Why Good Friday is So Good (for us!)
Good Friday • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsWe will have 4 short readings from John 19
Notes
Transcript
Welcome - let’s pray.
Message:
We have heard all of John 19.
there’s a lot in there of what Jesus endured…physical pain…certainly…with the crown of thorns, the beatings and flogging, the nails…the slow suffocation one experienced on the cross...
there is the social and emotional pain…ridicule, mocking, from all sources—gov’t, his people, even his own closest betrayed him…Peter denied Him.
there would have been the disgrace—because Jesus Christ—He was claiming to be the Messiah, the one anointed by God to save them. Messiahs don’t die this way—crucifixion is utterly humiliating, reserved for the worst. there is no way that God’s Son’s, God’s anointed could die that way.
and most of all, He bored the weight and guilt of sin—the most difficult part—really!
that day on Good Friday—where Jesus died, it seemed chaotic, it seemed like evil had won, that mankind and its systems won, that the devil had one.
but not so fast...
if you enjoy watching a good movie or show—one of the things that the writers and directors do—is they make it seem like all hope is lost, that it is so bleak, and so dark…at its worst moment, before the good guys start to win.
One of my favorite stories of fiction is the Lord of the Rings series by JRR Tolkien. and in it, the last book, Frodo is carrying a ring to destroy it in the very fires of Mount Doom, and there is a part when all hope seems lost, when he and Sam are climbing Mount Doom…and Frodo stumbles and he can’t go any farther; all hope is lost, and the scene actually cuts to a battle also going on at the time—and the good guys seem to be overwhelmed—the bad guys are going to win. is all hope lost…will the good guys lose...it’s a pretty overwhelming moment...
and there’s a lot of famous movies and stories like this—so dark before the dawn...
here we have Jesus…chaos and evil are winning—or are they?
look at what Jesus says—some of the clues He gives that remind us of why He went to the cross. Why Good Friday is so good for us...
he makes 4 statements
statement #1: look at verse 10-11. Jesus say this to Pilate:
10 “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
11 Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
what do we learn…while everything seems out of control, Jesus is in perfect control.
while everything seems out of God’s plan, this is actually God’s plan.
while Pilate and his government and the Jewish leadership seem in charge, they are not. God is. God gave them their power
even as Jesus is going to the cross.
even as He is hanging on the cross
we are reminded that Jesus came—not just to show God’s power and identity through miracles, teaching, doing good, healing…but He same to die.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Good Friday is so good—b/c Jesus going to the cross was all part of God’s plan.
it’s a reminder that for us when life seems out of control, b/c of the cross, Jesus is in perfect control.
let’s look at the 2nd statement
Statement #2 look at chapter 19—verses 25-27.
25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,”
27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
first of all, this is remarkable because Jesus is in agony on the cross, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and yet here He is taking care of His mother. He is having the Apostle John take in his mom and take care of her. most likely Mary was a widow at this point. without Jesus—she could have been very vulnerable.
amazing. we are reminded of many lessons of honoring your parents, taking care of your family on earth
but there is an even bigger lesson.
and to get this across. we have a video. told from the perspective of the Apostle John--
show video
Jesus died, to make one big spiritual family. John and Mary were not related—but b/c of Jesus they are one family. Through Jesus, they are spiritual brothers and sisters, mothers and sons in Christ.
Jesus came to die, to make one big spiritual family.
deeper than blood.
here in Adams County—I sometimes joke “It’s all relative...” b/c so many are related.
but through Christ—if Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord—you have deeper bonds with others than DNA—you have the blood of Christ.
and Jesus’ 2nd statement shows he must die to make us one family in Him.
#3 - the third statement we see is vs. 28...
so the first statement—though it seems out of control, Jesus is in complete control
2nd statement—though the cross seems to be dividing people and causing chaos, it is actually bringing Jesus’ family, his spiritual brothers and sisters together
the 3rd statement is verse 28.
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
what a simple statement. yet profound.
at one level he is fulfilling Scripture. David says:
21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
there were at least 20 OT Scriptures fulfilled in and through Jesus’ crucifixion. everything is happening according to God’s plan. and Jesus is the one that King David pointed to--
part of it is his mouth was probably so dry—that he needs this so he can utter his last statement coming up.
part of it reminds us of the humanity of Jesus—he experienced everything we did. though He was and is the Creator of the universe—He too got thirsty.
and then most of all, I think it reminds us that though He seems to be taking man’s worst, he is drinking the cup He said He would. what cup is that?
Luke 22:42 when He is in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, he said:
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
He asked his disciples —
22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered.
the reason that Jesus was thirsty, was because He was drinking the cup of God’s wrath. the cup is a symbol of God’s wrath in the OT.
Jesus, on the cross, was drinking the cup of God’s wrath for sin in our place. He drank it down its last drop, so that we could drink the cup of God’s joy, be forgiven, have our sins paid for on the cross.
Though Jesus is thirsty, He has drunk the fullness of God’s wrath.
Statement #4 — finally, last statement. John 19:30
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
those words “it is finished...” are accounting terms—meaning “paid in full.” when Jesus uttered those words, the debt we owed for our sin, was completely paid by Jesus. sin made us spiritually bankrupt. we owed an infinite debt b/c of our sin.
and Jesus through His perfect life, and death on the cross in our place…He paid it all. He lived the live we could not, and he died the death we deserved in our place...
Jesus paid it all in our place on the cross, securing our forgiveness. accomplishing the mission He set out to do.
We have another video to show you…this is on these words “It is finished.” and it is told from the perspective of the woman caught in adultery.
In John 8—the religious leaders bring to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. and they remind Jesus that the OT says such a woman should be stoned to death. and they asked Jesus—what do you say” they were trying to trap him
and Jesus says “Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
let’s watch this video told from her perspective.
Though Jesus seemed finished…he was not. He accomplished what He set out to do. His plan to display both the holiness/justice of God, and the mercy and grace of God was shown. His plan to restore sinners to a holy God was enabled--
it truly was finished—our guilt and sin paid for; our sin removed and canceled, our shame gone. our old identity gone; our new identity here.
we are going to celebrate this--
Jesus being in control...
Jesus bringing people together as family as one through Him
Jesus—thirsting, drinking the cup of God’s wrath so we could drink God’s joy
and Jesus accomplishing our salvation, a relationship with God.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.