THE FALSE TREE GOT US OUT,
AND THE FALSE TREE KEEPS US OUT

(COMPARING THE PENITENT THIEF AND THE IMPENITENT THIEF) April 18, 2010 am
MF Blume

Luke 23:33-43 KJV And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. (34) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (35) And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. (36) And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, (37) And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. (38) And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. (39) And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. (40) But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? (41) And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. (42) And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. (43) And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

There is a remarkable contrast between ONE MAN in this entire passage and everyone else mentioned there, from religious rulers of Israel, to Romans soldiers and to the impenitent thief on the cross.

The penitent thief stands out amongst them all.

The rulers were spiritual leaders and the derided Jesus.

Being spiritual leaders, they focused on his Spiritual claim as MESSIAH or CHRIST.
The chosen of God.
And their concept of MESSIAH could not handle the thought of such a one dying.
Their idea of Messiah was a false idea.
It was a concept that could not conceive of Jesus dying if He claimed He was chosen of God and was Messiah.
Jesus would have to save Himself if He was truly the Christ in their minds.

The soldiers were a secular force and they focused upon Jesus’ claim as KING OF THE JEWS.

If He was king of the Jews, then He needed to save Himself from the death of the cross.
There is no place for a man to die, especially if He did not sit on the throne yet, if He claimed to be King of the Jews.
And the impenitent thief railed on Jesus, repeating the rulers’ derision, saying if Jesus was CHRIST, Messiah, then He should not only save Himself but also save the two thieves, himself included.

Get this:

The impenitent thief NOT ONLY WANTED JESUS TO NOT DIE IF HE WAS MESSIAH, BUT TO NOT LET HIMSELF, DIE EITHER.
This stands for a very FALSE BUT VERY COMMON IDEA ABOUT GOD AND HEAVEN.
MESSIAH represents the way to God and the way to Heaven.
Jesus said no man gets to the Father but by Him.
Translate that over to the false view of Christianity that so many sinners hold today, and MANY Christians, sadly, and the message is THAT WE HAVE TO DO ENOUGH GOOD DEEDS TO MOUNT THEM UP TO IMPRESS GOD AND SEE HIM LET US INTO HEAVEN WHEN WE DIE.
There is no concept of the TRUE DEATH OF THE CROSS.

MORE ABOUT THAT LATER.

The penitent thief rebuked the other and asked him if he had no fear of God.

There was the mocking thief railing on Jesus to save Himself and the two thieves, WHILE GETTING READY TO DIE.
The repentant thief was absolutely shocked that someone could say such things as he was dying and ready to meet his Creator.
He had no concern over meeting God and the state of his sinfulness in which He would meet God.
All that was on the thief’s mind about anything spiritual like the Messiah that He challenged Jesus of being, was that this MESSIAH should SAVE HIM FROM DYING THAT DAY.
Imagine self being so much of a concern that even when you are dying you are not concerned with sin and meeting God, but only whether you might be able to get away from dying or not!
The penitent thief turned his words to Jesus, and STILL CONSIDERED JESUS HAD A KINGDOM even though HE WAS GOING TO DIE.
The others could not see Him as Messiah or King of Israel if He was going to die!
Dying on a cross had no room to be occurring if Jesus was really the Messiah or King of Israel.
But that is not the conclusion this thief makes.
After admitting his sin, stating that he deserved the die, He asks Jesus to remember him IN HIS KINGDOM!
He believed that even though Jesus would die, HE STILL HAD A KINGDOM and none of His claims of having a Kingdom were the least bit affected by the thought of His death!
That thief had a better understanding of the nature of Jesus’ Kingdom than the religious rulers did of the Kingdom of the Messiah!
He had a better idea of how Jesus could be KING OF ISRAEL than even the roman soldiers did, who were very well accustomed to the nature of Kings and Kingdoms, themselves in occupation of the armed forces of a Kingdom.
The point is that the penitent thief’s concept, though likely very shallow and minimal as could be in regards to how truthful it was, was precisely the basic understanding of the actual KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST THE MESSIAH.
Though the thief did not altogether understand it at the time, Jesus Christ would indeed rule as King of Israel and bring salvation as Messiah and Christ AFTER HIS DEATH and actually THROUGH HIS DEATH!

Hebrews 5:8-9 KJV Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; (9) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

The things He suffered on the cross caused Him to be made COMPLETE.

And through that very cross He actually became the author of salvation.
While the rulers and thief thought the Messiah should be concerned only with a salvation that was so far below eternal salvation from sin that it is ridiculous, a salvation from merely DYING that day on a cross, the penitent thief knew that HE HAD A KINGDOM IN WHICH HE WOULD ENTER AFTER HIS DEATH!
And when we learn that by Dying, Jesus would become the author of salvation, we find the penitent thief was not very far by accepting Jesus’ death and asking Jesus to remember him IN HIS KINGDOM.

Jesus replied to the thief something that probably shocked the thief.

Not only would Jesus remember Him in His kingdom, that the thief was able to believe Jesus was going to enter, but when the thief likely thought that some far distant future time would bring the results of his request to the Lord, THAT THIEF WOULD BE IN PARADISE WITH JESUS THAT VERY DAY!
Jesus meant that when both of them would die, they would leave their bodies and actually be in what Jesus called PARADISE!
And PARADISE is what the Septuagint version of the Old Testament actually called the Garden of Eden.

THE WRONG TREE GOT US OUT,
AND THE WRONG TREE WILL KEEP US OUT

The fascinating thing about the words from the impenitent thief, the thief who would not repent,
was that his words from the cross upon which he was crucified mirror the entire false concept that THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL offered mankind when mankind first LOST PLACE IN PARADISE.

It was as though the impenitent thief was with the rest of mankind OUTSIDE THE PARADISE OF GOD, needing to get back in, in order to truly LIVE WITH GOD, but was crying out such a terrible and false version of THE CROSS that he shows mankind still eating from the FALSE TREE’S FRUIT that threw us out of the Garden and thereby KEEPING HIMSELF OUT even at his last chance upon his very death!
THE TREES IN THE GARDEN stand for THE FALSE CROSS and the TRUE CROSS.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the false cross the devil offers to mankind today.

The bible calls the CROSS of Jesus Christ a TREE in scripture.

Acts 5:30 KJV The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Acts 10:39 KJV And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

Paul takes a law regarding hangings on a tree and refers it to Christ on the cross in order to show Jesus took our curse so we can be redeemed from the curse wherein he said:

Galatians 3:13 KJV Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

So the message of the impenitent thief dying on a cross stands for the false message of the false cross of Jesus.

Jesus Christ died that same day on a cross, but THIS CROSS AND THE MESSAGE COMING FROM IT DOES NOT STAND FOR THE CROSS THAT JESUS DIED ON.
There is a false message that is offered by the devil in regards to the cross that Jesus died on that day.
It is the same message that the devil used to get man out of the Garden of Eden and into sin that he is now using to KEEP MAN OUT OF THE GARDEN and out of the Paradise of God!
And he had that impenitent thief still hollering it out during the last day that man would ever live.

That thief’s only cry was to DELIVER SELF FROM DYING, with not a hint of his need to be saved from sin and eternal damnation.

It was a cry to let FALLEN SELF LIVE.
To continue on IN NATURAL LIFE.
The only salvation his version of the Messiah was to offer was salvation from seeing SELF DIE.
No regard to sin, and no regard to anything spiritual.
It is like the false cross of the social gospel today in many so-called Christian circles.
Sin is never dealt with.
It is a cry only against things lesser than the most important issues which are eternal life and God’s Kingdom in this earth and a truly born again and changed life in Jesus.
The social gospel only deals with secular issues, that may indeed be wrong, but preaching all the time against abortion or against gambling or alcohol, as bad as those since are, do not affect the deeper and inward spiritual aspects of mankind’s need for salvation from sin and truly becoming new creations in Jesus Christ!
There is no inkling of THE NEED FOR SELF TO DIE in order to see Jesus Christ live through us!
There is no SPIRITUAL FOOD concerning how Christ actually fills our lives by His Spirit and causes us to live forth a powerful and supernatural lifestyle that sees THE KINGDOM FULFILLED IN THIS EARTH.

Abortion, gambling addictions and alcoholism are all wrong, but they are OUTWARD issues that never touch the true inner problem of sin and death that thrives in those never born again of the water and of the Spirit.

They’re like saving oneself from physical death and not being saved from the spiritual sin and death that eats our souls and spirits until we finally DIE WITH JESUS CHRIST.

The FALSE CROSS PREACHES NO DEATH WITH CHRIST!

No concept of the need for the blood, and no preaching about it with no study of it.
It’s like Peter’s plea to Jesus to put the thought of dying far from him.

Matthew 16:16 KJV And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:21-22 KJV From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (22) Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.

The same Peter who knew Jesus was the Christ, like the rulers and impenitent thief and soldiers of Rome could not comprehend the death of the cross being necessary for THIS MESSIAH!

They were concerned for their fleshly survival.
The only concept they have for anything to do with LIFE, which the True Tree of Life was trying to provide for mankind, is NATURAL LIFE.

But the penitent thief gives a message in his words to both the impenitent thief and even Jesus Christ that reflects the TRUE CONCEPT OF THE CROSS.

Far from seeking to escape physical death, salvation is from sin and the bondage that exists outside the Garden of Eden in this Egyptian prison binding world, into the KINGDOM OF GOD.
NATURAL LIFE MUST GO SO THAT TRUE LIFE OF GOD MIGHT RETURN.

The false tree of knowledge was NATURAL LIFE OF SELF saving self.

It’s a message that we do not really need God.
A false message that we are our own gods.

Genesis 3:4-6 KJV And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

It makes oneself WISE.

It improves upon self by the power of self.
The false cross says DEATH is not the answer.
Get away from the need to die.
Let SELF LIVE so that SELF CAN EVENTUALLY MAKE ITSELF RIGHTEOUS.

Righteousness is a topic concerning which most believers find themselves lost.

It is RIGHT STANDING WITH GOD.
You cannot go to glory one day without right standing with GOD.
So how do we get this right standing/righteousness?
It is something that Law stated would come by doing good works.

Deuteronomy 6:25 KJV And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

But no one could do it.

Acts 15:10 KJV Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

God loves righteousness.

Psalms 11:7 KJV For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

He rewards us according to our righteousness.

Psalms 18:20 KJV The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.

But THE LORD, HIMSELF, IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

Jeremiah 23:6 KJV In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

It is a GIFT to us when we believe the Gospel and decide to serve Jesus.

Romans 5:17 KJV For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

But despite the fact that God gives it as a gift freely without having us earn it, like under Law, the Jews rejected Jesus and continue to try to get it through self effort of good works.

Romans 10:3 KJV For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Do enough good deeds and eventually build up enough of a stock of them that God is so impressed He lets you go to Heaven one day.

That is SELF SAVING SELF.
For them, the last thing they would ever think about in regards to salvation is DYING TO SELF!
SELF is their god!
Self is their means to righteousness!
Tell them what is good and what is evil so they can store up a good KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL so that THEY CAN MAKE THEMSELVES AVOID THE EVIL AND DO THE GOOD, and please God!

Their concern is BEING GOOD ENOUGH THROUGH GOOD DEEDS to be able to dwell int eh deepest and holiest presence of God.

They contrive the very opposite concept in their minds that we should have.
They think THEY HAVE TO DO ENOUGH GOOD THINGS IN THEIR FLESH to be able to MERIT presence with God.
The truth is GOD DID ALL THE WORK THAT COULD EVER ALLOW US TO BEING HIS PRESENCE, and that involves SELF DYING ON THE CROSS THROUGH JESUS’ DEATH, in order to get any remotely possible concept of SELF improving SELF DEAD AND BURIED!
Like the penitent thief said, WE DESERVE TO DIE.
Dying means we are killing any hope of ever being able to be good enough in our fleshly abilities to please God.

When you have a powerful revelation of the cross, you FULLY KNOW THAT DYING WITH JESUS that day on the cross PUTS YOU INTO A PARADISE GARDEN OF EDEN KINGDOM before you had a chance to even do ONE SINGLE GOOD DEED, because it is not of YOUR works that YOU CAN DO, but HIS WORK OF THE CROSS IN RIDDING YOU OF SIN THROUGH DEATH!

Remember, he that is dead is freed from sin.
And if we’re freed from sin, then we are free from the thing that separated us from our God.
And if we’re freed from what separated us from God, then WE CAN BE IN HIS PRESENCE!
IN THE GARDEN!

The need for us to understand that it is not of works is so much emphasized to us that Jesus told the thief that THE DAY THE THIEF DIED WITH JESUS WOULD BE THE DAY THE THIEF IS RESTORED BACK TO GOD AND IN THE KINGDOM OF THE GARDEN PARADISE OF GOD WHERE GOD FIRST PUT ADAM IN GENESIS 2.

Before we have a chance to do ONE SINGLE THING for the Lord, WE ARE IN THE KINGDOM AND IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN FROM WHENCE SIN CAUSED GOD TO CAST US OUT!

The impenitent thief had it all wrong like so many do today when they think of Church and the Bible and Jesus Christ.

They think you have to make yourself perfect.
You have to do so many good deeds, that you know you cannot do them, so no sense in even going to church to make a start.
THEY HAVE NO CLUE THAT DYING WITH JESUS MAKES US RIGHTEOUS IN AND OF ITSELF.
And WE DIE WITH HIM BY FAITH!

THE WRONG TREE GOT US OUT,
AND THE WRONG TREE WILL KEEP US OUT

The liar said DO NOT KILL SELF!

You’re the messiah.
My concept of you is that MY SELF NEEDS TO LIVE SO THAT I CAN DO GOOD THINGS TO EARN MY WAY TO HEAVEN.
DYING WITH JESUS?
NO, JESUS MUST NOT DIE AND NEITHER MUST I.
DYING IS THE LAST THING TO DO IF WE WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN.
SELF MUST LIVE SO THAT SELF CAN DO A LOT OF GOOD DEEDS TO MAKE SELF SAVE SELF SO THAT WE CAN PLEASE GOD!