[Machine transcription]
This evening you will hear from the Gospel according to St. John and the Passion account from there. There are several things that I want you to pay attention to and listen for. Some very unique things happened, several miracles even.
At the very beginning of the text, when Jesus is in the garden and His disciples are there gathered around Him and Judas had led the soldiers to the garden to betray Jesus, something happens when the soldiers speak to Jesus. They ask, “Where is Jesus of Nazareth?” Jesus responds, “I am he.” Here is the interesting miracle that you need to take note of, and that is these seasoned soldiers fall back and fall down. That is a miracle. These are not fly-by-night soldiers. These are hardened men. Amen.
Jesus answers the question with one Greek word, “I am.” Sound familiar? It should. It’s what our God called himself when He revealed Himself to Moses on Mount Sinai. “Tell them I am sent you,” God said. So here He speaks the same words, and the soldiers fall back and fall down. Now the disciples who witnessed all of this kind of got lost on them, at least until they had a chance to reflect upon it. But for you, it’s vitally important for you to remember, because in the midst of this, that seems as if He has no control, He is in complete control. It was meant to comfort them, not to confuse them or to frighten them, but to comfort His disciples, His believers. And so it is with you. In the midst of things that you cannot understand, as you’re facing things that are far more insurmountable than you feel is capable of yourself to handle, is He not still the same one in control?
And then consider the death, the type of death that our Lord chose. For you see, in the book of Acts, when Stephen begins to proclaim the things that he proclaims in his great testimony, what do the Jews want to do with Stephen that they never did get the opportunity to do with Jesus? They stoned him. So why had not the Jews stoned Jesus prior to this moment? Why had they not been able to? Read the Gospels. They tried. He would not allow it. He did allow this kind of death, crucifixion, to be numbered with not only the two transgressors with Him but to be numbered with a death that was common only to heinous transgressors.
And how interesting. The Jews bring Jesus to Pilate. They don’t step into Pilate’s headquarters because they don’t want to soil themselves so that they can celebrate the Passover. Jesus, He is the Passover, and He walks into Pilate’s headquarters. Pilate and He have an interesting conversation. He reminds Pilate that He is not a king of this world. For He said, “My followers did not prevent me from being handed over to you. Therefore know this, that my kingdom is not of this world.” Which means you and I need to know the same. Amen.
At times, this world is extremely attractive, and there are some gloriously wonderful and beautiful things to experience in this world, but it never is meant to be lasting. It is always passing, transient, empty. Jesus tells Pilate, “I was born for this purpose. I have come into this world for this purpose, and that purpose is to bear witness to the truth.” Therefore, brothers and sisters, hear. Hear and trust in this truth that He brings and bears to you.
Now you know Pilate’s response to that because Pilate is a true postmodernist where there is no absolute truth. There is only your truth and my truth, and let’s just agree to disagree. What a sad world in which to live if there is not but absolute truth. In fact, he says, as a king, I rule my truth seekers with my voice of truth and nothing else. That is how he still rules you to this day, isn’t it? With his word of truth, not with compulsion, not with guilt, not with anything rough or harsh, but with truth, loving truth.
Listen to when the Jews bring Jesus to Pilate. Picture in your mind, Jesus, He may have been a little tired, but He was clean. He had no blood on Himself. He was fully clothed. And then, listen, because when the Jews see Him again after Pilate has scourged Him, He has no clothing on except the purple robe. He isn’t clean, but dirty. And He isn’t bloodless, but blood-filled, crowned with a crown of thorns. And when He says to them, “Behold the man,” they look upon Him with no mercy, only hatred, and cry out, “Crucify, crucify Him.” But you need Him. You want Him to be crucified for you. For without that, you and I have no hope and no salvation.
How interesting. The very thing that the Jews are crying out for is what you and I give thanks for on this day of days: His crucifixion for me, His crucifixion for you.
The second interesting miracle that I want you to listen to is how Pilate, who is a Roman governor, appointed by Caesar for that place, is afraid. Listen, he is afraid. We know from Matthew’s Gospel that his wife had a bad dream about Jesus and told Pilate, “Have nothing to do with this man.” The fear that Pilate feels, however, is not a good fear. There are only two fears that you and I experience in this world: worldly fear or godly fear. Godly fear leads to repentance, which leads to eternal life. Worldly fear always leads to despondency and death.
Pilate’s fear is so great that it spills over when he argues with Jesus and tries to convince Him that he has power over Him. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or the power to crucify you?” That’s not spoken from a calm demeanor but from a fear-filled person. How pitiful for him to say, as if Jesus is in his hands, when really Pilate is in Jesus’ hands and is in control of every facet of this because He wants your soul to be saved and not to perish. He reminds Pilate of that. Sadly, that was Pilate’s probably last chance to repent. Jesus loved Pilate even to His death, not wanting Pilate to turn away.
So then when they bring Jesus out and crucify Him on that cross, remember, He is not like how the painters in the Western world and even the iconographers of the Eastern church in their icons painted, with a loincloth. He was naked to humiliate Him even more, which was why the soldiers were casting lots for all of His clothes. Listen how there were three men crucified, and yet only one of the three men, God allows to have a placard above his head: Jesus.
And then, right before Jesus dies, He makes this great absolution to you, a declaration of forgiveness for you. And again, it’s only one word in the Greek text, and the word is, “It is finished.” Meaning, it’s over. It’s done. You don’t have to conjure up feelings within your bosom. You don’t have to second guess or plan for something that you’re going to do to pay me back. It has been paid in completion. There is nothing. To offer anything of our own is to spit on the very sacrifice of Christ and not embrace it, hold fast to it, and trust in it. When He says, “It is finished,” “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit,” and He dies, His suffering is over. He dies in peace, and He dies in joy. Because that’s how you’re going to die as His child. Amen. The suffering will be over. You will close your eyes and die in joy and peace, just as your God, your Lord, did on that cross.
The third miracle to listen for is quite remarkable as well. The soldiers were told to break the legs to speed the process of crucifixion death along. Pilate, in fact, gives the order, “Break their legs.” Again, these aren’t soldiers who think, you know, “Did he really mean break all of their legs or just some?” They would obey the letter of that law and command. They break the first thief’s or criminal’s legs. You can only imagine the sound of bone breaking. Jesus is the next one in line. They skip Him. They break the third, the other criminal’s legs. They come back to Jesus. They don’t break His legs. They disobey a lawful order. Instead of breaking His legs, they come up with their own idea of piercing His side with a spear, which fulfills the Isaiah passage that we read back and forth together: “They will look upon the one whom they have pierced.”
And then, really, the miracle that happens is when Jesus’ side is pierced. When somebody dies, their heart stops. When somebody dies and their heart stops, the blood coagulates quickly. You can cut a person’s arm after they’re dead, and they don’t bleed much, if any. There’s no pressure. When Jesus’ side is pierced, rather than it being maybe a little bit of ooze, John records for you to know this miracle, that out of His side did flow blood and water. And in fact, he says it so that you would believe, the text says. Listen for that.
Now, if you’re thinking in your head, blood, water, what does that have to do with my salvation? The same apostle John writes in his first letter, his first epistle, John chapter 5, these words, which is a commentary on that blood and water, that miraculous flow from Jesus’ side. “This is He…” That is remarkable. It is remarkable, in fact, that when John wrote that the church had already been practicing baptism in the Lord’s Supper for 30 years. The water is referring to communion, but with the Word of God, which is the power, that is the Spirit. The blood is the Lord’s Supper, but with the Word, that is the Spirit, that gives it such power. Those three do agree. They testify of God’s forgiveness and mercy to you.
And John… John wants you to remember and never let go that miracle for you. He goes on and writes, “And this is the testimony that God gave us, eternal life. And this life is in His Son. Whoever has the Son, by water, blood, and spirit, has life. Whoever does not have the Son, by water, blood, and spirit, does not have life.” This is why we call it Good Friday in the name of Jesus. Amen.
