Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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*Good Friday Service*
*March 29, 2002*
* *
*In "Good Friday Surprises," Leith Anderson weaves a common thread throughout that makes you think of things you might never have realized before.*
*GOOD FRIDAY SURPRISES*
Even on his way to die, Jesus did the unpredictable.
It was a day of surprises, the day Jesus was killed.
Luke recounts eyewitness accounts of that fateful day.
In each case, there is an element of surprise.
It was a surprise for Simon.
He was from North Africa, and to be in Jerusalem for the Passover was a dream come true.
But a surprising thing happened.
Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross, right in front of him.
Roman soldiers could draft anyone into their service with the touch of a spear blade.
Simon was the closest person, so he was forced to pick up the cross and carry it, a humiliating
task.
Mark recounts the same story but adds another detail – Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.
It's unusual for a father to be identified by his children, unless the children are quite famous.
By the time Mark's Gospel was circulated, two of the most famous Christians in all of the empire must have been Alexander and Rufus.
In Romans 16:13, Rufus is described as the son of a woman whom the apostle Paul considered his surrogate mother.
Put the pieces together and it's obvious that when Simon returned home, he told his wife about Christ and the crucifixion.
She became a godly woman and an influence to Paul.
Simon told his sons what he had witnessed, and they became two of the greatest believers in the first-century church.
The surprising embarrassment Simon endured that day turned out to be a great good for Simon and his family.
*DON'T WEEP FOR ME*
As Jesus made his way to Golgotha, a group of women followed him, crying and mourning.
In all probability they had never met Jesus; they were professional mourners who dared to come
out when men were crucified.
They always carried a liquid narcotic to help take the edge off the excruciating pain that accompanied crucifixion.
These were women who had made this journey often.
But this time, something unexpected happened.
Jesus turned and expressed sympathy for them: "Don't weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children" (Luke 23:28).
He anticipated a difficult future for them and their children.
I don't think they knew Jesus or they would have quickly realized that this was just like him.
His concern wasn't about his own pain, but he focused quickly and clearly upon the problems and pain that others face.
*UNFORGETTABLE LAST WORDS*
The Roman soldiers -- Jesus' executioners -- had crucified many men by nailing them to wooden crosses.
As the dying men would scream and suffer, the soldiers would sit at the feet of the crosses and play games -- desensitized to the incessant curses and pleas.
They prided themselves on being people not caught by surprise.
Yet never before had any one of them heard what Jesus said.
Soon after his hands and feet were nailed to the cross, and it was lifted into place, Jesus prayed audibly for his executioners, "Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34).
It was enough to shock the toughest veteran.
So it's no wonder that when the centurion made his final inspection after Jesus' death, he said "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).
The forgiveness of Jesus was a surprise then, but it is still a surprise today.
We are surprised by his forgiveness.
He knows our worst sins so well, yet Jesus' heart still seeks to forgive.
*A GASP AND CELEBRATION*
On the day Christ died, the angels must have been struck speechless at God's sacrifice.
But perhaps even more amazing to them was the conversation between Christ and a common
criminal (Luke 23:42, 43).
For the condemned thief on the cross, time was running out.
Regardless of what he had done before, in the end, he did fear God.
He realized that his judgment after death would be totally determined by God.
Like the convict on the far side who insulted Jesus (Luke 23:39), this man must have come to the cross with knowledge of Jesus.
He understood Jesus was no criminal.
Even more important, he must have realized Jesus was God's Son who was headed back home to the paradise from which he had come.
Believing this, the thief decided to make one last request.
He asked Jesus to save him when he arrived back in heaven.
What an interesting contrast between the criminal who mocked Jesus to save him physically and this man who sought Jesus to save him spiritually.
Of course, Jesus said yes.
He was being crucified for this very purpose -- to save sinners and to promise heaven to all
those who ask.
Two thousand years later, the invitation still stands.
/by Leith Anderson/
/from Christian Reader magazine/
*Excerpts from "The Cross" by Max Lucado (pp.
4-20)*
*/It rests on the time line of history like a compelling diamond./*
/ /
/Its tragedy summons all sufferers.
Its absurdity attracts all cynics.
Its hope lures all searchers./
/ /
History has idolized and despised it, gold-plated and burned it, worn and trashed it.
History has done everything but ignore it.
Can you ignore it?
How could you ignore such a piece of lumber?
Suspended on its beams is the greatest claim in history.
A crucified carpenter claiming to be God on earth.
Divine.
Eternal.
The death-slayer.
Never has timber been regarded so sacred.
No wonder the apostle Paul called the cross event the core of the gospel.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 ¶ Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
(1 Corinthians 13:3-5 NIVUS)
Its bottom line is sobering: if the account is true, it is history's hinge.
Period.
If not, the cross is history's hoax.
As you ponder Christ on the cross, what are your thoughts?
Perhaps it's been a while since you looked at the cross.
Perhaps you never have.
But I urge you to do so.
May it trigger a turning of your heart until you stand face to feet with the one who claimed to come to save your soul.
*/It is heaven's dream./*
/ /
/The dawn of heaven's dream.
God on a cross.
Humanity at its worst./
Divinity at its best --- God isn't stumped by an evil world.
He doesn't gasp in amazement at the dearth of our faith or the depth of our failures.
He knows the condition of the world --- and loves it just the same.
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