Good Friday 2015

My name is Mark. I'm one of the pastors here. And I want to take a moment to focus on a few of the verses that René read for us tonight. Because one of the things about the crucifixion that continues to strike me is this. As soon as they had nailed Jesus onto the cross, most of the folks around him were telling him that he should come down. It's odd, but perhaps you've noticed this. Because there's two words that keep getting thrown at him while he's suffering on the cross. And once you see this, you'll never be able to read the story quite the same way again.

Here's what I'm talking about. The verses we heard are from Luke's gospel, but you can see the same thing in Matthew and Mark as well. But starting at Luke 23:35, it says, "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.'" Verse 39, "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him, 'Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us.'" So whether it's the crowd, the religious rulers, the soldiers, even the guy next to him being crucified on his own cross, they're all telling him, "Save yourself!"

Despite having very different agendas, incredibly, they all end up saying the same thing. Now this is more than just a little bit ironic. Why would his adversaries, the same people that put him on the cross, why would they say this? It's not like anyone had ever done this before, not in their own strength at least. Only dead people come down from the cross. Why are they saying this? The verses, I think, give this away because, like they say, "He had saved others. He'd healed the sick. He'd given sight to the blind. He told paraplegics to get up and walk. He even raised the dead." They don't dispute any of this.

But he'd also said that he was the Messiah, that he was a king. And all this comes together and becomes the focus of their taunts. "If you are who you say you are, prove it! Save yourself!" Now is this just a coincidence? I don't think so. Could it be, in fact, one last concerted push to get Jesus to abandon his mission? Could it be that unwittingly they are part of his final temptation? I mean, after all, it's only the hope of the world that's at stake. Your hope, my hope, hanging on whether or not Jesus will save himself.

And if you wonder if this was a real temptation or not, let me take you back to when Jesus was just about to start his ministry. He's about to go public. But first, he's let out into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. And what does Satan say? 40 days without food? Wow, that's got to hurt. Why not just turn a few of these stones into bread? I mean, if you are the Son of God, feed yourself! Or how about this? I'll give you the world! All you have to do is throw me a little worship, and then you can crown yourself. Third temptation, Satan takes him out or takes him to the top of the temple. Throw yourself down! Isn't it written in the Bible that God will command his angels to protect you? Everybody loves a miracle right here on the spot.

You can glorify yourself. Lay to rest any doubt that you are who you say you are. What's Satan basically saying in all of these temptations? Why should you suffer? Why should you be put out? Why not just save yourself from all that pain and sorrow? But of course, Jesus sends him away. And as Luke tells us in chapter 4, "When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time." Now fast forward to a moment in the Lord's ministry when he starts to tell his disciples that he's going to go to Jerusalem and that he is going to suffer under the hands of evil men, and that he will be crucified. And then on the third day rise again.

And in response, Peter hears as he pulls Jesus aside, he gets in his face and he says, "Lord, this shall never happen! This is crazy talk!" And in response, Matthew 16 says, "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to me.'" Wow! He calls Peter "Satan" and "Stumbling Block." I mean, tell us how you really feel, Jesus. But what's behind Peter's words? You don't have to suffer. You don't have to die. Save yourself.

And then finally, when he's on the cross and up until the moment Jesus takes his last breath, the people around him are shouting over and over again what Satan has been whispering in his ear all along, "Save yourself! Save yourself! Save yourself!" And you know what? He could have. Jesus could have called down thousands and thousands of angels. Didn't he say as much? And you have to think in that moment, every angel in heaven is chomping at the bit, "Lord, just say the word. Just say the word and we will clear out those miserable humans in a flash." I mean, isn't that what our heroes do? Trought the bad guys?

Reminds me of when I was a kid, when I'd read through this part of the Bible or it'd be at a Good Friday service like this, I used to imagine that Jesus would actually kind of go all superhero on the people taunting him. Pretty sure I was influenced by one of my favorite superheroes at the time, the Incredible Hulk. I like the Hulk because just like him, I had a bit of temper of myself. And being a redheaded kid with freckles and almost always being one of the shortest kids in my class, this idea of morphing into this angry beast, it held a special appeal to me.

But whatever the case, I would actually imagine Jesus, suddenly his eyes go white and he wouldn't turn green and all, but he would. His muscles would start to bulge and I'd imagine he'd clench his fists and the nails would just pop, pop right out and he'd kick free. He'd land on the ground and as the dust rose up around him in a voice very much like Clint Eastwood's, he would say, "Now, where were we?" And as crazy as my imagination was back then or even now, if Jesus could walk on the water and command the wind and the waves, you have to think that if he wanted to, he actually could have saved himself.

And what if he had? What then? Well, for starters, we would know that God's love has limits. That there is a point where God will say, "That's it. I've had enough. I will not go any further with you. I'm done." And perhaps some of you have thought that thought before. You've thought that perhaps you have exhausted God's love for you. Just a couple weeks ago, I was talking to a man. He says to me, "Mark, for years and years, I just assumed I was no good to God, that I had literally gone beyond his grace, that I was defective." And maybe you feel that way tonight. You think, "Can God still love me?" Despite everything I've done, could he really still love me?

Please listen. Because Jesus didn't stay on the cross just for other people. He stayed on the cross for you. He stayed there for me, which means the cross is God's ultimate statement about his love, love that knows no limit. Well, not only that, but if Jesus had saved himself, all of our sins would still be on us. Now, just take a moment to think about just a few of your sins. And if you're like me, this does not take long. Because sin taints just about everything we do, everything we think.

Just this morning, I was reading an old prayer, a prayer written for Good Friday, and it completely captured what I've come to realize about myself. Perhaps you can relate to this as well. Sin is my malady, my monster, my foe, my viper. Born in my birth, alive in my life, strong in my character, dominating my faculties, following me as a shadow, intermingling with every thought, my chain that holds me captive. In the empire of my soul. If Jesus had come down from the cross, sin would still be our master. We'd still be guilty, guilty before God with no way of ever making it right.

And remember, the wages of sin is death. But that's why He died in our place. That's the point. Do you remember what that one criminal said? Save yourself and us. But in fact, that's the one thing that Jesus couldn't do. To save us, He could not save Himself. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, once said, "It is because Jesus didn't come down from the cross that we believe Him." And to that I would add, "It's because He didn't come down from the cross that we also love Him." Because how can you not love Him once you realize all that He has endured for us?

Scripture says that it was, "For the joy set before Him He endured the cross." Well, guess what? You're His joy. We're His joy. And it's because He didn't come down from the cross we can trust Him. Trust Him even in our deepest pains because we know He's experienced the deepest pain of all. Or our darkest fears or even our fear of death because He's gone before us. He's tasted death completely. And we know, of course, that the story doesn't end there.

So I hope you'll join us later this weekend as we celebrate the hope that we have even in the face of our own mortality. But for now, we linger here at the cross. Cross that reminds us that we are so completely lost that Jesus had to die. But we are so incredibly loved. Jesus was glad to die. So in that moment when every nerve in His body is screaming for relief and the very people He's dying for shout, "Save yourself!" He stays. He suffers. He dies. Which means that you will never ever have to worry about how to save yourself.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we sit here in Your presence, Lord, we are humbled. Humbled by the cross. A symbol of shame and agony and sin and death and yet also the ultimate symbol of love. And so, Father, I simply pray that as we reflect on the suffering and on the death of Your one and only precious Son, whom You gave to us, Lord, may it fill us with awe. May it fill us with wonder. May it fill us with humility. And may it also fill us with joy. We pray this in the matchless name of our suffering Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And all His people said, "Amen."