Hope for the Undeserving

Week 3: Hope for the Undeserving

Scripture: Luke 23:32-43 // Isaiah 53:3-5 // Romans 10:9-10

Write Up: As Jesus hung on the cross, He extended life-changing grace to a criminal who had nothing to offer and no time to make things right. The thief on the cross encountered mercy in a moment when all seemed lost—and in that encounter, everything changed. This week focuses on the staggering truth that God’s grace is greater than our guilt. No past mistake, sinful pattern, or broken moment can outrun the love Jesus offers. His mercy reaches us at our lowest and lifts us into the hope of new life. This message invites us to remember that if there is breath in our lungs, there is still hope for our souls, because Jesus meets us right where we are with forgiveness and freedom.

Tagline: “If there’s breath in your lungs, there’s hope for your soul.”

Think: Salvation and hope are available to everyone, even those who feel undeserving.

Feel: Gratitude for Jesus’ sacrificial love and mercy.

Do: Confess faith in Jesus and trust His promise of forgiveness.

(All Scripture taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.)

Introduction

Good morning, church! I’m so grateful to be with you as we continue week three of our sermon series, He Is Risen: More Than a Moment. In the first week of this series, we set the foundation by remembering that the resurrection of Jesus was not simply a powerful moment in history; it was a divine interruption. When the stone was rolled away, everything changed. Sin was defeated. Death was disarmed. Hope was unleashed. The resurrection rewrote the future of humanity and continues to reshape our lives today. Last week, we discovered that resurrection hope doesn’t wait for life to get cleaned up. Jesus doesn’t step in once the mess is resolved; He meets us right in the middle of it. New life doesn’t begin when everything is fixed; it begins when we invite Him into our brokenness. This week, we turn our attention to a scene at the cross that reminds us just how far resurrection hope reaches. We will see that resurrection hope is not earned. There is hope even for the undeserving, because grace has always been the point of the cross.

STORY: A few years ago, a pastor shared the story of receiving a phone call late at night from a hospital chaplain. A man was dying, hours at most. He had lived hard, burned bridges, and carried a long list of regrets. His family hadn’t spoken to him in years. The chaplain asked, “Would you come talk to him about Jesus?” When the pastor arrived, the room was quiet except for the steady beep of machines. The man was weak, barely able to speak. After a few moments of silence, the man whispered, “Is it too late for me?” He didn’t ask how to fix his past. He didn’t ask how to make things right. He didn’t ask what steps he needed to take. Just one question: “Is it too late?” The pastor opened Scripture and shared the simple truth of the gospel, that salvation is not about what we bring to God, but about what God has already given us in Jesus. With tears in his eyes, the man whispered a prayer, placing his trust in Christ with nothing but faith and a fading breath. There were no years left to serve. No time to undo the damage. No opportunity to prove sincerity. Yet grace met him there, right at the edge of eternity.

This moment unsettles some people. It feels unfair. We want grace to be earned, timed better, or at least deserved. But stories like that confront us with the same truth we see at the cross: God’s mercy is not limited by our human standards and expectations. And that leads us to a hill called Calvary, where next to Jesus hung a man who had no résumé, no second chances, and no future… only a desperate need for mercy.

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is God's Messiah, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself." There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

–Luke 23:32-38

Before we rush past this moment, we need to sit for a minute at the place where all of this happens. Golgotha wasn’t chosen at random. It was a place everyone in Jerusalem recognized. The name itself means “the place of the skull.” It was a public execution site, visible, ugly, and intentional. Rome wanted people to see it. Crosses were placed where travelers passed by so fear would do its work. Golgotha was not a place of worship. It was not a place of healing. It was not a place you went unless something had gone terribly wrong. It was the place where the worst of society ended up. Criminals. Rebels. The condemned. People whose stories ended in shame. And yet, this is where Jesus turns over his life.

I. Jesus Goes Through What He Did Not Deserve To Offer Us What We Didn't Deserve

More than 700 years earlier, the prophet Isaiah saw this moment coming. He wrote about a Savior who would not avoid suffering but willingly enter it for the sake of others.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

–Isaiah 53:3-5

Isaiah is clear about something we can’t miss; this suffering was not accidental. Jesus wasn’t caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wasn’t overpowered. He wasn’t a victim of history. He willingly went through something horrific because of His love for humanity. Every step toward Golgotha was intentional. Every lash of the whip was endured. Every nail was accepted. And why? Because love doesn’t turn away from suffering when someone else’s freedom is on the line. Isaiah tells us that Jesus was “familiar with pain.” That means He didn’t just observe human suffering from a distance; He stepped into it. He felt betrayal. He felt injustice. He felt physical agony and emotional abandonment. And yet, He stayed.

STORY: When a building is on fire, firefighters are trained to assess risk. They’re taught when to go in and when it’s too dangerous. But there are moments, especially when a child is trapped, where firefighters run toward the flames without hesitation. Not because the fire isn’t real. Not because the danger isn’t deadly. But because love outweighs fear. There are many cases where firefighters have suffered severe burns because they wrapped their own bodies around someone else to shield them from the heat. They didn’t stay because it was easy. They stayed because someone else’s life was worth the pain.

That’s a glimpse of Isaiah 53. Jesus didn’t stay on the cross because He couldn’t escape. He stayed because we couldn’t survive without Him. As Jesus hangs on the cross, Luke tells us something important: two criminals were crucified with Him. Both are guilty. Both are condemned. Both are helpless. They both see Jesus’ broken body, and they hear his heartfelt prayer for forgiveness for the ones who were crucifying him.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!" But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

–Luke 23:39-43

One of the criminals joins the crowd in mocking Jesus. He says, “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” In other words, prove it. Use your power. Get us out of this mess. This man sees Jesus only as a means of escape, not as a Savior. His heart is hardened, even in his final moments. But the other criminal responds differently. He rebukes the first man. He knows they are being punished justly, and they are getting what their deeds deserve. He knows Jesus is dying as an innocent man. In that moment, he does something profound: he tells the truth about himself and the truth about Jesus. He admits his guilt without excuses. He acknowledges Jesus’ innocence without hesitation. Then he turns to Jesus and says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

That sentence is loaded with faith. He doesn’t ask to be taken down. He doesn’t ask for relief from pain. He doesn’t ask for time to make things right. He simply asks to be remembered. He believes that beyond the cross there is a kingdom, and beyond death there is hope. With a failing body and a broken past, he places his trust entirely in Jesus.

II. Grace Is Received by Humble Faith

This criminal had no good deeds to point to. No track record of obedience. No baptism, no restitution, no chance to live a changed life on the outside. All he had was humility and faith. And that was enough. Jesus tells him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Not someday. Not after proving yourself. Not after paying off your debt. Today.

This is the scandal of grace. Salvation is not a reward for the deserving; it is a gift for the repentant. The cross stands as proof that grace is not about timing, effort, or fairness. It is about trust. One criminal dies mocking Jesus. The other dies trusting Him. Same cross. Same pain. Same proximity to Jesus. But radically different outcomes.

STORY: (Bring a cup of water filled with water) Take a look at this cup. Right now, it’s full of water. Imagine this water represents all the things we try to bring to God: our good deeds, our pride, our excuses, even our attempts to fix ourselves before we come to Him. If I tried to pour anything else into this cup, it wouldn’t work; it’s already full. That’s what our hearts are like when we think we have to earn God’s favor or clean ourselves up first. (Pour the water out) But, when we let go of pride, excuses, shame, and the false notion that we have to earn our way. The cup is now empty. Now it’s ready. That’s exactly what faith looks like: humility. The criminal on the cross had nothing to offer. His cup was empty. He couldn’t give Jesus anything, but he trusted Him anyway.

And that’s where grace comes in. Jesus poured forgiveness, hope, and new life into that empty cup. He doesn’t need us to arrive perfectly. He just needs a heart willing to surrender and receive. You don’t have to bring anything to Him but humility, and when you do, He can fill you completely. So, where does this sermon meet you? Are you too full of other things for God to fill you with his grace and mercy? Or, are you willing to pour yourself out to receive from Him?

III. It Is Never Too Late To Turn To Jesus

If it wasn’t too late for a dying criminal with seconds left on the clock, it is not too late for you. As long as there is breath in your lungs, there is hope for your soul. The thief teaches us that we are never more than one prayer or surrender away from grace.

Some of us struggle with this because we compare ourselves to others. We think our story is too messy, our failures too frequent, our regrets too heavy. But the cross silences every excuse. Jesus meets people at their lowest, not their best. He doesn’t wait for us to climb up to Him; He comes down to us. Paul gives us a clear description of what this surrender looks like.

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

–Romans 10:9-10

This verse is a perfect reminder that grace doesn’t wait for perfection. It doesn’t matter what your past looks like or how messy your life has been. Salvation is about what Jesus has already done, not what we’ve managed to do. The thief on the cross simply believed, he confessed, and he trusted Jesus. And that was enough. Church, that same grace is available to you today. Right now. As long as there is breath in your lungs, there is hope for your soul. Jesus isn’t waiting for you to tidy up your life before He comes to you; He meets you right where you are, with mercy that overwhelms our guilt and forgiveness that surpasses our mistakes.

So today, maybe you feel like that thief. Maybe you’ve made mistakes, burned bridges, or feel there’s no time left. But hear this: it’s never too late. You don’t have to earn it. You don’t have to prove it. You simply need to believe and surrender. And when you do, Jesus will fill your cup completely.

PRAYER

“Jesus, thank You for meeting us where we are. Thank You that Your grace is bigger than our guilt, Your mercy stronger than our mistakes. Help us to empty our hearts of pride, shame, and excuses, so we can receive the hope and forgiveness You freely give. Remind us that as long as we breathe, there is hope for our souls. Today, we choose to trust You, fully, completely, and humbly. Amen.”

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

“Lord Jesus, I admit that I try to earn Your favor with my own efforts. I confess my pride, my shame, and the things I’ve held onto instead of giving them to You. Forgive me for thinking I have to be perfect to come to You. Today, I surrender it all, my past, my mistakes, my fears, and I ask You to fill my heart with Your grace. Thank You for meeting me where I am, even when I feel undeserving. Amen.”

Discussion Questions:

Provide these questions to your Sunday School classes or small groups, or send them home with families to discuss during the week. They are also a great way to engage with your online audience before, during or after each service.

The thief on the cross had nothing to offer but faith. What does “emptying our cup” of pride, shame, or excuses look like in your life today?

How does the story of the criminal challenge the idea that we have to “clean ourselves up” before coming to God?

Can you identify a time when you experienced grace even though you felt undeserving? How did that change you?

Romans 10:9-10 tells us that salvation is about belief and confession. How can we practically live out that trust in our daily lives?

Who in your life might be living under the weight of guilt, shame, or failure? How can you reflect the hope and mercy of Jesus to them this week?