Good Friday

 

Good Friday

I AM YOUR CRUCIFIED KING

… based on John 19:17-22

Listen now to Good News, as recorded by John, to us as we’ve gathered together at the Neighborhood Church for worship on this Good Friday evening.  Within our hearing comes the Word of the Lord …

Jesus went out, carrying his cross, and came to “The Place of the Skull,” as it is called.  (In Hebrew it is called “Golgotha.”)  There they crucified him; and they also crucified two other men, one on each side, with Jesus between them.  Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross.  “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” is what he wrote.  Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city.  The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.  The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’”

Pilate answered, “What I have written stays written.” (John 19:17-22) 

May my words & my thoughts be acceptable to you, 

O LORD, my refuge & my redeemer! (The Psalms 19:14)

May the Lord grant that we may engage in contemplating the mysteries of His Heavenly wisdom with really increasing devotion, to His glory and to our edification.  Amen 

This evening we’re going to be focusing on the cross.

And so you’ll know where we’re headed, we’re going to be looking at these 6 verses from John, which I’ve divided into 3 sections, 2 verses each; 

they deal with the cross as a symbol of agony, ministry, & victory.

“Jesus went out, carrying his cross, & came to ‘The Place of the Skull,’ 

as it is called.  (In Hebrew it is called ‘Golgotha.’)  

There they crucified him; & they also crucified 2 other men, 

one on each side, with Jesus between them.”  

In these 2 verses, John paints a very stark picture of the crucifixion.  Actually, he was the only Apostle who remained close as Jesus died.  The rest had run away. (Mark 14:50)

John records that Jesus carried His cross to “The Place of the Skull” … “Golgotha.”  We see images of skulls & crossbones frequently today.

It’s a symbol of death.  I don’t think it’s an accident that God chose 

“The Place of the Skull” as the setting for His decisive battle with death.

(1 Corinthians 15:26)

By the way, this is the same “mountain” where Abraham was called to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God many years earlier. (Genesis 22:2) And if you remember the story, Isaac had to carry the wood for that sacrifice 

(Genesis 22:6) just as Jesus now had to carry His own cross.

John presents the briefest description of the scene at Golgotha that we have in any of the Gospels.  Matthew, Mark, & Luke provide more details.  

John uses the sparsest of language …

 “carrying his cross … there they crucified him.”

We’re so accustomed to talking about the cross in Church that we forget that it was actually a symbol of humiliation … of torture.  I’m afraid that more often than not, for most people, the cross is seen simply as a pretty piece of jewelry, made of gold or silver.  We’ve become desensitized.

Ponder the actual cross for a moment. … Think about the spikes that were driven into it. … A cross was used to execute criminals.  The cross would be laid on the ground & the individual would be placed on it … & then spikes were driven through their wrists & ankles to hold them in place.  

Are you picturing this? … Then the cross would be set upright, & with a jolt, dropped into a deep hole, painfully jarring the person being crucified.

It was the electric chair, or hangman’s noose, of its’ day.  

It was a horrible method of execution … not at all a pretty piece of jewelry.

Ponder that thought … an instrument for 

public execution is the symbol for Christianity.

What was God thinking? … Paul writes,

“For the message about Christ’s death on the cross is nonsense to those 

who are being lost, but for us who are being saved it is God’s power.  

We proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews & nonsense to the Gentiles, but for those whom God has called … this message is Christ, who is the power of God & the wisdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18.23-24)

This is still true.  There are people in the world today that see the cross as foolishness; it’s a stumbling block to them.  Even in the Church there are those who think this notion of Jesus as a sacrifice is barbaric; 

that Christ died for our sins is a primitive idea.  Well, it’s not archaic.  

It’s the Gospel.  It’s how we are put right with God. (Romans 3:25-26)

And God is the one who has done it. 

“God has shown us how much he loves us – 

it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8)

If Christ did not carry our sins on the cross …

then we still have those sins. … There’s no better way to appreciate the love of God than to look at the cross.

The cross is the symbol of agony; physical agony certainly, 

but more than that, there was spiritual agony.  Jesus took upon Himself your punishment & mine, & every other person in the world. (1 Peter 2:24)

Okay, let’s continue on & look at another 

important aspect of the cross.

“Pilate wrote a notice & had it put on the cross.  ‘Jesus of Nazareth, 

the King of the Jews,’ is what he wrote.  Many people read it, 

because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city.  

The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, & Greek.”

In a sense there’s nothing unusual about that … 

placards were standard procedure in cases of crucifixion.

They were put above those being crucified, identifying the crime that they were being punished for.  Even so, Pilate probably did this as much to irritate & annoy the Jewish leaders as anything else.

Now each Gospel writer mentions the sign.

Matthew writes, “Above his head they put the written notice of the accusation against him: ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’” (Matthew 27:37) Mark records, “The notice of the accusation against him said: ‘The King of the Jews.’” (Mark 15:26) And Luke, “Above him were written these words: 

‘This is the King of the Jews.’” (Luke 23:38)

So, each Gospel writer mentions the sign revealing the crime for which Jesus was crucified, & basically what was on it.  

But what John adds is that the sign was written in 3 languages.

“Pilate wrote a notice & had it put on the cross.  

‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,’ ... 

The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, & Greek.”

I don’t know about you, but I love these little eyewitness accounts as I’m reading the Gospels … the adjectives that are provided every so often, 

which shows that the writer was right there.

Maybe it’s the newspaper reporter’s nature that I have; but this detail is particularly interesting.  For one thing, it explains why the precise wording differs from Gospel to Gospel.  The differences aren’t great, 

but it appears that Matthew translated the Hebrew words, 

Luke the Greek words, & Mark the Latin words.

Hebrew (spoken by the Jews), Greek (the speech of culture & commerce),

& Latin (the dialect of the Roman Empire), 

were the languages of the then known world.

Bible scholars estimate that there were over 2 million people in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.  They would have come from everywhere for the Passover.  And those 3 languages would have allowed everyone to know about Jesus.  And certainly, God wanted the whole world to know who Jesus was … & to see what He came to do.

Scripture’s most quoted passage …

“God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.” (John 3:16-17)

So, outside the gates of Jerusalem, at the beginning of Passover … 

Jesus hung on a cross for the world to see.

In preparing this message I came across an interesting poem written by John MacKenzie that speaks to this very thing.  Let me read it to you …

I simply argue that the Cross be raised again

at the centre of the marketplace,

as well as on the steeple of the Church.

I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified 

in a cathedral between 2 candles, but on a Cross, between 2 thieves,

on the town’s garbage heap at a crossroad so cosmopolitan

that they had to write his title in Latin, in Hebrew, & in Greek.

At the kind of a place where cynics talk smut, & thieves curse,

& soldiers gamble.

Because that is where He died 

& that is what He died about & that is where 

the church ought to be & that is what churchmen ought to be about.

The cross indicates our ministry.  For Jesus it was one of total service … 

& so it must be for us as well.  In fact, even while being crucified, 

Jesus continued to serve humanity.  

His 1st 3 statements from the cross were words of ministry.

“Forgive them, Father!  They don’t know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) 

That was directed toward the men who were crucifying Him!

His 2nd word … “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me” 

(Luke 23:43) … was spoken to a repentant bandit.

And His 3rd word … “He is you son.  She is your mother,” (John 19:26-27) 

were statements of encouragement for the Apostle John to take Jesus’ mother into his home.  The cross was a place of ministry for Jesus …

& it’s a symbol of ministry for us.

When Jesus summarized what it meant to be a disciple, He said,

“If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, & follow me.  For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for me & the gospel, you will save it.” (Mark 8:34-35)

To “carry our cross” means we are willing 

to carry on the ministry that Jesus began.

Listen to the final section …

“The chief priests said to Pilate, ‘Do not write ‘The King of the Jews; but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’’”

“Pilate answered, ‘What I have written stays written.’”

The religious leaders were very upset with Pilate because of what he had written above the cross, & they wanted him to change it.  Jesus was no King.  He was just an ordinary man who had delusions of grandeur.  

“This man said, I am the King of the Jews.”

But that’s not really true.  There’s no place in Scripture where Jesus claims to be the King of the Jews.  It’s just not there.  

And in responding to Pilate’s earlier question, “Are you a king?”

Jesus simply answered, “You say that I am a king.” (John 18:37)

I’ve always been kind of intrigued with Pilate’s conversation with Jesus.  

When I was younger, I used to think that Pilate actually wasn’t that bad of a guy.  He seemed to be sympathetic toward Jesus.  And in opposition to the chief priests’ demands stated, “What I have written stays written.”

But Pilate really didn’t care about Jesus at all …or any of the Jews for that matter.  He just wanted everybody to know that he was the boss.  

Earlier he had asked, “Do you want me to crucify your king?” (John 19:15)

Now that question was full of sarcasm.  This whole trial was ridiculous to Pilate.  The Jewish people, in general, annoyed him.  He didn’t like them.  And now here’s this insignificant Jew, who could be snuffed out by a little finger of Rome … how could He be a King?  He didn’t have any power.  Pilate had the power.  And he wasn’t about to worry himself over some little, obscure, inconsequential Jewish prophet.  And yet, 2,000 years later, people all over the world know that “insignificant” man to be their Lord & Savior.

And we still remember Pilate too.  In the historic Apostles’ Creed, 

we find the statement, “Jesus Christ … suffered under Pontius Pilate.”  

He was a bad man, & it’s so easy for us to point our finger at him, 

& the Jewish leaders as well, but if we’re honest with ourselves, 

we would have been right there with them.

When I was living in Germany, I had the opportunity to visit a lot of art galleries … & so many of the great paintings depict scenes from Scripture, & especially moments of the life of Jesus.  

I remember seeing a painting by Rembrandt.  It was a scene at the cross.

When we think of the cross, we picture the soldiers who would be there. 

(Luke 26:36) Certainly there were the faithful women.  

And John, himself, was there. (John 19:25-26)

But Rembrandt takes a different approach.

As he depicts the crucifixion scene there’s a person or 2 in the shadows, 

but right there in the forefront, is a figure that seems totally out of place.

It’s a Dutchman!  It was Rembrandt himself.

You see, Rembrandt painted a profound truth about the cross of Christ, the crucifixion.  It’s not just a historical fact.  It’s a personal experience.

Mel Gibson demonstrated that truth in his movie a # of years ago now, 

“The Passion Of The Christ.”  If you saw it, you remember how emotionally draining it was.  Jesus is being brutally tortured.  And for what? … Our sins. (1 Corinthians 15:3) And then He’s nailed to the cross.  Did you know that it was Gibson’s hand that held the hammer that drove the nails into Jesus’ hands?

Jesus took my punishment, & yours, upon Himself, on the cross.  My sins, 

& yours, put Him there.  And as I think about that painting by Rembrandt, 

I see in the shadows, not only him … but me.  And it’s my hand holding the hammer, not Gibson’s, which drove the nails into Jesus’ hands.

So, on this Good Friday evening,

I want each of you to spend a moment pondering the cross.  See it for what it really is … it’s there that Jesus died in your place. (Romans 6:23)  

Picture Jesus hanging on it … nails in His hands & feet …

body bloodied from beatings & whippings. (Matthew 27:26) And there you are at the foot of the cross. … You look up at Him. … He looks down at you.

What do you imagine Him saying to you? … 

What do you imagine yourself saying to Him?

Let’s spend a moment in quiet personal reflection …

“For when we were still helpless, Christ died for the wicked at the time God chose.  It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person.  It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person.  But God has shown us how much he loves us – it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!  By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God’s anger!  We were God’s enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son.  Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life.” (Romans 5:6-10)

Over the past few years I have become friends with Jim, & Raymond, & Russ.  And I value that.  And, because of the cross, I am, & you are too, now friends with Almighty God.  Ponder that on this Good Friday.

MARANA THA