Sermon snippet – Remember
INTRODUCTION – In I Corinthians 11:23-25, we are reminded that Jesus instituted the Communion service and twice said, “This do in remembrance of me.” An integral part of Communion, then, is remembering what Jesus has done and personally interacting with Him. Let us remember together.
- ONLY WITH JESUS CAN THE WORST BECOME THE BEST
In Matthew 27:35-44, we read of the crucifixion of Jesus. Alongside Him were two thieves, both of whom berated the sinless Savior (verse 44). Their story does not end here, though. (As an aside, I preached a sermon in 2019 entitled “Why Are There Four Gospels?” One reason is the fuller detail, such as we find about this thief.) In Luke 23:39-43, we find that one of these criminals repented. Imagine the remarkable shift in this man’s life. He was being executed (justly, by his own admission – verse 41) after a dishonorable life that shamed his family and provided nothing good to any one. His physical pain was excruciating, and the mental duress of the certainty of his soon demise was even worse. His bad life was culminating in the worst – until He grasped the truth about Jesus.
- ONLY JESUS CAN GIVE BETTER THAN THE BEST
The very best that this man could think of was that sometime in the future – perhaps the far distant future – he would be with Jesus in His “kingdom” (verse 42 – note the word “remember”). Jesus gave this new believer a better promise, a better certainty: “To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise” (verse 43). Each believer can be sure that “to be absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (II Corinthians 5:8); we pass from this evanescent life into life everlasting with our Savior in “paradise” – that is, in heaven.
- ONLY JESUS COULD SUFFER THE WORST TO GIVE US THE BEST – HIS BEST
The intent of Jesus is stated in Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” This prayer is also a promise, and the repentant thief is the first example of Jesus’ power to save eternally. The price that Jesus paid is poignantly portrayed in Matthew 27:45-46. His unfathomable separation from God the Father is the spiritual suffering that each one of us deserves because of our sin. Only One Who is holy – and only God is inherently holy – could take our punishment and provide salvation. Jesus, God the Son, willingly took upon Himself our worst and suffered in order to give us His best.
CONCLUSION – May we all be certain of salvation through a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Let us then partake of this remembrance of Him. As we remember Jesus today, may we be comforted that He remembers us just as He remembered that lonely thief on the cross.