The Story of Two Thieves
Good Friday 2010
I saw a poster at a shopping centre during the week celebrating Easter as a four-day weekend. I like four-day weekends!
I picked the kids up from school on Thursday and they were armed with Chocolate eggs and pictures of bunnies! I like chocolate eggs, bunnies, bilbies and whatever else!
It would be an absolute tragedy if that sort of stuff was all that Easter is about for you.
We have come together today to remember the real meaning of Easter. We’ve come to experience the significance of it. As we look at the story of Good Friday together you will discover why it is an essential story for you to live by.
This morning we are going to read together from the Bible, and to help you follow along we have put the readings onto the screen for you.
We pick up the story in the gospel of Matthew, chapter 27. Jesus has been arrested by Jewish religious authorities and given a sham trial in which paid liars have accused Him of crimes against God. In the end, it is Jesus’ own words that convict Him, when He answers truly that He is the Son of God. This sends His accusers into a rage and they haul him off to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate in order to have Him put to death.
Matthew 27:11-44
Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the Feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel
I’d like us to get to know the robbers who were crucified with Jesus just a little bit better. We can do that by flicking over to the gospel of Luke, where we will finish the story of Jesus’ crucifixion.
Luke 23:32-46
32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened to the cross above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Why did Jesus choose to endure the torture and the taunts that were inflicted upon him by sinful people? Why did He choose to die?
The Gospels are clear – He knew it was coming, He had the power to avoid it, but He chose to endure it. It was His mission.
We have heard the answer to the question of why Jesus chose all this in the words of the songs we have sung today and in the words of ancient scriptures, where God revealed through the prophet Isaiah what was going to happen over 700 years later. Let me remind you of the last part of our reading from Isaiah 53…
Isaiah 53:3-6
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.[2]
We discover in this passage that all of us have turned to our own way, and have sinned against God. The Bible tells us that all have sinned (Rom 3:23) and that the penalty for sin is death (Rom 6:23). Yet God loves us so much that He does not want to treat us as our deeds deserve, He wants to forgive us and cleanse us from all the junk in our lives. He wants us to be in His family forever, with sin and death and every form of evil and suffering as a thing of the past.
In order to do that the penalty for our sin must be paid. The only way to do that was for God Himself to take our punishment for us. That’s why Jesus came into this world, and that’s why He chose to die. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that bought us peace with God was upon Him.
On that awful day that we now call “Good Friday”, Jesus took the very worst of what humanity had to offer: humiliation, injustice, torture - naked hatred in all it’s ugliness. He took that from people and said “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. Wow!
One of the thieves hanging next to Jesus, despite his own agony of suffering, hears these words and notices the response of Jesus to his tormentors.
He has a change of heart – from being one of those who heaped insults on Jesus, he realises in that moment that his mocking is out of place and that he is actually in the presence of the Son of God. Hearing the other criminal continue to insult Jesus this thief rebukes the other: “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong”
There’s an acknowledgement here of guilt – “we are punished justly”. You and I might say that being crucified is a pretty harsh punishment! But what matters is that he recognized his guilt. He was being punished by the Romans, but he has also recognized also that he is accountable to God, and that both he and the other thief would soon meet God, which is a fearful prospect.
So as he hangs on that cross, faced with the reality of death and a meeting with God, what can this guy do? He can’t make promises to God to reform his life and try and make his good deeds outnumber the bad ones! He doesn’t start making excuses to Jesus about how tough life has been and how he really is a good person. He says simply “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
He casts all his hopes on Jesus! He can see that Jesus is heading for death just like he is, but He believes that Jesus is still going to receive a kingdom, and he wants to be part of it. He casts himself completely on the mercy of Jesus.
It’s a smart move, because Jesus turns to him and says: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
This man recognized his guilt, believed in Jesus Christ, and put his trust in Him for eternal life, and Jesus promised that him that He would receive it.
Some people think that they have done too much bad stuff to ever be forgiven by God. But just look at how most of the people in our story today treated Jesus, yet even in the midst of His agony He longed for the Father to forgive them. He longs for your forgiveness also. The Bible tells us that God doesn’t want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance – just like that thief did. He had a change of heart and a change of direction which led to a change of destiny. It can happen for you too.
Some people think that God is not that interested in them. But Jesus came into this world in order to bring us into God’s family – everyone who is willing. Most people rejected Jesus and still do today. But some people accept Him as their Lord and their Saviour, just like the thief did. They are forgiven by God and accepted as His child. The Bible tells us that all Heaven rejoices every time this happens. There must be a lot of partying going on in Heaven!
Will you acknowledge today that you need forgiveness? Will you believe that Jesus’ death has paid the penalty for everything you’ve ever done and ever will do that deserves God’s punishment? Will you accept new life in God’s family, with Jesus as your King?
I am going to pray to God my own personal prayer. If you agree with what I’m saying to God, just acknowledge that silently in your own mind – God knows our thoughts and He will hear that agreement just as easily as if you were saying it out aloud.
Prayer
God I acknowledge today that I have sinned against you and against others. I know that I deserve to be condemned by You. I know that there is nothing I can do to deserve to be in your family and enjoy your goodness forever. But God I thank You that Jesus has paid the penalty for my sin. I gratefully accept the forgiveness that you have offered, and the eternal life that you have promised. Help me now to live as your child, with Jesus as my King. Amen.
If this is the first time you have trusted in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins and accepted Him as the Lord of your life, it marks a turning point in your life. You will never be the same again. I’d love to talk to you more about that so please speak to me before you leave today or write down your details on one of the cards in the basket just outside the doors into the foyer so I can catch up with you later. If you have reaffirmed your trust in Jesus today let me encourage you to make sure that your life demonstrates the gift you have received from God and the commitment that you have made to God.
