Jesus’ 2nd Statement

Luke 23:43 · 2025-04-11 · Jonathan Chang · 7 Statements From The Cross

Luke 23:43 · Jesus' Passion. Jesus’ 2nd Statement — sermon from Cypress Bible Church on BibleSlides.

Jesus’ 2nd Statement Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. This interaction that Jesus has with the thief on the cross next to him is one of my favorite. Jesus, in his suffering, as he is dying, comforts another man that is dying with the most hopeful words one can hear. I have an art piece in my office of this specific scene. It has the criminal looking at Jesus saying, “I’ve done nothing to deserve paradise.” It then has Jesus responding, “And you’ll never have to.” We don’t know what crime this man committed, but we do know that he is regretful of his crime and the other bad things that he had done in his life as he interacted with Jesus. In a heart posture of repentance and humility, he tells Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus promises him – Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Church family, this is grace. This is the confirmation of salvation being accomplished by Jesus through grace for us and we contribute absolutely nothing to it. It is by faith alone – As given in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. This man calls on the Lord as Savior in his heart and he is given an eternity in heaven. This criminal did nothing to earn receiving the place of heaven. Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation by faith alone is a core tenant that we hold to as followers of Jesus. If our salvation was a result of doing good deeds, good works – then this criminal had no hope. How else could he enter the gates of glory if he was not able to do any good deeds prior to his death? How could he gain access to God by having a life that was really “bad works.” We see in the Old Testament that are works apart from a saving faith are like filthy rags. Grace – may your soul be encouraged today because of grace – may your soul be at peace today because of grace The grace of God was evident in Jesus’ life even as he hung on the cross breathing his last breaths. In the end, if we as followers of Jesus truly want to live like Jesus – we need to love people and share the hope of the gospel with people. Even those who we feel do not deserve grace. In the eyes of God we are all wretches unless we have the righteousness of Christ on us. We as followers of Jesus were all wretches at one point. Our response to this free gift is that we should desire everyone to receive this gift – so we walk in love boldly proclaiming that salvation is in Jesus alone by faith alone – all for the glory of God alone. Today as you reflect on these words of Jesus, think of people in your life that you want to…

Cypress Bible Church · Full sermon loading below.