Good Friday 2019

My name is Mark. I'm one of the pastors here and as you know this week started with the terrible news and images of Notre Dame being engulfed by flames. I don't know you probably know exactly where you were, what you were doing when that news reached you and then seeing the steeple collapse. It raised really an obvious fear which was is the rest of the cathedral going to stand? And so people on the streets of Paris, people on TVs and computer screens and phones everywhere else. The world watched in stunned silence wondering if this historic treasure, this cultural religious treasure would be lost forever.

One man who was just a few blocks away watching the fire, he said this, "It's awful to see such a symbol disappearing in front of you. It's been there for so many years and in a few minutes half of it disappears. Crazy. Paris without Notre Dame. Madness." Well multiply that feeling a thousand times over and you'll begin to get a sense of what it was like to watch Jesus die. At least for those who loved him. I invite you to imagine being there with them for just a moment. Imagine you've heard of the arrest and you overhear the sham trial that he receives and then you get a glimpse of him after Pilate has had him flogged and soldiers have beaten him mercilessly and beyond recognition.

All the while taunting him, mocking him, and then nailing him to a cross. There's no resurrection in sight, no glorious ending. It's just crazy. All hope collapsing. A world without Jesus. It's madness. It's madness. You ever find yourself in a moment where you're so stunned, you're in such a state of shock that it doesn't even feel real? Ever found yourself in that type of moment? I know I have. They happen in hospital rooms, in bedrooms. Happens when you hear what's being told to you on the other side of a phone or when you're on the other side of a fight.

Maybe it was your fault or maybe you despair some of the blame. Maybe by no fault of your own because of abuse or abandonment, an accident, a disease, a death. A part of your life is collapsing in front of you and you are helpless to do anything but watch. That is where the disciples find themselves in that kind of helplessness. In midway through the Lord's suffering at noon, suddenly and inexplicably it's dark. And any glimmer of hope that the disciples may have had, that he would respond to those taunts and he would save himself, they collapse into despair.

I imagine them peering through the gloom they can still make out his silhouette. They can still see his chest rise and fall, rise and fall. And each time it becomes increasingly more difficult. And then at three in the afternoon, Luke records, "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' And when he had said that, he breathed his last." Imagine that moment. No idea what lies just beyond it, not tomorrow, not in an hour, not in five minutes. You're just there in that moment and it's just dark and Jesus is dead and it's crazy. It's madness.

Now you want to know what's really crazy? For God? This was the plan all along. God was not improvising on that day. He was orchestrating. As scripture says in Romans 5:6–8, "You see, just at the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love to Mark, to René, to Laura, to you. God demonstrates his own love in this while we were sinners. Christ died for us. He died for us."

Now you may be thinking to yourself, "Wasn't there another way that God could show his love to us?" I mean did Jesus have to die? Couldn't God have like, you know, sent us all a bouquet of flowers or something like that? Why the cross of all things? A cross reminds me of when I was in seminary and we were in class one day and we're talking about the crucifixion and one of the students during the discussion, he just blurts out and he just says, "I don't get it. It is such a weird way for God to show his love." And he says, "It's like you're walking down the beach and you come across a man and his son and the man says, 'I've been wanting to show you how much I love you,' and then he takes his son and he drowns him in the ocean. He goes, 'I don't get it.' And perhaps you thought the same thing.

But what was missing from my classmates analogy is this. We weren't exactly just strolling down the street or down the beach. We were drowning in the ocean, weighed down by our sins, like iron chains wrapped around us, pulling us under, dead in our sins. In other words, we were doomed. And the Father sends his son to rescue us. In fact, the son, he volunteers knowing that in order to remove those chains he will have to take them upon himself. He will sacrifice himself to save us. That's how much God loves us. So you call it crazy. But it is crazy love for you and for me.

Even in our series, if you've been with us for these past 11 weeks as we've been following the life of Jesus, it was in view right there at the very beginning what Jesus would do. Because when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he did not say, 'Behold the greatest teacher in history.' Or, 'Behold a great inspirational example for us all.' He says, 'Behold the what? The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.' Jesus himself said, 'The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many, a ransom for you.'

Friend shared an amazing story with me this past week. In 1824, when Peru finally gained its independence, they wanted to make General Simon Boulevard their first president in recognition because he had won the war for them. And Boulevard refuses. And so wanting to show their appreciation, he has offered a gift of one million pesos, which in those days was a fortune. And that's when Boulevard does something amazing. He accepts the gift and then asks, 'How many slaves are there still in Peru?' And they say, 'I'm 3,000.' And what does it cost? How much does a slave sell for? They say about 350 pesos.

Boulevard says, 'And this is what I will do. I will spend every bit of that million pesos. I will draw from my own resources as much as necessary. Whatever it takes, I will purchase every single slave and I will set every one of them free.' Now that's amazing. But what Boulevard did temporarily, what he paid in pesos, Jesus did eternally, paying with his own blood. That's how precious you are to God. And there's nothing more to be added. How could anything be added to that? I mean you can honor that, you can cherish that, but you can't add to it.

And you know what that means? It means that your debt, your sin debt is fully paid. Do you believe that? It is fully paid, including the debt for the sin that you might be thinking of right now. The sin that haunts you, that taunts you and drags you down, that is fully paid by Jesus because of what he did on the cross. And I've had people over the years, they've say so many words, 'Mark you have no idea my life is such a mess. I mean there's carnage, there's wreckage in my wake and it's not going away anytime soon.' And we all know that there are consequences in life and even when God completely forgives us, we may have to deal with some of the practical or relational fallout, but make no mistake, far more powerful than that, far more enduring than that.

This will always be true that before God you have been completely forgiven, you have been rescued, you are white as snow, holy in his sight. Right now do you believe that church? Amen. This is the greatest news of all. Jesus would rescue us on that cross. But again perhaps you come here tonight and in a way you could say your life looks a little bit like Notre Dame. You know it's got some scars, it's got some damage, there's some holes in it, yet to be healed.

But did you see this in the unfolding story of this fire? Underneath the debris and as the roof rained down in the heart of the church, still standing, still proclaiming hope and forgiveness, was this cross right there. A reminder for everyone for the whole world to see that there is nothing, no amount of crazy, no amount of madness, nothing is more powerful than what Jesus did for us on that cross. As scripture says, nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and I pray that He is your Lord tonight.

I pray that you'll be inspired by what we do and what we share in tonight but I pray even more that it will be personal. That Good Friday isn't just about the Savior, it's about your Savior that you can say He's my Savior. Can you say that tonight? And if you haven't ever, you can, even tonight. Just a couple days ago I was leaving the church campus, it was after hours and I'm walking out to my truck and I notice a man walk into the parking lot to his car and I could tell he's just gone to the front doors and discovered that the office is locked and so I walk up to him and I say, "May I help you sir?"

And he looks at me and he says, "Are you one of the pastors here?" I say, "Yeah." He says, "Could you tell me how I can get saved?" And I said, "Sorry but we're close for the day." I didn't do that. I had the joy of telling him what Jesus did for him on the cross. In fact, I shared that same verse in Romans 5:8 where God says, "God demonstrates His own love for us in this." While we were sinners, Christ died for us and I looked him in the eye and he said, "That means He died for you." And then I said, "And I didn't want to be too pushy." He wasn't expecting to confront a pastor in the parking lot but I said, "Would you mind if I prayed for you?"

And before he could answer I slipped in I said, "Or perhaps maybe even lead you in a prayer where you could receive the grace and the forgiveness and the new life that Jesus offers you and without hesitation." He said, "Yeah, I'd like to do that." So he did. And so can you. In just a moment I'm gonna pray for us but I'd also like to lead any of you who are yearning to receive the grace of Jesus in your life. You are so tired of the crazy and the madness you are ready for the love and the grace and the life that is in Jesus. Wherever you are tonight, let's go to Him in prayer.

Lord Jesus, how can we ever begin to thank you for what you did for us on the cross? You took our pain and bore our suffering. You were pierced for our transgressions. You were crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was put upon you. And so by your wounds we are healed. And Lord for all this we give you our deepest gratitude in our praise tonight.

And Lord I pray for anyone here in this room or within the sound of my voice who has not yet received your grace. May they simply say in their heart, "Jesus I receive you as my Savior and my Lord. I acknowledge, I confess my sins and I thank you for bearing all of them on the cross. Thank you for the new life, the eternal life I have in you. And Lord we pray all of these things with hearts of Thanksgiving. Praying them in the matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all God's people said. Amen.