Good Friday 04/03/26 – 6:00 PM - AVBC
Sermon Title: “Is
it Possible to Repay Jesus?” - “The Path to
the Empty Tomb” Sermon Series - Psalm 22,
Hebrews 10:16-25, John 18:1-19:42
(Welcome
Picture)
When I was younger
my understanding of Good Friday, I am sad to say, was very different than it is
now. You see, on some level when I was younger, I felt some guilt and
unworthiness over what Jesus did for us all on the cross today. I mean, can we
ever be good enough for what Jesus did for us? Or to ask it like this, “Is it
Possible to Repay Jesus?” Further, do we need to repay Jesus? On this day, this
night of Good Friday should we feel guilt, shame, and unworthiness? My answer
to this is no. Jesus chose to go to the cross for us. This was part of His
mission on earth before time itself. Jesus did this out of love for us, and for
our forgiveness and out salvation. We cannot earn it, and we cannot give
anything to repay Jesus.
What
is true is today is a day that Christians all over the world have remembered
and have commemorated for nearly two-thousand years. Marking this day,
worshiping on this day, telling the story of this day is an important part of
our Christian faith and tradition. In fact, in some Christian Churches like in
Roman Catholic Churches or in Episcopal Churches, this day’s events literally
laid out in numbers/images around the church’s sanctuary. These stations of the
cross or fourteen numbered markers are the events of this day, Good Friday.
Once again, our Holy Week began this week with Palm Sunday
when Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouts of “Hosanna,” and palms waving. This
week then continued on Monday of this week, as Jesus cleansed the temple,
flipped the tables of the money changers, released the sacrificial animals, and
threw out the vendors selling these animals. On Tuesday, Jesus confronted the
hypocrisy of the some of the religious leaders, as He taught. On Wednesday,
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30-pieces of silver, the cost to buy a slave
at that time. Yesterday on Maundy or Holy Thursday, Jesus had the Last Supper
in the Upper Room in Jerusalem with His disciples, He washed their feet, and He
then gave them the “Maundy” or new commandment to love one another.
After the Last Supper last night, Jesus then went into the
Garden of Gethsemane, and He prayed all night long. Jesus asked a couple of his
disciples to stay awake while He prayed, but they both fail to do this both
times that Jesus asks them to do so. On this day further, in the early morning,
Judas Iscariot greets Jesus with a kiss, even though he betrayed him. Jesus is
arrested, Peter will deny him three times, as the majority of Jesus’ followers
scatter out of fear.
Today’s saga will then play out as Jesus is brought before
the high priest, the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, and the King of
Judea, Herod Antipas. You can see how this week, Holy Week, can therefore seem
similar to a stage production, as the story of this week keeps unfolding, and
keeps developing. This is why the communion table has elements of what happened
this week so far. Every year for centuries Christians have gone through this
week and the events of this week, as it is our faith and our tradition.
On
this day that we have come to call Good Friday, the religious leaders clearly
wanted Jesus dead, as he was a threat to their authority and their power. The
King of Judea, Herod Antipas finds no fault in Jesus, as the high priest and
the Pharisees tear their robes open feeling Jesus was committing blasphemy in
claiming to be God in the flesh on earth, while the Roman Governor of Judea,
Pontius Pilate, seems to not want to deal with Jesus at all. Pontius Pilate
even offers to release Jesus or the bandit Barabbas to appease the angry mob
(Jn. 18:1-18:40, NRSV).
The pressure continues to build, as the crowd shouts for
the bandit Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be retained in Pontius
Pilate’s custody. Barabbas is released, and then things move to a fever pitch
with shouts to crucify Jesus. Many in the crowd shouted “Crucify him! Crucify
him!” (Jn. 19:6, NRSV). Pilate has Jesus flogged and whipped to try to appease
the crowd, but this does not appease the crowd. Eventually, Pontius Pilate
conceded to the mob and has Jesus crucified. Jesus carries his cross but will
end up getting help from Simon of Cyrene. By the time Jesus gets to the cross
he is marred, whipped, beaten, and barely recognizable as a man. Jesus is
crucified along with two other criminals. One of these criminals rejects Jesus
and once accepts him. Jesus prays for those who are harming him, condemning
him, mocking him, and even spitting on him. Jesus asks his beloved disciple
John, who is the only disciple of the twelve disciples at the cross, to take
care of his mother Mary. Jesus had a crown of thorns placed on his head and has
been treated in ways that are cruel and demeaning. Pilate has a sign nailed to
Jesus’ cross above his head in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that reads “Jesus of
Nazareth, the King of the Jews” (Jn. 19:19, NRSV).
(Jesus on
the Cross - Picture)
In addition to all of this, at Jesus’ crucifixion some of
the prophecies of the Old Testament or the Hebrew Bible come to fruition, as
well. These prophecies of old, like casting lots for Jesus’ clothes, or none of
Jesus’ bones being broken, etc. occurred. We also hear once again in tonight’s
reading from Psalm 22, in 22:1a the Psalmist says:
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:1a, NSRV).
Jesus
is recorded saying these words from Psalm 22:1a in Matthew 27:46 and Mark
15:34. The
great saga of this day, as this great stage production that we move through
every year on Holy Week continues.
(It is
Finished Cross - Picture)
In
our reading from the Gospel of John 18:1-19:41, Jesus says, “It is finished” in
19:30, bows his head and gives up his spirit. Jesus has died. He then is taken
off the cross, as the Sabbath Day, which is sundown on Friday to sundown on
Saturday was quickly approaching. Jesus was wrapped in linens, and a mixture of
myrrh and aloes were put on his body. Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb of
Joseph of Arimathea, and this is how the great saga of this week, Holy Week,
continues.
So how then, as the person asked me some years ago can this
day be called “Good Friday?” One good answer is written in the gospel of Matthew 27:51,
which says upon Jesus dying this:
51 At that moment the curtain of the
temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were
split (Mt. 27:51, NRSV).
(Hebrews
10:19 - Picture)
Further,
this is reinforced our scripture reading for tonight from Hebrews 10:16-25, it says
once again in 10:19-22:
“Therefore, my friends, since we
have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and
living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his
flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach
with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (Heb. 10:16-25, NRSV).
You
see, when Jesus died, the veil or the curtain in the great temple in Jerusalem
that separated the high priest from the holiest room in the temple was torn.
This room could normally only be entered into by the high priest, and only once
a year. In fact, a rope would be tied around the waste of the high priest.
Should God find him unworthy, and he be struck down dead, the other religious
leaders would just pull him out. I mean after all, if the high priest were
struck down, what hope would there be for the rest of them.
Jesus
dies, and the sin of the world dies with Him, if we but turn to Him. Today then
could simply be seen as merely a saga alone, or part of the stage production
alone. Death on this day though has been swallowed up in victory. For on this
day, the only perfect and the only sinless person, who was fully God and fully
human, Jesus Christ, dies for the sins of the world. Jesus dies for us, as
measure of unfathomable love, and this open door is offered to us all. The torn
veil in the temple shows us that all people are invited into the forgiveness
from Christ that this day offers. Today is truly “Good” then because Christ our
Lord dies for us.
Some
have argued that the events of this day are just simply too brutal. Some have
argued why did the events of this day happen or need to happen? Couldn’t God
just forgiven us they ask? Sure, but this day was preordained before time
itself. We hear in the gospel of John in chapter 1 these words regarding Jesus
in 1:14-17:
14 And the Word became
flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a
father’s only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John
testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes
after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”) 16 From
his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law
indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:14-17, NRSV).
Today’s events were planned before time itself, and God’s
plan to reconcile humanity through the life, love, light, and death of His son
was God’s plan to redeem humanity before time itself. We cannot earn it, we
cannot buy and cannot do anything to pay back what Jesus did for us all on this
day.
Only a perfect spotless lamb’s blood would save the
Israelites first born on that first Passover in Egypt, and on this day the
death and blood of Christ saves us all. So, do we receive this free gift of
grace and salvation offered so freely to us through Jesus Christ. Who deserves
it? No one does. Who is offered it? Everyone is. All of us need Jesus, and
today all people, without exception are offered new hope, redemption,
forgiveness, salvation, and eternity through the cross of Christ.
With this said, I want
to show you a video about the criminal on the cross next to Jesus who accepted
Him as Lord. Jesus told this repentant criminal that He would be with Him in
paradise this day. Let us watch this together:
(The Thief
on the Cross - Video)
Today, Jesus opens the door to glory, and all we have to do
is say yes to Him. It is that simple, He did this all for us. Will we say yes, and receive the
hope, mercy, peace, salvation of Jesus Christ anew on this Good Friday? Amen.
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