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs and sorcerers, and the sexually immoral, and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star. The spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen. Please turn now to the sermon text in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 23. verses 26 to 43. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 23, verses 26 to 43. This is the Word of the Lord. And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them, Jesus said, daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. Or behold, the days are coming when they will say, blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. Or if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? 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. And 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. Thus far the reading of God's word, let us ask his blessing upon its preaching. Most gracious heavenly father, This is Your Word, inspired by Your Holy Spirit, and we are Your people, regenerated by Your Spirit. We ask now, therefore, O Lord, that You would illumine our hearts and minds to understand this portion of Your Word, and we pray these things for Your glory and for our own good. It is in Christ's name that we pray. Amen. In reading of these events that took place on Calvary in my devotions once not too long ago, it really struck me how well suited these events were to illustrating the different effects that Christ has on people. Here we have described for us a scene in which two hardened sinners, apparently former partners in crime, were hanged on crosses next to our Lord. And it appears that they were companions because one of the thieves seems, in verse 41, to be as familiar with his fellow's guilt as much as his own. That these two men were sentenced to die for their crimes at the very same time and place that Jesus of Nazareth was brought to die would prove very significant for each of the two thieves. For the one thief, Christ being hanged upon a tree so near to his own crucifix would prove to be a saver of life. But for the other, it would serve as but an occasion for blasphemy. And so his nearness to Christ, at his end, served to be but a saver of death. But why would the one recognize Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of David, and yet the other played the role as Jesus' persecutor. Why would these two men so similar in bent, so identical in temperament, and so similarly placed in situation find themselves going in opposite directions upon Golgotha? This sermon will be an attempt to answer these questions. Though both thieves were dying upon crosses, Though both men beheld Christ's demeanor and heard his words, only one thief confesses him, resulting in eternal life, while the other curses him, resulting in eternal death. Matthew Henry, prominent commentator on the Bible, he observes of this text, Christ was crucified between two thieves, and in them were represented the different effects which the cross of Christ would have upon the children of men. Though the unbelieving thief was now in the valley of the shadow of death, no troubles of themselves were to change in his wicked heart. But sometimes they rather irritate that corruption which one would think It would mortify. What is he saying? Man is evil by nature since the fall. And so fallen man cannot be corrected with tribulations. He cannot be corrected with judgments or lashings. Judgments can never, apart from God's grace, straighten the path of a fallen man or woman, including the unbelieving thief in today's passage. As Calvin put it about this text, an example of furious obstinacy is held out to us in this wretched man, the unbelieving thief. Since even in the midst of his own torments, he does not cease fiercely to foam out his blasphemies. He ought, indeed, to be tamed to humility by these strokes. But this text shows that the wicked heart, which no punishments can bend, is hard like iron. In the book of Revelation as well, at chapter 16, verses 8 and 9, we read that, when the fourth angel poured out his bowl upon the sun and it was allowed to scorch people with fire, those who were scorched by the fierce heat cursed the name of God, who had power over these plagues. And they did not repent. The incorrigible hostility of the unbelieving thief's words, if we have any doubts about it, is plain in the Greek text when Luke represents this thief's words in verse 39 as blaspheming him. So no repentance at all is to be heard from this thief's lips. though Jesus Christ himself is before him in the flesh, so ready to receive repentance with gracious replies and promises of paradise. No desire, brothers and sisters, even of self-preservation, of seeking to hedge his bets because he hangs at death's door, none of that shows in his attitude. He remains at the brink of eternity, just as he had lived. at enmity with God. According to the parallel accounts of the crucifixion in Matthew 27 and in Mark 15, Jesus began his passion, that is, his suffering, with both of these thieves reviling him. So both of these thieves mocked Jesus at Calvary, according to Matthew and Mark. Now this can best be reconciled with Luke's account by understanding that although both thieves were nailed to the cross as blaspheming unbelievers, before this day was concluded, one of the two believed. But brothers and sisters, this man was no seeker, as we moderns might put it. This man came into Jesus's presence mocking, just as his fellow had. Though he left Calvary bound for paradise, he too had arrived there at enmity with God. Now here is a question of supreme importance. What was it that could have prompted this man to convert? There was no sermon preached there at Calvary, nor was evidence employed by an eloquent evangelist or apologist to reveal to the thief just how mathematically improbable it was that this man, Jesus, could fulfill so many Old Testament prophecies and not be the Messiah. Nothing at Calvary had the chance to make a suitable presentation to this thief's natural cognitive faculties to make him see that this man, near to him, though he was at death's door just like himself, was actually stepping onto a throne. The thief had no one at hand to interpret for him that this Nazarene, struggling for air a few feet from him, despite all appearances, was near to receiving a scepter and a crown. What a mad inference for this man to make, logically and naturally speaking. This is why his disciples, scattered like sheep when their shepherd had been struck down, He couldn't be the promised king of Israel if he could be seized and then hanged on a cross by the Gentiles like a common criminal. Luke provides us no hint that something was prevented to this thief's natural senses or to his rational mind to make him see that this scourged and bloody wreck of humanity crucified next to him was the hope of Israel. Was the prince about to take possession of a kingdom, to take his session upon David's throne? For this thief to commence his hours-long throes, cursing the Nazarene pretender as his fellow continued to do, only to declare shortly thereafter that Jesus was actually a king coming into his kingdom. communicates to my mind the marvels of God's wondrous saving grace and its sudden appearance upon Calvary. This conversion, brothers and sisters, therefore is not at all like conversion is conceived of in most quarters today. The conversion of the thief on the cross is hardly a display of the ability of the fallen human will to coolly respond to evidence presented to it. All that evidence could suggest to the conscious mind of this thief was that this Jew, Jesus of Nazareth, was, like him, simply a man about to die. So this is hardly a case of proof being presented to a discriminating, rational mind, that it is at liberty to love the truth as much as it is at liberty to suppress that truth. Rather, this is a revelation of a grace so amazing, so amazing, brothers and sisters, as to make a curse-spitting evildoer into a humble, confessing child in moments. What but irresistible grace could in a few hours transform a cursing man into a confessing man? What but a new heart could make this foe into a friend? What but revealing grace, obviously working on the man at a subconscious level, could make Christ appear kingly upon His cross? with so many supposed subjects ringed about him, mocking and cursing. How could the eye of nature see such jeers of scorn as we read in this text, as in reality, the cheers of a coronation? What but sovereign grace can account for one thief only, suddenly possessing eyes that see and ears that hear? This confession and conversion of the thief on the cross was much like how it was when Christ informed Peter after Peter's own confession that Jesus was the Messiah. He told Peter, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. That is, it was not discovered by Peter through his natural senses, nor his cognitive powers, that Jesus was the Christ. God alone imparted this saving knowledge to him. Let us return for a moment to consider this thief's former companion in crime, who still reviles the Nazarene along with the rest of these bulls of Bashan, as Psalm 22 puts it, that are all surrounding the Lord. Why does this incorrigible thief, for his part, not see the Lord as he truly is, beneath the thorny crown, beneath all the contusions, just as his fellow has? If we believe it was the signs and wonders in heaven and on earth that attended our Lord's crucifixion, that convinced the mind and prompted the will of the confessing thief to choose Jesus, why did these signs and wonders not have the same effect upon this man? Rather, he rails on. He is still gnashing his teeth at Jesus by the time his partner in crime has confessed him to be the long-promised son of David. If all the evidence were there to bring free will to a confession, why did this man, too, choose Jesus? What could possibly motivate his free will away from such a saving confession now, at this moment? His love of sin? His desire for ill-gotten gain? No, brothers and sisters, his life too was ebbing away. He knew there would be no more opportunity for riotous living for him. No more could he pursue any of his cherished lusts. No more of this world's trinkets could he even think to gather. These three men were dying together. Yet one comes to faith. Another comes into his kingdom. But the last dies in his sins rather than repent and believe. Hell is still preferable to him than repentance and faith, though he is at hell's very doorstep. What but a depravity that is total could make a man desire to die while in the bodily presence of a savior, when a king so disposed to show clemency is right there beside you? Consider also that the signs and wonders that Luke records in his narrative only occur after the thieves have both spoken. Although the wondrous things mentioned in the text are shown by Luke to have an effect upon the centurion and other bystanders in certain ways, Luke provides no such details preceding the remarks of either thief. Luke wants us to understand, the Holy Spirit wants us to understand that nothing happening on Calvary can account for the very different outcomes of the two thieves. What one thief saw, the other saw. What one thief heard, so did the other. Yet one hardened thief loves and the other hates the same Savior. What could account for the animosity of the unbelieving thief then but that incorrigible hatred of God that lies within the stony heart of all the unregenerate? And what could account for the believing thief's own stony heart becoming a fleshy one in those few agonizing hours but God's mysterious saving grace? The Spirit of God truly blows wherever He desires. As our Lord said in John chapter 3, that day The Spirit blew spiritual life into one of these two hardened thieves and all to the praise of nothing but God's glorious grace. Is there a lesson for us in these passages? For God's procedure for saving men, Should we feel free to delay our own commitment to Christ to our final moments if God's forgiveness proved willing to wait in the case of the thief on the cross? The believing thief at Calvary was permitted by God's providence to pursue his own sinful desires up until the final hours of his life on earth. So should we infer that we may do likewise and God's grace will suddenly interpose at the last moment? One commentator replies to that sentiment in this way. This text gives no encouragement to any to put off their repentance to their deathbed, or to hope that then they shall find mercy. For though it is certain that true repentance is never too late, It is as certain that late repentance is seldom true. That is a weighty remark, isn't it, brothers and sisters? Though it is certain that true repentance is never too late, it is as certain that late repentance is seldom true. How could repentance over one's sins be true if that repentance is willfully delayed to allow one to sin a little more. How genuine could a repentance from sin be that is so shrewdly timed as to make allowance for more sin? So to forestalls one's committing to Christ to a later time is the height of folly, or the death of cynicism. Such an attitude bespeaks a lighted, depraved view of God's patience, and too great a fondness for one's own sin and one's own self-rule. No, today is the day of salvation, cries the scripture. Seek him while he may be found. Otherwise, as the Lord says in Proverbs chapter one, one may find him unwilling later to receive such an opportunistic repentance. For unlike the thief on the cross, such a late by design repentance would have come only after having rejected several outward calls of the gospel, which continued rejection of it has a hardening effect on the heart and a searing effect upon the conscience. Here's what Proverbs 1 says. because I have called and you refuse to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded, because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity. I will mock when terror strikes you, when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. God is a person, but he, unlike human beings, he can look on the heart. If he calls you to repentance and to faith today, he knows the simple motivations that prompt you to put off repentance, put off faith for another day. And as you can see, he warns that he may leave you to your just desserts if you flout his gracious offers of reconciliation. Again, brothers and sisters, I say, today is the day of salvation. If you hear His voice today, do not harden your hearts. From this remarkable conversion of the thief on the cross, we can also take to heart the truth that if a person's conversion is according to God's grace alone, Brothers and sisters, we need not despair over much at our failures to make an impression upon unbelieving family and friends. This is because it was never in human power to make any impression on a flinty human heart to begin with. Even a confrontation with Jesus in the flesh failed to produce a conversion in one of these two dying men. What was lacking with the one that was not lacking with the other was not a bodily presence of Jesus Christ on the one hand, nor the possession of a fallen, depraved heart at enmity with God on the other hand. These things were common to both men. What was lacking with the one that was present with the other was God's sovereign and saving grace. Mortal men can only plant or water with the preaching of Christ. Scripture tells us that it is God that must give the growth. As Paul put it, one cannot even say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Spirit. And we see that principle at work, brothers and sisters, on Calvary. We see it at work between these two men. Now let us consider something else. From this text we must also appreciate the fact that since salvation is truly of the Lord and not of ourselves, our perseverance in Christ also does not hang upon our own unaided strength. We can no more gin up the power to remain in Christ than we could the will to be in Christ. God will perform his own promise unto Abraham. And what promise was that? To provide Abraham with a spiritual seed without number, spiritual offspring without number. Those who truly believe, including the thief on the cross, are those who were promised to the patriarch as a seed. Every conversion you see is God performing His promise to Abraham. And only God can get the credit or the glory for fulfilling that promise. So if you find yourselves to be froward and wandering in your affections, rebuke your soul, but take comfort. For the Scripture also says, if we are faithless, He remains faithful. Let us pray. Lord, we praise you for your grace, your unspeakable grace, by which you have disposed yourself to love the unlovely, and to justify the ungodly. Please fill our hearts, oh Lord, with appreciation and fill our mouths with thanksgiving. Teach our tongues to praise you. For we can never praise you properly until we've been made to understand just what it is that you have done to save us. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.