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In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. On this most holy day, we see our Passover lamb led to the slaughter. So let us join Peter and the other disciple and follow the Lamb of God, set apart for this most holy sacrifice. He was oppressed and he was afflicted. He was cut off from the land of the living. In the garden, the lamb was handed over, bound and let away. Let us watch him as they brought him to the high priest for inspection, finding out that indeed he was without blemish. Pilate came to the same conclusion. He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. But as it goes with sacrificial animals, the lamb was condemned to death anyways.
Let us behold him as they took him, beat him, mocked him, let him carry his own cross. It is a cruel sight, but let us not hide our faces quite yet. Behold, the lamb shed his blood, was lifted up on the tree of the cross, despised and rejected, bowing his head. And in all this, he opened not his mouth. He kept silent as a sheep before its shearers. It is a painful event that we again see today, following Peter and John from a distance. He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. And indeed, all the human eye sees is that man of sorrow and pain.
Jesus did not at all look like the king of Israel. He did not look like the Son of God he claimed to be. He looked like a lowly man, a condemned and ridiculed criminal. And more than that, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the sons of men. That is what the mortal eye sees on Good Friday. But let me ask you this. How is it that the apostle John says in the beginning of his gospel, “We saw his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”? How did they see that? How did they see this glory that the Son had with the Father before the world was? How did they see that in this sacrificial lamb, this man of sorrow?
You all know the answer to this question. You know that the mortal eye is blind, but that the Lord can enlighten the eyes of our understanding and let us know and see the truth. Faith sees who this man truly is, and faith sees the purpose why he was sacrificed. Faith sees only marvelous and wondrous things on Good Friday. When the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, he promised them, “Before all your people, I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation. And all the people among whom you shall see the work of the Lord, for it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.” Today, this promise was fulfilled.
Israel’s exodus out of Egypt is but a fleeting shadow of the things that happen on Good Friday and will be completed on Sunday. What are all the Passover lambs in Egypt compared to that Passover lamb on the cross? What is the dividing of the Red Sea compared with the dividing of our Lord’s garments? What is the mighty voice of God giving the Ten Commandments compared with the eternal word of God being silent before his accusers? What are all the miracles in the wilderness compared with God being bound and arrested in the garden? What is the water flowing from the rock compared with God crying out for thirst? What can be compared with the fact that our God died on the cross?
This had not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation, but now it is proclaimed throughout all the world. And faith sees this. What our mortal eyes cannot see, faith sees. Faith sees that this man is God. Faith sees his glory. Think about this. If Jesus is the Son of God, then He is truly God. And if Jesus died on the cross, then God died on the cross. You cannot separate the divine nature from the human nature. It is true that the divine nature cannot die. But in Jesus, the divine nature is inseparably united with the human nature. And so this man is God, and apart from this man, you will not find the one true God. He died according to his human nature, but nevertheless, it was God who died, the Lord of Glory. Can you think of anything more astonishing than that?
And Isaiah opens our eyes for even more. It is quite beautiful. We usually think of the New Testament shedding light on the Old, but in the case of the Passion narrative, it is the Old Testament that sheds light on the new. Through Isaiah, the Holy Spirit tells us what is going on. According to our mortal eyes, we esteemed Jesus stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But why was he smitten by God? He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. And oh, what sorrows did we bring upon ourselves with our sins?
We are Barabbas. We have robbed God of His glory and gave it to ourselves. We have often feared men more than God, denying our Lord. Whenever we do not fully fear God, making light of his judgments, when we do not perfectly love him, loving ourselves more, or the pleasures of this life—food and drink, entertainment, fleeing pain at all costs—when we do not trust him above all things, trusting human safety or ourselves, and still always being anxious and worrying, when we do all this, we have broken the First Commandment and robbed God of his glory. What about all the other commandments? Did we murder our brother in our hearts? Did we commit adultery in our hearts? What have we to offer before the judgment seat of God? And yet, he sternly warns us, none shall appear before me empty.
So when we examine ourselves on this most holy day, we have to confess that we were like sheep who have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. We have become robbers like Barabbas. Left on our own, we would certainly be lost. But pay close attention to what Isaiah preaches to us. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity for us all. The Lord made his soul an offering for sin. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Oh, what wondrous love that no human heart has sounded! Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. We go free because he bore it all. Jesus took the place of Barabbas for us, the guiltless for the guilty.
So as we follow Peter and John from a distance, we see and behold our Lord’s passion and dying; we see the Lamb of God led to the slaughter. And though he had no form or majesty, he had no form, nothing beautiful, desirable to behold. We see his glory through faith. Through faith, we see that this man is truly God. And through faith, we see that he died for us. And this is more than cruel suffering and torture. This is boundless love. And the Heavenly Father says, “By his knowledge, my righteous servant shall justify many. The chastisement for our peace was upon him. And by his stripes, we are healed.”
May he grant us eyes to see and know him. In Jesus’ name.