Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
10653 N – 550 W
Decatur, IN 46733
A 21st Century Parish
with a 1st Century Faith
Acts 2:42
Celebrating our 182nd
Year
Chartered February
25, 1838
“Jesus I will Ponder Now”
A Lenten series based on six Chorales written by Sigismund
v. Birken & Johan Sebastian Bach
Good Friday
10, April 2020
Finally, Pilate handed Him over to them to be crucified
– John 19:16
Introduction: Hanging on a
cross - suspended between earth and heaven - the Son of man suffers – as no one
has ever suffered – before or since. Stricken, smitten and afflicted see Him
hanging on that tree – He hangs there - for you and for me.
We
have come to the end of our series – Jesus I will ponder Now. Today we witness
Jesus as He offers Himself as a sacrifice for the life of the world. The old song sings:
1. Make me see thy great distress,
Anguish
and affliction,
A. The
distress of Jesus is one no one has ever experienced. The physical torture was tremendous. But even
greater was the spiritual torments He received. On that bloody and cruel cross,
Jesus was abandoned by God and by men.
B. Thus,
the Savior’s affliction and anguish was the highest cruelty. The wrath of an
angry and offended God was poured out on the Son of man on a hill called
Calvary. Heaped upon Him was a double load.
1. He
suffered, as no man should.
2. He suffered
innocently the righteous for the
unrighteous.
Transition: Jesus suffered great distress, anguish, and
affliction. He suffered in time so we could be in bliss with God eternally.
2.
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Thy crucifixion;
A.
Mel Gibson’s movie the “Passion of the Christ” is a vivid
portrayal of the Roman style of execution called crucifixion. It is a rendering
of what took place in Jerusalem during those short three hours on Good Friday.
This movie is an apt depiction of what crucifixion was really like. No wonder the
world feared the Romans! No wonder some still today cannot bear to see it. No
wonder the Romans had a law that read: Roman citizens may not be crucified. The
scourging, whippings and beatings Christ endured was pure violence.
B. And
yet, Gibson’s film is not “gratuitous violence.” To the contrary - there is a
higher good, which comes from the sufferings and the passion of the Christ.
1. Your
sins, oh man, are gone. Your sins are buried in the tomb of Christ never to be
seen again.
2. He
separates them as far as the east is from the west and He remembers your sin no
more.
3. There is now no more condemnation for those who are in
Christ who was crucified. This is why we call this day Good Friday, for on a
Friday - in time - the Son of God suffered to set you free.
Transition: Why mark
these sacred hours when Jesus the Christ suffered? Why does every faithful
Christian church station a cross prominently?
What it the significance of the cross?
3. Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear
and nails did wound Thee,
A. It was a human who transgressed God’s law.
When the Father said, “Of all the trees
you may eat. But of the tree in the midst of the garden you will not eat, lest
you die.”
B. It
was a human who believed the lie when the tempter said, “you will not die, for the Lord knows in the day that you eat of it your
eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing the difference between
good and evil.”
C. It
was a human who disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit.
D. Therefore
it had to be a human who would suffer in your stead. Jesus, conceived by the
Holy Spirit and born of a human mother became the Father’s only attempt and the
only hope for the human race to be free from sin. There is no other plan. There
is no other way. There is no other hope except through Christ. This is what
prompted St. Paul to write, “I determine
to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified.”
Transition: What is the
significance of the cross? The hymn
writer sums it up in thirteen powerful words.
4. How for man Thou diedst O God,
Who
with thorns had crowned Thee.
A. Sacred
Scripture is quite clear. “There is
salvation in no
one else save Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.”
B. Here we see
that great exchange God’s mercy and forgiveness purchased at the cross of His
own Son! “For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life.”
C. “No other
child, no other Savior, Can ever help this sinful earth. Then take the Gift the
Father sent us And spread the Story of His Birth.” That’s what our children
said to us this past Christmas Eve. Good Friday assures us of a Merry
Christmas! The birth of a baby means the death of a man – and that miserable
death has saved us!
Conclusion: Come now,
come weary sinner, come to the foot of the cross for all things are now ready!
Artwork by Ed Rojas © Higher Things
No comments:
Post a Comment