Luke records two of Jesus' LAST WORDS in chapter 23 when he recounts the dialog between Jesus and the two thieves who hung with him on the cross. The first are His prayer to God on behalf of mankind when he looked over the crowd gathered at the foot of his cross and said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (34) The second LAST WORDS are found further down the passage when he responds to one of the thieves request, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (42) Jesus' response, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”; the topic of today's sermon. (43)
Before addressing the comments of the thief, Pastor John first reminded us of the role of the cross in God's redemptive plan for mankind:
