"An Encounter With Christ That Changed A Man's Very Life!"
Luke 23:39-43
INTRO. 1) Who Was This Man?
a) A Criminal (v39)
b) A Sinner (v41)
2) How Did He Meet Jesus?
a) This encounter was probably his first and only
3) What Had He Heard And Seen?
a) A Man Who Submitted Himself To the Brutality of Crucifixion
without any protest, without any whimper (Isaiah 53:7)
b) He Heard Jesus Pray (v34)
c) He heard the Mockery of the Rulers, Soldiers, and the people
near the Cross (vv. 35-37)
4) What Effect Did This have On The Man?
a) Remarkable-Note His words (v40)
b) Revolutionary
John 5:24
THIS MAN WAS A:
(1) Dying Man
Luke 23:33
*Crucifixion was the worst method of death in Christ's Day.
*The Agony of the crucified victim was brought about by a number of
factors:
a) The painful, but non-serious characteristics of the wounds inflicted.
Victims were either tied or nailed alive to a Cross.
b) The abnormal position of the body. The slightest movement brought
excruciating pain to the victim.
c) The traumatic fever induced by hanging for such a long period of
time! (1)
*This man was in severe pain, he was at Death's door!
*All of us are dying daily. Because of sin, we all die (Romans 5:12). It's
not the fact that we are going to die that should bother us, but our
condition when we die!
Ezekiel 18:4b
*Those who die without Christ will face the Second Death (Revelation
20:12-15)!
*The Second Death is not merely physical, but Spiritual, in that it involves
Eternal Separation from God in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 21:8)!
ILLUS. Matthew Henry said, "The fire of God's wrath will consume them, they shall not only be cast into a furnace of fire, but He shall make themselves as a fiery oven or furnace, the reflections and terrors of their own conscience will be their hell.
Those that might have had Christ to rule and save them, but rejected Him and fought against Him, shall find even the remembrance of that will be enough to make them to Eternity, a fiery oven to themselves: This is the worm that dies not." (2)
*Those who die without Christ shall have Hell as their home forever!
Revelation 14:11a—“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever...”
(2) Deserving Man
Luke 23:39-41a
*This man is called a "Malefactor." The word means "worthless, depraved, a
wrong-doer, a criminal"
*This means one who has no use for God and one who has no respect for
his fellowmen, except to exploit them in his own interest, and if necessary,
kill them. (3)
*He deserved to be where he was! Note His own words in v41!
*He Owned:
a) The Legality Of His Sentence
*He had been tried, convicted, and now was facing the punishment of
his crime.
*All of us are sinners and deserve death for our sins!
Romans 6:23a
b) The Load Of His Sin (Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:5a)
Romans 3:10, 23
Isaiah 64:6
*All of us deserve Hell forever for our sins! Why? Because all of us
were born in sin and sin daily!
*If Jesus had not taken our place we would all spend Eternity in the
Lake of Fire!
John 15:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9
(3) Delivered Man
Luke 23:41b-43
*This was the same man who when he was nailed to his cross at 9am was
cursing, fighting, and blaspheming God. But now we see something
entirely different! What Happened?
*He Began To:
a) Look At Jesus (vv. 40-41)
Is. 45:22; John 6:40
b) Listen to Jesus (v34)
Romans 10:17
*Listen to him, "Dost thou not even fear God?" He recognized Jesus as God
and realized himself as a sinner (v4la) and that his punishment was just!
That is REPENTANCE!!
Luke 13:5
*Jesus is nailed to the Cross, He is dying. This dying thief is in extreme
agony and he knew Jesus was too! Yet he saw in Jesus what was missing
in his life and flung himself at the feet of Jesus(v42). That is FAITH-FAITH
IS ESSENTIAL TO SALVATION!
Romans 10:9-10, 13
*The Answer our LORD gave is the Answer all receive who come to Him in
FAITH (v43)! That is FORGIVENESS!
John 3:16; 6:37
*It was an instantaneous thing. The man who in his life had been a vile
sinner was now a Saint of God!
Romans 5:1-2; 8:1
CLOSING: He was never Baptized, confirmed, or enrolled in any Church. He
had no claim to moral character. He called on none of the Saints.
He merely heard the Gospel Message and turned to Christ in
wondrous Faith! And he was saved, instantly, then and there, on
the same grounds and in the same way as anyone is saved
(Ephesians 2:8-9)!
What about you? What are you trusting to get you to Heaven?
Only Faith in Jesus Christ and His Sacrifice for your sins will save
you today!
NOTES: 1. Merrill C. Tenney. The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary. Pg.
189.
2. Matthew Henry. The Quotable Matthew Henry. Pg. 129.
3. G. Campbell Morgan. Luke: The God Who Cares. PP. 396-397.
PREACHED BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING, PASTOR OF BEECHMONT BAPTIST CHURCH, BEECHMONT, KY FOR SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 31, 2008.