This sermon was preached at St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Belleville, Michigan (March 1) and at St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Plymouth, Michigan (March 8).
REPENT: TURN TO JESUS. He Holds the Key to Heaven.
In the name + of Jesus.
When our minds are clouded by unbelief, we
do not make decisions which are rational or noble. We know what God says, but we think we know
better. We develop ideas and pursue
goals which are destructive and harmful.
Our selfish ambitions are usually attained at the expense of someone
else. We hurt their feelings. We wound their pride. We forfeit their trust; and we still believe
we have gained something. Besides hurting
others, we also do damage to ourselves.
Our selfish goals do not produce the peace or prosperity we thought they
would. Worst of all, we incur the wrath
of God for our sins. We ignore his word
so that we could have our way. But that way
leads to death and destruction. No
earthly pleasure is ever worth it when compared to eternal torment. This is why the decisions which are clouded
by unbelief are neither rational nor noble.
The end results are always horrible.
When Jesus hung from the cross at Calvary,
the minds of many people were not merely clouded by unbelief; they were utterly
darkened by it. Their continual
rejection of both Jesus’ words and works made them irrational and wicked. They heard Jesus preach and teach. While they hated his teaching, they could not
find fault with it. His words did not
stray from the Old Testament Scriptures, only their traditions. They had also witnessed Jesus’ miracles. They knew he had healed diseases, cast out
demons, and even raised the dead. They
could not deny what Jesus did, so they slandered him. They accused him of being demon-possessed. But that makes no sense. Why would a demon cast out a demon from someone?
Being clouded by sin and unbelief makes people
irrational and ignoble. While Jesus was on
trial, his enemies could not find fault with him. They had to resort to distorted testimonies
and lies. When Jesus hung on the cross,
his enemies confessed the truth about him—although they refused to acknowledge it
was true. Listen to the various enemies
mock Jesus: “The rulers scoffed at him, saying, ‘He
saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of
God, his Chosen One!’ The soldiers
also mocked him, … saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save
yourself!’ … One of the criminals who
were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save
yourself and us’” (Luke 23:35-37,39)!
Three times, Jesus’
enemies said to him, “Save yourself!” They
mocked and laughed in derision because they did not believe he could do
it. They were convinced they were in control. They were convinced that they had saved their
own positions of power and pride by putting Jesus to death. They had seen what Jesus had done for others. They knew Jesus had miraculous power. They had plenty of evidence that Jesus is “the
Christ of God, his Chosen One” (Luke 23:35). But stubborn unbelief would not acknowledge it. Unbelief could only mock it.
There was one man, however, who was paying
attention. He recognized that everything
the mockers said about Jesus was true.
No doubt, he knew of Jesus’ reputation.
Perhaps he had heard Jesus teach.
Perhaps he knew that the tax collectors and prostitutes found mercy from
Jesus. Perhaps he could find that mercy,
too. He turned to Jesus. But he did not plead like his partner in
crime, “Save yourself and us” (Luke 23:39)! This criminal knew he was a goner. He was fastened to a cross, and he had no illusions
that he would be released from that cross.
The Romans were exceptional at putting people to death by crucifixion. No one survived. So, he did not plead to be delivered from his
torturous death. In fact, he confessed, “We
are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:41). But this man turned to Jesus, believing that
he holds the key to heaven. In fact, it
is more than that. This man believed
that Jesus IS the key to heaven.
When he turned to Jesus, the criminal did
not offer excuses for his sins. “You
know, Jesus, there were some difficult circumstances I was contending with in
my life. I was desperate. It drove me to this. That’s why I am here.” He did not cast blame on his accusers or his
judges. “Jesus, I was framed. They had it out for me from the get-go.” Instead, he confessed “We (are sentenced)
justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:41). He admitted his guilt. He did not argue, “You know, Jesus, I’m
really not a bad guy. I just made a really
bad decision.” On the contrary, he
threw himself upon Jesus for mercy and for hope. He claimed nothing. He entrusted himself to Jesus for everything. “Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He
turned to Jesus who holds the key to heaven.
The cry, “Save yourself!”
still goes out. It is directed to us, and
we have embraced it. We try to save
ourselves by fighting hard to preserve whatever it is that we think will keep
our lives intact. We exhaust all kinds
of energy to gather and keep as much money as we can. We are convinced that, if we have enough
money, we will be free from problems. Money
can buy solutions to everything. We try
to save ourselves by fighting to preserve our pride and reputation. We become vindictive or even violent when we have
been excluded, embarrassed, or disrespected.
Friendships and marriages get terminated because someone did not treat us
as important as we think we are. We try
to save ourselves by fighting to keep our health in order. The amount of money and trust that is put
into pharmaceuticals is staggering. For
some, a good health plan is more important than one’s salary.
Now, there is some value in having these
things. Money, reputation, and health are
all gifts from God, and we want to be wise with the gifts God gives. But understand that your money, your
reputation, and your health will fail you.
Whoever spends his life trying to save them will end up with none of them. No amount of money will buy you more time. Whether your body is strong or sickly, it
will finally give out. Even people with
sharp minds and robust bodies end up in the grave. And as far as your reputation goes? Well, we all want to believe that we are
important and that our lives matter. We
want people to remember us. But that was
not the prayer of the criminal who was next to Jesus and dying. Chances are, the townsfolk would remember
him, at least for a generation. They
would remember him as a man who deserved to die by crucifixion. They would be grateful to be rid of him. But there is only one person he wanted to
remember him: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom” (Luke 23:42). He turned to Jesus because he holds the key to
heaven.
Is that
not the goal? Is not that what we long
for? All the treasures in the world,
even if they do have some value, will not provide you with the key to heaven. Not your job or your money, not your pride or
reputation, not your spouse or your children, not even your name on a church
roster. Turn to Jesus. He alone has the key to heaven. He IS the key to heaven.
Can you
imagine if Jesus had promised this man what many people crave? “Truly I tell you, today you will inherit a
large sum of money.” “Truly I tell you,
today your skin will clear up and you will die without pain.” “Truly I tell you, today people will speak
well of you.” What good would that
do? What comfort would that give? But that is not what Jesus went to the cross
for, and the man knew it. He prayed for
one thing—the only thing that matters: “Jesus, remember
me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). When Jesus remembers, he saves. Therefore, Jesus gave him the promise: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise”
(Luke 23:43).
Turn to
Jesus. He holds the key to heaven. His death produces far greater blessings than
anything on earth can provide. He takes
away the curse that we deserve because of our love for blessings that pass away
and cannot save. He pays the price for
the love of money, pride, and health. But
Jesus does more than wipe the slate clean and even the score. Jesus holds the key to heaven. He opens the way to blessings beyond our
desires.
By his death,
Jesus purchased for us glory which is beyond price. By his death, Jesus cleared our reputation as
sinners. He covers us in his blood which
purifies us of all unrighteousness. Now,
God declares you to be guiltless. The
world may curse you and slander you and brand you as evil, but the world’s
judgment is clouded by unbelief. It is
neither rational nor noble. Jesus’
judgment is the only one that matters, because all judgment has been entrusted
to him. And he assures you of your place
in Paradise. He is the key who opens
those gates to you, because you are his.
The Savior promises
Paradise because he has overcome death by his resurrection. Because he lives, you, too, will live. And when he raises you from the dead, guess what
you get! He “will transform our lowly body to
be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:21), incorruptible, imperishable, restored,
robust, and permanently perfected. In
other words, the very things you regard as blessings now will be yours in
abundance and without end. The riches of
heaven will never lose their value. Your
status as saints will never be marred.
The incorruptible, risen body will never suffer harm. This salvation comes only through Jesus
Christ who is the key to heaven.
It is good, right, and salutary that we remember Jesus throughout our lives, hearing his word and receiving his sacraments. For, Jesus is the only hope for the dying. It is good, right, and salutary that those who are dying should pray, “Jesus, remember me” (Luke 23:42). According to Jesus’ own promise, he will. And he does.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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