March 21 – Good Friday Sermon

 

Why did Jesus die on the cross?

So He could save us from our sin.

That’s the correct Biblical and theological answer. But those who conspired to put Jesus to death weren’t thinking that.  They didn’t believe Jesus was the promised Messiah. So why did the Pharisees and teachers of the law, the Sadducees and high priests, and even the Roman governor conspire together to have Jesus executed?

For a moment, let’s reflect on why they wanted to get rid of that prophet, Jesus of Nazareth.  

In his ministry, Jesus had conflicts with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees.

“He’s leading people away from the religious rules and traditions. For example, on more than one occasion, Jesus flaglently and publicly broke the Sabbath restrictions – healing on the Sabbath right in a synagogue. Then saying the The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. “Does he really think anyone can possibly please God unless they keep all the rules? “How can he say some things are more important than the rules?”

The Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy because of his teachings about God’s forgiveness.

“How could he go around telling people that God was ready to forgive them if they would just repent and turn to God? “And he kept associating with all the wrong people – public sinners, tax collectors, people who never went to synagogue, who weren’t trying to be holy. He accepted them – shared meals with them – and implied God would welcome and accept them too.  “Doesn’t he know that God only accepts righteous people like us?”

The chief priests got red in the face if you just mentioned Jesus.  “His cleansing of the temple was the last straw.  He wasn’t just criticizing the commercial use of the temple, but he claimed God’s judgment was upon the whole sacrificial system – temple and priests - that it was unnecessary.”

To the Roman emperor, “anyone who stirred up that much trouble – and who some claimed was the Messiah-king – was a problem that had to be dealt with.  “Maybe Jesus wasn’t really guilty of any capital offense, but sometimes you have to go along just to get along.  He’d just wash his hands of the matter, and let them execute Jesus, even if he believed him innocent.  In politics, it’s expediency over principle.”

Jesus was considered a threat to society by the leaders of the time – or more accurately, a threat to their own interests.  Christ’s teaching clashed with the way of the world back then – and it still does.  Following Christ’s way is going to make you different from those around you.

Pilate was not the last person to take the easy way – to go along with something that isn’t quite right because that’s so much easier than standing up for what is right.  Haven’t you ever been tempted to do something you know in your heart really isn’t the right thing to do, but you do it anyway?  Even St. Paul admits to giving into that kind of temptation.

The high priests’ use of the temple and their position to enrich themselves has never gone out of style.  There are always some religious leaders who give into the temptation to seek money through religion.

Jesus is challenge to any religious organization that would put itself between the believer and God.  For Jesus teaches us to pray directly to God, simply calling him “Our Father”.  He also taught us not to get caught up in religious rules, and not to judge others by our standards.  The standard we use in judgment is the one that will be applied to us.  To remember that the principle behind all the rules – the key to their interpretation – is to love God and love your neighbor.   We should extend the same welcome and acceptance to others that Christ has extended to us.  His way is radical and counter cultural.

In practice, His standard is higher than we can achieve.  Honestly, we’re not quite as loving and accepting as Jesus is.  Nor are we as generous and hospitable.   We don’t always do the good that we know we should.  Nor do we avoid the things we shouldn’t do and say.  We can’t always measure up to God’s standard – in fact, we probably don’t even come close.

So today we gather in humility to thank God for Christ’s sacrifice ion the cross, whereby our sins can be forgiven.

Why did Jesus have to suffer so much pain on Good Friday and finally die an agonizing death?

The answer in the hymns and prayers today is that it was for our sake that died, so that we might be forgiven and reconciled to God.  Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary, and explained that all this had been foretold by the psalms and the prophets.  So we read Psalm 22, which looked forward to his suffering, and also a prophecy from Isaiah

  All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have all turned to our own way,

  and the LORD has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

As we sang in one of the hymns to Christ, Who was the guilty, who brought this upon thee… Then we answered that question:

   T’was I Lord Jesus –

  I was guilty, but you took the punishment.

Which is exactly what Isaiah Had foretold:

    He was wounded for our transgressions,

    crushed for our iniquities;

  upon him was the punishment that made us whole,

    and by his bruises we are healed.

By his bruises we are healed.  The prophet’s focus is not only on sin, for he says of the Christ, the suffering servant: Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases – stricken and afflicted.

He bears our diseases and infirmities.

Christ’s sufferings are not exclusive; they are not just His sufferings.  They are inclusive – our sufferings too, and the sufferings of the time in which we are living.

Often we’ll depict Calvary showing the three crosses, which Christ in the middle.  That’s historically correct – the crosses of two criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

Another way of thinking of that familiar image is that His cross stands between our crosses – whatever crosses we have to bear.  A sign that Christ himself participates in our suffering and takes our pains upon himself.  Nothing we go through can cut us off from the companionship of Christ, the one who suffers with us.  

The crucified Christ offers healing and forgiveness – and something more: The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

He would make us righteous – right with God.  It is through Christ that we come into relationship with God.

It is because of Christ that we can boldly address the Almighty One simply as “Our Father…”

It is through Christ that we come to know God’s love.

  He was numbered with the transgressors;

  yet he bore the sin of many,

  and made intercession for the transgressors.

And it is Christ, the great high priest, who makes intercession for us - prays for us, as the writer of Hebrews put it: We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…

…a high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses … one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.

Christ went through what we do, and understands – even sympathizes with us.

Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Lord Jesus, on this day that we call good, we see what lengths you will go to save us. You reached toward us, suffered for us and with us, shared our lot and bore our death, dying for us.

Therefore today we gather to give you thanks for your supreme sacrifice.

Although we, by our thoughts and actions, are unworthy of such a gift, we praise you for your love for us – your love made manifest on Good Friday – your reach to embrace us from the cross.

We worship you and bless you, O Christ, because by your holy cross you have saved and redeemed us.

Amen