Category: Good Friday

Jesus Teaches Us to Die

4/19/2022

Christ Crucified (c. 1632) by Diego Velázquez; Diego Velázquez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Good Friday
Luke 23:46
Pastor James Preus
April 15, 2022

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.” ~ Luke 23:46

Let us pray:

Teach me to live that I may dread
The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die that so I may
Rise glorious at the awe-full day.
Amen. (LSB 883:3, Thomas Ken)

“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”, Jesus cried before he died. This is    same Jesus, who from the cross cried out in dereliction, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). This is the same Jesus upon whom the sins of the whole world were laid, so that even in the garden before a whip had made a single stripe on his back, he sweat drops of blood under their burden. Where does he get the confidence to commit his spirit into the hands of the Almighty God, who had forsaken him on the cross and who has so willed to crush him? Because Jesus Christ is true God, begotten and beloved of the Father from all eternity, and also true man, and as true man, he is completely innocent of all sin. Jesus is the spotless Lamb of God, who has fully and completely fulfilled the entire Law under which we were once enslaved.

Jesus did not find himself nailed to the cross by accident. It was for this purpose that he came into the world. John the Baptist declared him the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus himself declared several times that he would be delivered over to evil men and be crucified and on the third day rise. This was all part of God’s plan to redeem us. Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18) This is also why St. Peter declared after Jesus’ ascension on Pentecost, “God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.” (Acts 2:24) And not only did Jesus have confidence that he would rise from the dead on the third day, he had confidence that his soul would dwell with the Father in heaven, as he said to the thief on the cross, ‘Today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). This was all part of God’s plan.

Yet, this does not mean that it was all for show. Jesus didn’t pretend to suffer on the cross for our sins. He did not pretend to die. He wasn’t acting when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” No, the suffering Jesus’ endured was real. The divine abandonment was real. The sins he bore were real sins with real guilt. Jesus bore hell on the cross for us. And the death he died was a real death. His soul departed his body. His body became inanimate and cold. Our God and brother hung dead on the cross. Jesus died.

Yet, he was not afraid to die. He died confident that he had done no wrong, confident that he had fulfilled all that God required of him and of every human being. He died confident that he had fully paid for every sin laid upon him and that he was returning to his Father in peace.

Jesus’ last words, “into your hands I commit my spirit!”, are actually a quote from King David in Psalm 31. And Martin Luther paraphrases it in his morning and evening prayers, “Into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” So, Jesus is by no means the first or the last person to pray these words to our heavenly Father. Yet, had Jesus not said these words, had he not commended his soul in death to our heavenly Father, no one would ever be able to utter this prayer.

Jesus once said, “Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul, but fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) How can we commit our spirit into the hand of him, who has the authority to destroy our soul in hell? God commands that you be perfect. You know the commandments. You shall have no other gods before the LORD. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God. You shall not despise God’s Word and preaching. Honor your father and mother. You shall not steal. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. Well, have you done these things perfectly? Have you satisfied God’s standard of perfection? Are you comfortable committing your soul into the hands of a righteous Judge?

Throughout history, there have been stories of people, even some ostensibly very righteous people, who have had great fits of terror on their death beds. They are terrified to die, because they know that after death comes judgment. While horrible and faithless as this is, these dying fools had much more sense than seems to be common today. No one sees the urgency in death today. They fear death. You can tell that by how they hide from it and deny it. You see it as people shunned the words of eternal life and the medicine of immortality, because some priests of science told them to give up meeting together in order to stay healthy. But today, few take notice that when they die they will meet their Maker, their Judge. They march toward death in arrogance, claiming to have no regrets. But they would be much wiser to know that it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).

Yet, should you be so terrified to die? Should the knowledge that after death comes judgement and that you have not fulfilled God’s Law, that God is indeed a righteous God, terrify you? No. Rather, you should have confidence to face death and say, “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.”

When Jesus suffered on the cross for the sins of the whole world, he suffered for your sins, for all of them. That means that when Jesus said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”, he was confident that all of your sins were atoned for by his suffering and death. If any of your sins remained, Jesus would not be able to say, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” Rather, he himself would be terrified to die. But because Jesus has said, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” you have the right to say these sweet words as well with confidence that they are true.

King David first penned these words in Psalm 31:5; the full verse is, “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” Indeed, that is how we may commit our spirits to the LORD. He has redeemed us with the precious blood of Christ Jesus and his innocent sufferings and death. God has purchased our salvation. You have been bought with a price! The prophet Isaiah writes, “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) St. Peter says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree.” (1 Peter 2:24) St. Paul writes, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Again the Apostle Paul writes, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-14) Again Scripture says, “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification, therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 4:25-5:1)

These words of comfort are not a hypothetical theory. Jesus died for these words. He Himself committed his soul to the Father having taken on your sins. This is not a superficial statement. Jesus took ownership of your transgressions, atoned for them, and then with full confidence, committed his soul to the Father, so that you can do the same.

We not only commit our souls to our heavenly Father in death, we commit our souls to the Father in life. God alone can keep us faithful. God alone can lead us out of temptation, out of unbelief and other great shame and vice. And he does this through Jesus Christ alone. Every morning and evening we commit our souls to God our heavenly Father for the sake of the suffering and death of his dear Son, trusting that God will guide our ways, lead us out of temptation, forgive our sins, protect us from danger, and keep us in the true faith. And in this way, we are ready for death at all times. Death no longer can terrify us, not because we are ignorant of judgment or arrogant before God, but because Christ has taken that terror away from us. He committed his soul to the Father and in so doing, he has paved a path for our souls as well.

Let us pray:
I thank you my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously kept me this day. And I pray that you would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night, for into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things, let your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.

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The Cross Proclaims God’s Love

4/2/2021

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Tintoretto, The Crucifixion of Christ, 1568. Public Domain

Good Friday
Pastor James Preus
Trinity Lutheran Church
April 2, 2021

Luke 23:32-43
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Jesus. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”

39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

There is no symbol so closely associated to the Christian religion than the cross. Christians put crosses on their church steeples and in all places of the sanctuary. A cross or crucifix is always prominent in the chancel of any Christian church. Christians wear crosses and crucifixes around their necks and hang them on their walls. We make the sign of the cross in our daily prayers. We’re not bothered by the image of the cross. Rather, we cherish it. The cross is for us a symbol of God’s love and our salvation. It is a tradition to hold a cross before the eyes of the dying, so that they see the source of their salvation until they meet their Maker.
Yet, the cross has not always been a symbol of love and salvation. The cross was not invented to communicate any message of love or peace or charity. No sane person would have worn a cross around his neck or erected it on top of a building. The cross was invented to be an instrument of punishment and extreme torture. When we consider the three uses of the Law: the curb, which prevents outbreaks of sin; the mirror, which shows a person his sins; and the rule, which guides a Christian in godly living; the cross primarily functions as a curb. Governments don’t crucify criminals to gain the love of the people. They crucify to gain fear and obedience.
The provinces of the Roman empire were not like our United States, which voluntarily united on account of their shared political and economic interests. The provinces of Rome were conquered nations kept in subjugation by force. In order to preserve peace and maintain functioning trade routes to bring wealth to its imperial cities, Rome could not have insurrections, robberies, and murders run rampant. In order to curb such crimes, they crucified criminals. Lawbreakers were tied or nailed to cross-beams and lifted up high for all to see. Their crimes were inscribed above their heads to warn other would-be criminals that this is what happens to insurrectionists, murderers, and robbers. Crucifixion was the most horrible way to die. It was hours or even days of continuous torture. Even the word excruciating was invented to describe the extreme torture of crucifixion. Cicero called crucifixion the most cruel and terrifying of punishments. For this reason, the cross was hated and feared by men. The Romans used the cross to compel obedience and fear with the threat of torture.
The cross functioned primarily as a curb against crime, but that does not mean that the cross did not function as a mirror of the law. The thief on the cross recognized that he was receiving his due reward for his crimes. When we look at Jesus agonizing on the cross, whose only crime inscribed above his head was, “King of the Jews,” we see what we deserve on account of our sins. Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the word. Behold, him on whom the Lord has laid all our iniquities. Big deal. What are sins? That can’t be such a heavy load. But listen to the words of the hymn:
Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may see its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
’Tis the Word, the Lord’s anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.” (LSB 451)
The torture of the cross reveals the severity of our sin. It is not a small thing to offend God. It is not a small thing to spurn the Creator and pollute his creation with hatred. Think your sins are a small thing? See the blows and wounds they lay upon Jesus; the weight they lay upon his outstretched arms. See how your guilt presses upon him until the blood oozes from every pore.
No one went to the cross freely. The cross was forced upon people unwillingly. The function of the cross was not to create love, but fear. The cross was a symbol of oppression, slavery, cruelty, and servile obedience. Yet, Jesus went to the cross willingly. Though the chief priests and elders sought many times to arrest Jesus to kill him, yet they said, not during the feast of the Passover, lest a riot breakout, Jesus chose to be delivered over to them at the Passover. Though Jesus could fell a band of soldiers with a word or commission twelve legions of angels to come to his aid, he chose to let them bind him and take him away. Although Jesus had silenced the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes with his words and persuaded the crowds with his teachings, so that his opponents were fearful to try to arrest him, Jesus spoke not a word in his defense to try to persuade the crowd or save his life.
Jesus was not compelled to the cross by the Roman government. He chose the cross in order to bear our shame and pay our debt. Love compelled Jesus to the cross. Love for us and the desire to pass over our sins and remember them no more drove Jesus to the cross. And on the cross and by means of the cross Jesus fulfilled God’s love for us. Now, when we see the cross, we see the instrument by which God’s love was perfected for us; we see the tool Christ used to set us free from slavery to sin and from the threats of the Law. The cross for us is not a symbol of tyranny or threats of punishment, but of God’s deep love for us and of freedom from everlasting punishment and death.
The cross was the most draconian form of punishment many centuries before Vlad Dracula ruled. Vlad Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, was a fifteenth century ruler from present-day Romania, who was known for his cruel and excessive forms of punishment. The word draconian describes a punishment that exceeds the crime. Yet, strangely, the more familiar Dracula, the demonic vampire from Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, was terrified of the cross. Stoker named his vampire Dracula, because Dracula was synonymous with bloodthirst. Yet, the bloodthirsty vampire was terrified of the most draconian form of punishment. Stoker of course did this, because the vampire was from the devil and the cross was the symbol of Christ, who vanquished Satan.
Yet, this proves to be a fitting image this Good Friday as we ponder Christ’s cross. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. The cross was the law’s instrument against sinners. It was men who were terrified of the cross, revealing their terror of the law. And you could imagine Satan and his demons prancing about the crosses of the condemned like jackals around a lion’s kill. But When Christ willingly went to the cross to bear the terror of the law on our behalf, he changed this around. Now, it is no longer men who fear the cross, but he, who once danced and feasted around it. The cross sends Satan fleeing like a vampire into the darkness.
The cross is a symbol to us of God’s love and forgiveness, that he did not spare his only Son, but gave him up for our trespasses. The cross is a sign that our debt is paid and that the law cannot condemn us. The cross is our comfort when Satan attacks and our consolation when our conscience burns. We are not offended to see Jesus’ body hanged on the cross, because we preach Christ crucified, which is God’s power of salvation to all who believe. Men once fled the cross to escape the law and Satan’s jaws, but now it is Satan who flees and the laws mouth which is stopped at the image of the cross. So, may we ever cling to Christ’s cross and the message of the cross, for there we find love and eternal freedom.
Let us pray:
On my heart imprint Your image,
Blessed Jesus King of grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures
Never may Your work erase;
Let the clear inscription be:
Jesus, crucified for me,
Is my life, my hope’s foundation,
And my glory and salvation! Amen.

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Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!

4/11/2020

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James Tissot, The Death of Jesus, 1886-94, Public Domain

Good Friday
Luke 23:46
April 10, 2020

Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:46

Jesus’ last words from the cross are a paraphrase of Psalm 31, where King David says, “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.” The Psalter is a prayer book. Faithful Jews had been praying Psalm 31 for a thousand years by the time Jesus prayed this verse from the cross. David wrote this Psalm as he was pursued by one of his many enemies throughout his life. Those of us who have put to memory Luther’s morning and evening prayers may find this verse familiar, because it is the basis for this sentence in both prayers, “For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” Indeed, we should commend our spirit, body, and all we have into the hand of the Lord as long as we live. If our life is in God’s hand, what harm can come to us? Yet, Jesus teaches us from the cross to commend our spirit into God’s hand not only throughout life, but in death.
This is a profound statement. It is common for those who believe in God to entrust their life to God. Many more of us have been doing this the past few weeks. We don’t know what is going to happen. We do not know how great the danger is or when it will pass. But we commend our souls to God, knowing that he who rules the wind and waves can certainly guide us through this storm.
Yet, Jesus teaches us to commend our souls in death, not just in life! And indeed, unless we learn to commend our souls to the Lord in death, we dare not die! For death is a terrible thing if your soul is not in God’s hand! And make no mistake about it; we are all going to die! So, we better learn from our Lord Jesus how to die, as we sing in the hymn:
Teach me to live that I may dread/ The grave as little as my bed.
Teach me to die that so I may/ Rise glorious at the awe-full day. (All Praise to Thee My God, This Night, Thomas Ken, LSB 883:3).
Again, this is what St. Paul teaches us in Romans 14, “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Jesus had such faith in God, that he felt confident to lay his soul in his hand even in death as if he were placing a precious treasure securely in a safe and locking it for safe keeping. Even as he felt the torment of hell on the cross, the guilt for the sins of all people, the pains of body and soul, even just moments after he cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”, Jesus has the confidence to commend his soul to the Father.
Jesus displayed this confidence before his crucifixion. He declared, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (John 10:17-18) He told his disciples repeatedly that he would be betrayed into the hands of evil men, be beaten, flogged, and crucified, and on the third day rise.
Yes, we know that Jesus said these things. We confess Christ too. Yet, how did Jesus continue to confess these things, so that his last words on the cross were a confession of this truth? First, Jesus is God. He prayed in the olive grove the night he was betrayed, “And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.” (John 17:5) Jesus knew that it was impossible for death to hold him, because he is the author of life.
Secondly, because Jesus was perfectly obedient to God. He never sinned. God the Father said to Jesus both at his Baptism and at his Transfiguration, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” As Jesus was crucified, he knew that he never transgressed God’s commandment, even once. He was innocent of all sin. The sins he died for were not his own, but ours.
Thirdly, Jesus believed the words of the Prophets, who declared God’s plan. Isaiah prophesied, “Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:4-7) And the Prophet continues, “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he should prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” (vss. 10-11) Jesus knew that he was that lamb led to the slaughter to bear the iniquities of the people. Yet, he knew that though he would suffer, he would be raised from the dead and would see his offspring with prolonged days. This is why Jesus didn’t resist those who arrested him, even though he could bring them to the ground with a word. This is why Jesus committed his spirit into the hand of him who willed to crush him. He had confidence in the promise of Scripture.
Jesus’ confidence to commit his spirit in death to his heavenly Father should give us confidence to commit our spirits to God in death. Not, because we have confidence in ourselves, but because we have confidence in Jesus. We are not God, but Jesus is most certainly God. He proved it with mighty works, by fulfilling the Scriptures, by the testimony of the Father and the Holy Spirit, and of course, through his resurrection and ascension to glory. We are not without sin. We have been disobedient to God. We deserve this plague which is upon us. We deserve to die. Every death reported during the pandemic is a proclamation to each of us that we deserve to die for our sins. We can all recognize with the thief on the cross, “We indeed suffer justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.”
So, we look to him who did no wrong, yet suffered for our sake. We see that Jesus indeed suffered not for his own sins, but for ours. And being God, Jesus is able to pay for the sins of all people. Indeed, his blood is an infinite source of salvation!
We look to Scripture to see in Jesus our confidence to commit our spirits to God. Scripture states, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57)
Death is a reality to us all. We’re all going to die. Death is God’s punishment against sin. And eternal damnation is the punishment after that. God’s wrath against sin is real. We see that in the crucifixion of Christ. Not knowing whether you are on good terms with God before you die is the most terrifying thing you can imagine. And many live that terror. They don’t know whether they have been good enough. They hope. They hope they will pass the test. But Scripture clearly says that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. Except for Jesus. And it is through Jesus alone that we are justified and redeemed. Jesus committed his spirit into the hands of his heavenly Father in death, so that we sinners might commit our souls to the hand of God without fear. We are reconciled through the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is certainly a good example. We should walk with him. Yet, trying to follow Jesus’ example in life will do you no good unless you first follow his example in death. Trust in Christ’s death. Commit your spirit to him, who raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Amen.

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Good Friday 2019: Jesus Marries His Bride from the Cross

4/20/2019

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The Entombment ,1554 Moretto da Brescia (Alessandro Bonvicino) Italian. metmuseum.org Public Domain

John 18-19
April 19, 2019

“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’” And thus, Jesus from the cross fulfilled what God spoke in Genesis chapter 2, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” This is exactly what Jesus does on the cross. He is leaving his earthly mother and holding fast to his wife. Through the shedding of his own blood, he is united to his bride, the Church forever.
St. Paul describes Christ’s death upon the cross as the archetype of all weddings. Here, Jesus demonstrates what a husband ought to do for his wife. His willing suffering and death are his wedding vow. St. Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.” (Ephesians 5:25-28)
On the cross, Jesus lays down his life for his wife. This is his entrance into his marriage with her; he says his vows with blood and water flowing from his side. It is just as that great hymn proclaims, “From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride, with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”
Jesus makes atonement for his bride. She is not clean, but filthy in her own sins. She is unfaithful, adulterous, and sinful. Christ did not come to draw the righteous to himself, but sinners, who need a Savior. He says, “Come now, let us reason together, … though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) Jesus finds his sinful bride and with his own blood he makes her pure. He pays her debts. He clothes her with righteousness. He rescues her. As Boaz redeems Ruth and makes her his bride, so Christ pays the price to make us his own.
We do not deserve this. Scripture says that our righteousness is as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) We are like Barabbas, who deserves to die. The other Gospel accounts make it clear that Pilate tried to use Barabbas to release Jesus. Barabbas was his worst prisoner. Pilate thought that if they had the choice between releasing a murderer, insurrectionist robber and Jesus, they would choose Jesus. Surely their envy was not so great. But this was God’s plan. Jesus came for this very purpose. So, the murderer goes free, and the Prince of Life is slain. You, with all your sins go free. Jesus, the sinless one dies. This is the greatest love a husband has ever shown to his bride.
Jesus clings to his wife. His death for her sins joins her to him forever. They are no longer two, but one flesh. Jesus speaks to his Father on the night he was betrayed, “The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.” (17:22-23) We are joined to Christ. We are his body. He is our head. We are not a bunch of individuals, we are one body, the Church. He is the Vine; we are the branches. Our eternal existence is united with Christ, and so we are eternally united with each other as well.
If we are united with Christ, that means we share in his glory. Again, Jesus said on that night of his betrayal, “Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.” I’m not surprising any of you when I say that Jesus is risen from the dead. Good Friday is not the end of the story. And because Jesus lives, and lives eternally, Jesus gives life to all those who are united to him in his death.
A husband gives all he has to his bride. Jesus tells his disciples that he will do this. Speaking of the Holy Spirit he says “He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:14-15). In our wedding liturgy one of the options for the exchanging of the rings goes like this, “With this ring I marry you, my worldly goods I give to you, and with my body I honor you.” Jesus has given all his goods to us, everything. We are rich. We are heirs to Christ’s kingdom. We are clothed in his righteousness. All that he has is ours. His pierced hands and side are his wedding ring in which we give him all we have, sin and guilt.
Your faith in Christ is your wedding ring by which you receive everything from Christ. The Church is made up of the faithful, who trust in the wounds of Christ. Jesus said that when he is lifted up, he will draw all people to himself. And indeed, the Church gathers around the preaching of Christ crucified, putting her trust in him. Cathedrals may burn and church building might be sold to relators to be turned into apartment buildings and tacky trinket shops. But the true Church of Christ, his holy bride will continue to dwell on earth as long as his sheep gather to hear his words.
Again, on that final night with his disciples Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (14:2-3) Jesus is the Bridegroom, who goes to prepare his marriage home for his bride and who will return at an hour no one will expect. He is ascended into heaven, but he will return. And even now, he prepares a place for us, purchased with his blood, for us to abide with him forever.
Some might be uncomfortable with the language of Christ as the bridegroom and the Church as the bride. Yet, this language is biblical. Jesus has joined himself in a marriage to his Church, which is much purer than any union you will find on earth. Through word and sacrament Christ provides for his bride on earth, so that she might be united with him forever in heaven.
Seeing Christ’s passion as his wedding vows communicates to you that all this that you have heard tonight, the brutal passion our Lord suffered so unjustly, he did for you and for your benefit. All this is for you. Christ suffered this for your sake. And it worked. Because of what Christ did on this day you are his forever. Amen.

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Good Friday: He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried

3/31/2018

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John 18-19
March 30, 2018

Jesus suffers as an innocent man. The chief priests and elders bring two main charges against Jesus to Pilate. They accuse him of being a blasphemer on which account he should be punished according to Jewish law. And they accuse him of being an insurrectionist, that is, one who conspires to overthrow the government, which of course would call for him to be punished under Roman law. Yet, Pilate doesn't find him guilty of insurrection. Jesus clearly says that his kingdom is not of this world, which means that it is no threat to Pilate or the Roman government. And as we heard on Sunday from Luke's account of the Passion, Pilate even sent Jesus over to King Herod and he found no guilt in Jesus. Two rulers, whose number one concern was squashing insurrection confidently found no cause for alarm in Jesus and declared him innocent of any crime. Jesus was innocent according to Roman Law.

So, the Jews had to resort to their first charge, which they had brought against Jesus before Annas and Caiaphas: the charge of blasphemy. "We have a law," said the Jews to Pilate, "and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God." Now, according to the Law, which the Jews received through Moses, a blasphemer should be put to death (Leviticus 24:16). But Jesus is no blasphemer. Yes, he claims to be the Son of God. But he is the Son of God. So said the angel at the announcement of his birth, and so did his many works and true teachings verify throughout his ministry. Jesus was innocent according to God's Law.

It is interesting that the Jews resorted to the charge of blasphemy. Pilate, a Gentile, had no interest in blasphemy laws and certainly didn't want to put someone to death for an offence against a non-Roman law. This shows that Jesus' trial was a complete sham and his condemnation came at the behest of an angry mob, although he had done no violence.

Yet, the Jews ironically were correct about one thing. According to the Law, Jesus ought to die. Yet, not as they meant it. The Law did not require that Jesus die, because he was a blasphemer. (Jesus is no blasphemer!) The Law required that Jesus die, because he indeed is the Son of God. The word Law does not only refer to the commandments given through Moses, which governed the people of Israel for about a millennium and a half before Jesus' crucifixion. The Law refers to the whole council of God, which is revealed in the Scriptures. And throughout the Scriptures it is made clear that the Christ, who is both David's Son and David's Lord (Psalm 110:1) must die for the people.

And so, we recognize that something much greater is going on than what we see. Jesus is found innocent of both blasphemy and insurrection, yet he is condemned to death by human courts anyway. Yet, in heaven, God the Father finds him innocent of every crime and sin, in fact, he is the only innocent man ever to live! Yet, God too condemns him to death, yet not only for the crime of insurrection and for blasphemy. God the Father condemns his Son for every crime committed in our hearts, mouths, and hands. Our hymn describes it very personally,

What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered Was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, But Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior! 'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with thy favor, And grant to me thy grace.

We aren't having a funeral tonight. Nor are we mourning the unfortunate death of an innocent man. Rather, we are celebrating the truth. Jesus is fulfilling Scripture! Jesus said to Pilate, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world- to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Throughout Jesus' ministry he bore witness to the truth through his teaching. And now at his darkest hour, he carries out the truth of Scripture fulfilling what was spoken by the prophets.

You can only imagine what Scripture passages must have been racing through Jesus' mind during the hours leading up to the cross, as he prayed drenched in bloody sweat in the garden, as he waited in captivity in Caiaphas' house before being led to Pilate, and as he carried his cross to Golgotha. Some of the passages we know, as Jesus cited Isaiah 53 that he must be numbered with the transgressors. Yet we know that Jesus was fully aware of every line of Scripture that he fulfilled as he fulfilled them. We know how Jesus cried, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!", as recorded in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark. Yet, Jesus was well aware that he was fulfilling the rest of Psalm 22, which he was quoting: verse two, "O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest;" verse six through eight, "But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 'He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!'"; Psalm 69:21, "They give me poison for food, and for my thirst they give me sour wine to drink."; and Zechariah 12:10, "When they look on me, on him whom they have pierced."

Yes, Jesus' crucifixion was clearly foretold in Scripture and Jesus bears witness to its truth with bitter pain and flowing blood. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is an historical fact. John the Evangelist writes of his own eyewitness, "But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. He who saw it has borne witness- and his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth- that you also may believe."

It is clear that Jesus' crucifixion is a true story and that this event proves the truth of Scripture. Yet, the truth is not complete simply by recognizing the historical facts. The truth also includes the meaning and purpose of the historical facts. As Jesus bore his punishment during those excruciating hours he not only meditated on the Scriptures, which foretold of this event. He comforted himself in his affliction with the prophecies, which proclaimed the great good his suffering would gain.

Jesus, no doubt, as he hung dying on the cross meditated on that first messianic prophecy spoken by God to the serpent in the newly fallen garden of Eden, "I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." And our Lord was consoled by this ancient passage knowing that even as his life left him, he was delivering the victory blow to Satan on behalf of the children of Eve.

Jesus certainly remembered the first Passover, as it was recorded in Exodus 12 and knew that the blood of the lambs spread on the door posts of the homes of the people of Israel pointed to his own blood, which now causes the angel of death to pass over us. Christ remembered Zechariah 9:11, As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit." He knew from Isaiah 53 that he was bearing the iniquities of us all and that his passion was earning eternal life for many.

Our Lord was comforted even on the cross knowing that his passion saved you from eternal death. And we can be certain that even as Jesus prayed for you in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he prayed not only for his disciples, but for all who would believe through their words (John 17:20), so he also had his mind on you as he labored on the cross, suffering willingly, because it gained you salvation.

Millions of pages have been written on the meaning of Christ's passion on the cross. But it is God, who determines the true meaning of Christ's crucifixion. And he reveals this meaning through his apostles. St. Paul writes, "we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised." (2 Cor. 5:14-15) Jesus died for all people. There is no one that does not include. What does this mean? God tells us again through St. Paul, "All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."

God does not count the trespasses of the world against them, because he counted them against Christ, who was punished for them. God has reconciled the entire world to himself. He is at peace with the world. He has forgiven all sinners. This is the ground on which the ministry of reconciliation rests! The Gospel is that God is reconciled to you. When God's ambassadors declare, "We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!", they are not telling you to earn your reconciliation or do something that will appease God's anger. They are telling you that God has already reconciled you to himself, he has already forgiven you for Christ's sake. Believe it!

Your faith is true only if what you have faith in is true! You can't believe that God is reconciled to you and has forgiven you unless he has already reconciled you to himself and forgiven you. You aren't going to get God to forgive you by believing that he forgives you. You simply believe what is true. The truth is that Jesus Christ died on the cross according to the Scriptures, as many eye witnesses have proclaimed. And the truth is that this death God credits in your favor. God put to death sin in Christ's body, so that you might be righteous. This is the Gospel truth!
What can we learn from this historical fact, which we remember this evening? We learn that it truly happened. We learn that Scripture foretold that it would happen. We learn that it is for our sins that Jesus died. And above all, we learn that God is pleased by this death and is reconciled to you by it. Through this work of Christ on the cross, you have peace with God. The work has been done. You need only have faith.

May the remembrance and celebration of Christ's passion tonight bring to your heart true repentance of your sins, which themselves laid the blows against Jesus and bring you true faith in the benefit of Christ's death, that God is not angry with you, but forgives you for the sake of this precious blood. Amen.

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