EASTER: THE HOPE FOR US ALL

Pastor Jonathan Falwell 

Luke 23:39–47 (NKJV) Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” 44Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

1. The condition of us all

• Then one…but the other
• All of creation is represented by these two individuals who have been nameless for 2,000 years
• But when we recognize who He really is…Certainly this was a righteous man!
  

Thabiti Anyabwile said, “The Lord speaks only one line in the entire conversation: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (v. 43). Put the scenes together: Judgment is coming. God is forgiving. Paradise is offered. But the only ones who receive it are the humble who admit their sins and confess that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to atone for their sins and was raised from the grave three days later. If you…are humble enough to confess your sins and turn away from them, calling on the name of the Lord, God promises he will forgive you of your sin and robe you in his righteousness. And that day paradise will be your home”.[i]

Luke 24:1–7 (NKJV) Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. 3Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

2. The deliverance of us all

• Being that we all fall into one of two categories, we must recognize the deliverance Christ offers
• What we do with that gift makes all the difference in the world

Vs. 5b-7 …“Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”

3. The hope for us all

• That deliverance is not simply a guarantee of a future opportunity; it is a call to action for the rest of our days
• We were DEAD, now we have been made alive

Ephesians 2:1–9 (NKJV) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

2in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast.

• A. Carson said, “This is the fear of God that recognizes that he is matchlessly holy, righteous, and just—and we are not. God is our judge as well as our only hope. There lies the beginning of wisdom.”[ii]

Our Response:

1. Finally Believe
2. Totally Commit

Ephesians 4:17–24 (NKJV) This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the restof the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20But you have not so learned Christ, 21if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,24and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

[i] Thabiti Anyabwile, Exalting Jesus in Luke, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018), 347.

[ii] D.A. Carson, The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story, (Ada, MI, 2010).