The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross (Part 2)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the

Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.�

In short, if you like smooth, watered -down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you.

By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the

Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King. Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth. Always biblical, always provocative, always in that order.

Is that what we try to do? Yeah, most of the time we do, but mainly it�s No Compromise. It is about Jesus because He never compromised, so that�s how we roll around here.

I think we�re going into our 14th year or something like that. I think we have,

I don�t know, 1 ,500, 2 ,000 downloads a show, something like that.

Two million downloads a show. If I had two million downloads per show,

I�d be driving a newer car than my 2010 Volvo with 230 ,000.

That is for certain. You can write me, Mike, at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

Hopefully by the time you hear this, we�ll all be getting closer to a new book I have out on assurance, how to be sure, how to know for certain the knowledge of your salvation and enjoy it.

So hopefully we�ll have that. That�s going to be an Amazon product. And what else is happening?

I don�t know. I think we have to figure out a Kindle on that too. I�m not certain. One step at a time. One step at a time.

And I hope by the end of the year to get the SOS Johnson -Colossians thing done. I know it�s just sitting there.

I almost had it done. Then I was in the hospital for many days, and so we�re just doing the best we can. Today we�re talking about last words, famous last words.

This is part two of the seven words of Jesus on the cross. What did the

Lord say? What did our Lord say on the cross? And can we get an insight into His person and His nature,

His character, His essence? One person, Jesus, the God -man, two natures, divine and human, not mingled, not fused together.

Two wills, one divine, one human. What can we learn about Jesus on the cross as He�s crucified?

The first word was from Luke 23, �Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.�

And in a little bit of review and some follow -up, instead of cursing people, instead of damning people, instead of having

His tongue cut out because He was, you know, tormenting His tormentors,

He prays. And most likely He�s praying for at least one of the thieves, because we know what�s going to happen to one of those thieves.

Some Roman soldiers, He�s not praying for Judas, He�s not praying for Pilate that I know of, because if He prays for somebody to be forgiven, won�t they be forgiven?

The answer is yes. Jesus, when He first prays to the

Father, He could have said, �Send legions of angels to rescue me.�

Right? He could have said, �This is the worst treatment you could ever give for a person.

I�m innocent, and so now here comes the angels.� Right? But He�s unlike many of us, well,

He�s unlike all of us, but many of us who want to, you know, �I�m going to get even.�

Right? �I�m going to have revenge, revenge is a dish best served cold, I don�t get mad,

I get even kind of thing.� Did you even know that the Romans had a God of revenge?

I didn�t know that. And so, we�re going to get people. That�s not the Lord Jesus at all.

Thomas Mattin, a Puritan, said, �We may give a reason of other things, but we cannot give a reason of His love.�

If you continue to ask, �But why did God love us ?� We have no other answer but, �Because

He loved us.� Did not Jesus earlier say on earth, �I am gentle and humble or lowly in heart.�

That�s exactly right. And we see that here on the cross, the gentleness, the strength under control, the tempering of justice with mercy, forgiving, right?

Perfect forgiveness here. That�s amazing. What did

Jesus say on the Sermon on the Plains? �Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.�

That�s right. Why does this chair keep slipping down? I have no idea. I got to get a new one.

I got the new headphones, so now I can get a new chair. You know, after 13 years, you upgrade some equipment. It's hard to talk on a cross.

We talked about that last time. It's difficult to utter words. You think only about the pain.

You're only thinking about yourself, but not our Lord, not our Savior. Jesus is praying.

He's a high priest, right? Father forgive them. Chuck Swindoll said the tense of this is, you know what?

He's saying it over and over. Forgive them. Interceding for the transgressors.

1 Peter 2, Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth.

And while being reviled, he did not revile in return. While suffering, he uttered no threats, but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously.

And even more than that, prayed for his enemies. Again, like Stephen, Lord do not hold this sin against them.

A .W. Pink said in praying for his enemies, not only did Christ set before us a perfect example of how we should treat those who wrong and hate us, but he also taught us never to regard any as beyond the reach of prayer.

If Christ prayed for his murderers, then surely we have encouragement to pray now for the very chief of sinners.

Christian reader, never lose hope. Does it seem a waste of time for you to continue praying for that man, that woman, that wayward child of yours?

Does their case seem to become more hopeless every day? Does it look as though they had been, either passed or gone beyond the reach of divine mercy?

Remember the cross. Christ prayed for his enemies. Learn then not to look on any as beyond the reach of prayer.

Very practical, don't you think? Super practical. Here, Jesus praying for people, right?

Probably those Roman soldiers. And these Roman soldiers are enslaved to sin, blinded by Satan, captive to do

Satan's will, and yet we have the intervening work of the Lord Jesus. That's amazing to me.

Here we have the Lord Jesus dealing with the most important thing that anyone has to deal with.

When people realize that their biggest need is to be forgiven, now Jesus supplies that greatest need at his own cost, having our sins put away by the blood of Jesus.

Remember, our forgiveness is simple and easy. Someone says, you know, they do something against us, say something against us, they ask for our forgiveness, we say, you're forgiven.

But there's righteousness, there's justice, and God has to uphold that.

And so it is costly. While we receive it for free, it's costly for God to forgive sin.

Sinclair Ferguson said, when we behold the glory of Christ in the gospel, it reorders the loves of our hearts.

So we delight in him supremely, and the other things that have ruled our lives lose their enslaving power over us.

So you just think about the Lord on the cross, and what he's saying, how he's acting, what kind of mercy is shown, making full satisfaction for justice.

As one man said, we've outraged the law, and now Jesus pays for that.

This is our God. This is the heart of Jesus. And now you think, hmm, well, where's

Jesus now? Well, he's in heaven. Humanity is in heaven, deity omnipresent, of course.

Thomas Goodwin, the heart of Jesus Christ, now that he is in heaven, is as graciously inclined to sinners as ever it was on earth.

Of course, because the Lord doesn't change. Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing.

They don't know the extent of it all. And I don't think this was, well, they just don't know, but this was, they just don't know, and I'd like all their sins to be forgiven.

Forgive them for every sin that they've ever committed. Wonderful. Second word is found in Luke 23, same chapter, and let's pick it up in verse 39.

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 rewards of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.

And Jesus said, word number two, oh, sorry, and he said, not quite word number two yet,

I got to finish the verse. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And now Jesus, word number two,

Jesus said to him, truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise.

Hey, we're getting what we deserve. This man, Jesus, he didn't deserve this.

When you study the gospel of Luke, and I think I'll be preaching that in the fall here at Bethlehem Bible Church, lots of talk about the miscreants, lots of talk about the outcasts.

How often do we say the word miscreants, by the way? Much talk about criminals, sinners, and here we have

Jesus saving a criminal hanging on a cross. Yes, Jesus on a cross and the criminal on the cross.

I mean, I guess Jesus could have said to the guy, don't bother me, I'm dying for sinners. No, I'm not trying to make light of the crucifixion.

But here we see the love of God. God, who is this who comes from Edom with garments of glowing colors from Bosia?

This one who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength. It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.

And even on the cross, Jesus, mighty to save. Could there be a more desperate man than that thief?

Could there be a more hopeless man from the thief? That man from the get -go in his adult life most likely was a rascal, was a scoundrel, was sinful, wicked, law -breaking, murder.

And as it has been said by many, his hours were numbered. He couldn't move his hand or feet.

The grave was calling him one step away from death. And if there ever seemed like there was a lost cause, somebody that could never make it in, it'd be this man.

And Jesus said, essentially, you're forgiven and saved. Weak Jesus, tired

Jesus, frail Jesus, crucified Jesus, strong deliverer, mighty

Savior, able to save those who draw near to God through him.

The blaspheming of this thief turned into, Lord, would you remember me?

It'd be like a prayer, but here it's a request, because Jesus is right there. You want to know who

Jesus prayed for? Father, forgive them. Well, one of the thems was this thief.

Before the setting of the sun, you're going to be with me. On this very day.

I wonder what was going through the thief's mind. Do you think he was happy? Do you think he was excited? The God -man knows, okay, this is death day for both of us, and you're going to be with me.

Not in the future, way down the line, not at later resurrection of the bodies, not after you serve some time in purgatory, but this day.

Do I believe in the doctrine of assurance? Of course I do. Here's an example.

God's love for sinners. Can you know for certain you're going to be in heaven? Yes. This is just like Jesus.

Now to him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

Amen. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

That's what Jesus said. An enemy turned into a friend. Christ's love, sacrificial, lavished.

In this is love, not that we love God, but he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Walk in love just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Did the thief deserve salvation? Did this thief deserve grace? For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

It's wonderful to see a baby being born. It's great to see Niagara Falls and the Grand Canyon and Petra.

It's amazing to think that there's a man that walked on the moon, things that you see in microscopes, but don't they all shrink in comparison to God saving sinners?

God saving the thief? God saving you? God saving me? Spurgeon, but as we are sinners, offenders, rebels who have revolted and continually gone further and further away from God, what shall we say of this incarnate

God dying for us? But herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be an atonement for our sins.

That's wonderful. That's why we want to say the wonder of it all.

I want to be worshiping, obeying, grateful, faithful, not to earn my salvation, but because I am saved.

God, you did this for me. Now, there's lots of things we could learn in this passage that there's no weird intermediate state where people aren't conscious.

There's not some type of soul sleep. Jesus said, you're with me in paradise. You're with me in paradise.

Well, wherever Jesus is going to be, that's going to be paradise, right? This is the God man who loved me and delivered himself up for me.

And Jesus grants assurance to this man and said, you're going to be with me today in paradise.

Not in purgatory, but paradise. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his godly ones,

Psalm 116. To give emphasis, truly

I say to you, this is emphatic. It's going to happen. Could there be greater assurance?

You say, yeah, those are red letters. Well, everything in scripture is red letters, but these are the words of Jesus.

And you're going to be with me in paradise. Or if you use some Persian loan words for that, it'd be garden.

In a wonderful garden, a place of beauty and delight. Do you ever go to gardens in England, gardens in British Columbia, Victoria, special places with verdant areas and oases?

Oasises? Oases. Midnight at the oases. You thought the

Garden of Eden was great? You thought that park or garden was great? You know what?

Just think arid desert. Now think garden. Think isolation and loneliness.

Now think of bliss and pleasure, trees and fountains and flowers and streams.

Eden, Eden by paradise. I mean the Romans, Elysium, Greeks, Hesperides, but you know what?

This is paradise. This is Abraham's bosom, some would call it.

The garden of delights. I just like to go to a garden of delights. The fruit, the smells, calm, cool, refreshing.

I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago, whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body,

I do not know. God knows. Such a man was caught up into heaven. And I know how such a man, whether in body or apart from the body,

I do not know, God knows, was caught up into paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.

That's 2 Corinthians 12, Revelation 2, he who has an ear, let him hear what the

Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, that's a Christian, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise, the wonderful, refreshing, joyful, blissful paradise of God.

From thief on the cross to paradise. What a difference a

Savior makes, right? The happiest, this is the happiest day of his life.

How could that be on the cross? The thief granted forgiveness.

Spurgeon said, you remember the story of the three wonders in heaven? The first wonder was that we should see so many that we did not expect to see.

The second wonder was we should miss so many we did expect to see. But the third wonder would be the greatest wonder of all, to see ourselves there, to be in the presence of God, the abode of God, our

Father who art in heaven, to be in heaven. The thief says, remember me, not just recollect, but grant me favor, grant me favor.

And of course, he's asking the right person, he's asking the right Savior. Hebrews 12, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

That's what we do as Christians in here for the first time. This man looking upon Jesus, Jesus, the

Savior, reminds me of Titus 3. What could this guy offer? He saved us, not on the basis of deeds, which we have done in righteousness, but according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the

Holy Spirit. This is called monergism. God alone saves.

Jesus said, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

He said that in John 14 to his disciples, that this was going to be a place of paradise. Be with the

Lord. W .B. Hinson was a preacher, and he talked about what happened before he died.

I remember a year ago when the doctor told me, you have an illness from which you won't recover. I walked out to where I live, five miles from Portland, Oregon, and I looked across at that mountain that I love.

I looked at the river in which I rejoice, and I looked at the stately trees that are always God's own poetry to my soul.

Then in the evening, I looked up into the great sky where God was lighting his lamps, and I said, I may not see you many more times, but mountain,

I shall be alive when you are gone. And river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea.

And stars, I shall be alive when you have fallen from your sockets in the great downpouring of the material universe.

Death brings glory and heaven to those trusting in Christ.

For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

I'm hard -pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.

There's a dying girl. Mother tried to comfort her. There in heaven, you will have no more pains, no more sickness.

You will see all your brothers and sisters who have gone before you and will always be happy. Oh, mother, the little girl said, but there's one thing better than all, and this is that Christ will be there.

The Church of England Burial Service, we give thee hearty thanks for that it hath pleased thee to deliver this, our brother, out of the miseries of the sinful world.

And of course, unto the pleasures. A thief, an outcast, a misfit, a miscreant, that's, as I said last show, often in Luke and Acts, you'll see that very thing.

Better than the guy could have ever imagined, amazing. If you're not a

Christian, if God could save this thief, couldn't he save you? The answer is yes.

And why don't you say, Lord, I know that I used to mock you, and now

I know you didn't do anything wrong. And would you receive me into heaven? Would you remember me when

I die? That'd be a good prayer to pray. Life after death.

For all of us as Christians, even, we're going to die one day if the Lord doesn't come back.

And the promise is true. We've trusted in Christ, and when we do trust in Christ, this promise is for us.

Today, you'll be with me in paradise, in the royal garden, in the place of felicity and happiness with Jesus.

It's amazing. You say, well, where did Jesus go and everything else? I mean, the problem is easily solved.

If you say, well, he wasn't raised from the dead until Sunday, right, and everything else that goes along with it.

Now on Friday, Jesus says, today, you're going to be with me in paradise. I think you're trying to figure out things that you don't really need to figure out.

I think you need to say, you know what, here's a good way to think about it. Jesus, human nature,

Jesus, divine nature, up to heaven he goes, assurance of salvation.

I grant to eat the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. That's for all of us, not by works, not by civil duties, not by Christian religious duties, but the garden of Eden, the full, true pleasure restored for all of us who believe.

My name is Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio, two down, five to go. You can write me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston.

Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life -transforming power of God's word through verse -by -verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston.

You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.