Remember Me

Text: Luke 23:35-43

Focus: The Thieves on the cross

Function: To take another picture of Jesus’ grace.

Form: Story telling

Intro:

On the altar table are the words, “In Remembrance of Me.”

They point to the symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice when He instituted the Bread and Cup Communion.

Jesus said, “Do this often, in remembrance of Me.”

Or, as often as you do this, you remember Me.

I think my favorite part from the story of the thief on the cross is the exchange between Jesus when the repentant thief, looking at Jesus, says: “Remember me” and Jesus replies with “Today, you shall be with me in paradise.”

(SHOW) Jesus “remembers everyone who calls on Him.”

Theologians and skeptics alike have broken down this story.

I remember a young man once trying to trip me up and he was claiming the bible was full of errors. So I asked him to point to one.

He pointed to this story. Matthew doesn’t tell the whole story, and the gospels were written from different perspectives. Luke tells us at the start of the gospel that he wants to make the story as complete as possible. Matthew, with all of his references to fulfilled prophecy, the symbol of the Passover lamb and other things is writing to a decidedly Jewish audience. Mark is written to the Western cultures where the gospel spread, places like Rome, etc. He emphasizes the power and might of Jesus. He emphasizes the Messiah who is a victor over sin. This power image was one that Westerners could relate to. God is interested in reaching everyone. So John, on the other hand, is written to people from Eastern Philosophy. John conducted many years of ministry in India. He doesn’t organize his gospel with strict allegiance to the chronology of events, but the symbolism of event. Luke is the only one that tries to give us an historical picture.

So, (SHOW) Matthew leaves out the miracle of the thief’s conversion. It isn’t a contradiction or a disagreement; it just wasn’t something Matthew wanted to emphasize.

So, the story is reliable.

But it is not just skeptics who want to pick apart the story.

Theologians want to pick it apart on the basis of the theology of baptism, and purgatory –where the soul goes immediately when it dies. Do we go straight to heaven? Or, do we get there at the final trumpet when the graves are opened? What does the Bible mean when it says that the dead are merely asleep until the second resurrection?

And, theologians point to this passage in order to debate these issues.

It isn’t a teaching passage on the doctrine of the resurrection, go to 1 Corinthians 15, 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians and Revelations for that. As a matter of fact, right after Easter, we are going to be looking at passages in the Book of Revelation about Jesus and us in Heaven.

Baptism is the big one I’ll mention today.

Some would say that it is impossible to be saved unless a person goes through the Christian rite of Baptism.

Many traditions, Lutheran, Episcopal, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Congregational and etc baptism babies soon after they are born in order to ensure their salvation.

They take it from the OT when men were circumcised on the 8^th day as a symbol of the covenant God makes with people that extends to the children. For them, it points to the more inclusive nature of the New Covenant in that baptism is extended to women and men, where not only men receive the rite of circumcision.

We are Anabaptists. That means we re-baptize people when they are old enough to make their own choice to do it.

(SHOW) We practice “believers’ baptism.”

We call it believers’ baptism. In those other traditions, the rite of confirmation is supposed to be a time when a person does make the choice to affirm the rite of baptism. It is supposed to be a time when they personalize their own decision to follow Jesus.

I have met many people who were born again through confirmation. And I have met some who were never born again. I have met Anabaptists who were born again, and then baptized, or born again when they were baptized. And I have met some who have never changed as a result of their decision to follow Jesus.

So I am going to trust God to sort this out.

But this thief was not baptized and Jesus promised him that this very day he would experience the glory of heaven.

Some traditions say, “Well, he was baptized in his own blood.” Or “God made a one-time exception.”

I think either/or is a stretch. LISTEN: We are saved by faith in Jesus alone. I know people who have been re-baptized and have told me that they felt a much, much stronger connection and closeness to God by the Holy Spirit when they obeyed the rite of baptism.

But that doesn’t mean they weren’t believers.

My own story is the same.

Salvation comes by trusting in Jesus.

(SHOW) When the thief says to Jesus “Remember me” he was saved.

A friend of mine, from another Church, asked our Church to be praying for him because he is suffering from bladder cancer. He said to me: “`So and so’ told my wife and daughters that I was going to hell because I wasn’t baptized. So, I guess I am the token pagan at the church, but I always respected you and I always saw a sincere faith in Jesus through you.”

Then he said, “Will you pray to Our Savior? Will you ask Jesus to help me? He is the only one I look to.”

(SHOW) Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

I pointed this scripture out to Him and told him that God wasn’t interested in formulas and dogma’s in order to bring us into His family.

God saves everyone who calls upon Him.

(SHOW) When we pray, when we admit our brokenness, when we confess our need for His salvation, He saves us. Pure and simple.

I am convinced that a believer, who obeys the command in scripture to be baptized in order to testify to their faith, will find blessings greater then those who don’t.

After all, salvation is about following Jesus, trusting Him and obeying Him. He said, (SHOW) John 14:15: “If you love me, you will obey Me.”

But Jesus was more interested in saving this man on the cross than He was interested in conforming to the rules of religion.

That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be baptized, it is an important symbol, but it is merely a symbol of something greater.

Look at these words: (SHOW) 1 Peter 3:21 “And corresponding to that, baptism now saves you -- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience - through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”

It isn’t the water, it’s the heart.

I love “The Sinners Prayer.” It covers all the bases. It says: (SHOW) “Lord Jesus I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that you paid the price for my sins by your death. I ask you to forgive my sins, save me, and come into my heart. I believe that you can because you were raised from the dead.”

It’s a good formula for salvation, but it only means something if it comes from the heart.

Picture the Story of the Thieves with Jesus.

First, there is this crowd, this blood-lust thirsty mob who are titillated by the excitement and gore of 3 humans suffering one of the most painful deaths possible.

Except for the 4 women and John the apostle, the entire rest of the crowd is hostile toward them, and especially hostile toward Jesus.

They are mocking Jesus. They point out that He performed many miracles and at this point, He appeared powerless in their hands.

They made a mockery of Him.

Then there are the Roman guards. They are wearing their breastplates, helmets and swords. Their very presence is a symbol of oppression on these people.

The torture of crucifixion is a terrible boot heel on the neck of people. They are reminded that they need to obey, or death won’t be quick enough for them.

And their attitude makes it much worse. They are so indifferent to human tragedy going on above them that they are at the feet of these men, between these men and the crowd, and are merely playing a game in the face of human tragedy.

The indifference shown by that action is reprehensible.

And yet Jesus, in the verses before this, while looking at their indifference to His plight, asks God to forgive them.

And then the three on the cross. Jesus is in the middle, one thief on either side.

According to Matthew, they pick up the crowd’s hatred and mock Jesus as well.

I can picture Jesus at this point.

I can picture him looking at the unrepentant thief and seeing the hopelessness in his eyes that causes him to have such a mean response to someone who is going through exact thing he is enduring.

Then, I picture Jesus looking at this thief, this one who cried out “Remember me.”

And for an instant, those piercing eyes of Jesus peer directly into this man’s soul.

I picture the man, quickly turning his head away in shame and becoming silent.

He listens to the abuse that Jesus is taking and it begins to weigh on his soul.

He searches his own soul in light of eternity, the Love of God and the way he has lived without regard for God and others.

All of that evil is symbolized in the way Jesus is treated.

Jesus and the two thieves are on a different level than the mob. They are elevated on these crosses, at this time; they should be a band of brothers who experience the camaraderie of suffering together.

Instead of camaraderie, there is conflict, but the conflict changes sides.

I imagine this repentant thief wondering in dismay when he sees Jesus pray those words “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”

How could Jesus not hate the soldiers? He was innocent and was being punished in a gross miscarriage of justice.

I can see why he started mocking Jesus, but that piercing look, the truth behind Jesus prayer of forgiveness begin to weigh on that thief.

I picture him chancing another glance at Jesus and Jesus notices his look and gives him another look of love, forgiveness and understanding.

He sees this injustice and with a final desperate act of repentance; he decides to speak up about it.

The man, in his agony, cries out against the injustice of Jesus crucifixion.

He switches sides. He joins Jesus in His suffering and speaks out, warning the other thief to do the same.

In his speech, he confesses both his sin, his need for a Savior and his trust in Jesus’ power over death.

I imagine him, after he warns the other thief looking at Jesus again.

This time, he isn’t ashamed. Finally, maybe the first time in his life, he has done the right thing.

His final words: “Lord, remember me…”

And Jesus saves him.

There is no altar call, there is no sinner’s prayer; there is no consistent form of our Christian religion expressed by Baptism; there is merely an appeal for mercy from God.

(SHOW) We are saved by Faith in Jesus.

Our faith is not a magic formula of prayers and exercises, but a simple trust in the mercy of our Savior.