Isaiah 52:13-53:12/2 Corinthians 5:14-21/St John 18-19
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
On Monday in Holy Week we heard from St Peter: He himself bore our sins in His body on the Tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls (1 Pt 2:24-25).
Tonight you realize that St Peter is referencing the prophet Isaiah. Referencing, not quoting, because the word Peter used, often translated as “stripes” in the King James Version or “wounds” in the English Standard Version, is actually in the singular. It is the word for wound or welt. A deep gash. The Roman lash was a mop-head of leather straps embedded with bits of bone and metal. Our Lord’s back wasn’t striped with many different cuts. It was one giant open wound. Even if they hadn’t crucified Him it is likely that He would have died from the scourging.
Isaiah said that His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of children of mankind; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Innocent One, is so gruesomely beaten that even Pilate is shocked by the cruelty. For that which has not been told to him he sees and that which he has not heard he understands.
But what sort of evil could cause a man to do this to another man? No man, no matter how evil, would do this to dog or any animal. And then, having opened His back in this way, as He is bleeding and dying in complete agony in front of you, to take Him to the barracks, slap Him, spit in His face, and force a crown of thorns down upon His head. How is this sort of cruelty even possible?
In all of this everyone is surprised by Jesus’ actions. Peter is ready with the sword and to go down fighting if need be; but he doesn’t know what to say or do about the Man who meekly gives Himself up as a Lamb into the lion’s mouth. Judas, too, probably expected Jesus to resist arrest, to defend Himself in some way. But when He is condemned and sentenced to death the betrayer is overcome with remorse and succumbs to despair. Even Pilate is surprised by the silence of the Lamb who makes no answer to the accusations leveled against Him. None of these charges should stick. He’s not guilty. But He refused to argue His case.
What is even more astonishing is that Jesus knew such things were going to happen to Him. He knew. And yet He willingly goes to Jerusalem. He gives Himself over to His betrayer and captors. He receives the verdict though it is all a sham. He endures the flogging. He is nailed to the Tree. He goes all the way to death. And He does it all willingly!
What are we to think or say about Jesus? Is He hell bent on some kind of suicide mission? Is He intent on throwing His life away? He’s had a lot of followers, on and off along the way, but He’s also managed to alienate many if not most of them. Public opinions rise and fall like election polls; the crowds tend to be fickle, their loyalties shallow. Is Jesus getting desperate? Despairing? His own family has already feared at times that He has lost His mind.
Hasn’t He been telling His disciples that He’s going to Jerusalem expecting to be condemned and put to death? And remember how He responded when Simon Peter objected to that prospect? He spoke of His coming death as a necessity, a given, and as the very purpose for which He has come into the world. He has clearly said that He will lay down His life in order to save others.
So, is Jesus suicidal as He enters Jerusalem and makes His way for the Cross?
By no means! He is not despairing, but confident and faithful. He is not crazy, but trusts in His God and Father. He is not giving up hope, nor abandoning His vocation, but proceeding in the way that His Father has set before Him. He sets His face toward Jerusalem and with steeled resolve and unyielding faith toward God and fervent love for you, He goes to the Cross to accomplish the salvation of mankind.
And remember what it is that first brings Jesus to Jerusalem before the start of Holy Week - the death of His dear friend Lazarus of Bethany. And when the disciples attempted to dissuade Him from returning to Jerusalem on account of the Jews were just now seeking to stone Him, Jesus said to them, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. After saying these things, He said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, I go to awaken him. The disciples presumed He meant rest. Therefore He told them plainly, Lazarus has died and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.
For your sake I am glad. Knowing what lies ahead, Jesus is glad. For your sake. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross, despising the shame (Heb 12:2). Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
The fallen world, Judas, Pilate, Peter before the Resurrection and Pentecost, even you according to your flesh, cannot make sense of this Self-Offering, this Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. You can discern, to some extent, the self-sacrifice of duty, of those who put themselves in harm’s way to save others: soldiers, police, firefighters. We like our superheroes who miraculously appear and rescue us from the destruction of an evil foe; preserving our way of life.
But what the fallen world, and our flesh, does not recognize, nor can it really know, is the true glory of the Cross. It does not see the bullet that Christ takes, the bomb that He smothers and absorbs with His Body. It does not realize the ransom that He pays to redeem the world from complete and utter destruction. The Cross seems to be, not the faithfulness of duty, but simply foolishness. Not the glory of a heroic rescue from danger, but a futile waste, a misguided effort, a failed mission, a dismal loss.
Or at best, the world might think of the crucified Jesus as a Martyr for some cause; His death is some fervent emotional appeal for tolerance. We want our heroes handsome and witty; jumping into phone booths to don suits that disguise their identity in order to save the girl or stop the runaway train. But the Self-Sacrifice of the Son of God disguised in the shame and bloody gore of the Cross is folly to us; and seemingly inconsequential. Therefore the holy evangelist St John, quoting the prophet, says, Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
But St John goes on to say that Isaiah said these things because he saw the glory of the Christ and spoke of Him. So descriptive, so precise, so accurate was the prophecy of Isaiah that his text is at times referred to as the Gospel according to Isaiah. For He speaks of the glory of the Christ. A glory revealed in shame, a power made perfect in weakness, a salvation despised and rejected by the world that cannot comprehend and doesn’t want it. But to you who are being saved: Christ the crucified, the power of God and the salvation of God. The Lamb who is slain who atones for your most vile sins and rescues you from the clutches of death.
He knew. And still He went. For it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself. For our sake He made Him to be Sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Martin Luther wrote, “The right way to reach a true knowledge of Christ’s sufferings is to perceive and understand not only what He suffered, but how it was His heart and will to suffer. For whoever looks upon Christ’s sufferings without His heart and will therein must be filled with fear rather than joy. But if we can truly see [by faith in His Word] His heart and will in it, it gives true comfort, trust, and joy in Christ.”
Dear Christians, one and all rejoice. Good Friday is not a funeral for Jesus. It is a day of repentant joy and praise for the redemption Christ accomplished for us upon the Cross. It is the fulfillment and culmination of His Incarnation. Which, in fact, takes on greater significance this Good Friday. We are exactly nine months from Christmas. Nine months, the gestation of a baby. Today, dear ones, is not only Good Friday, today, March 25th, is also the Annunciation of our Lord; a rare, but immensely theologically signifiant occasion.
Today is the celebration of the day on which the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Holy Son of God. And she is to give Him the Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. The Ancient Church believed the crucifixion to have occurred on March 25, and the noble death of a hero was thought to be linked to his conception. Thus, in the Annunciation, the Church joined together both the Incarnation of Jesus and the atonement He accomplished.
And God has highly exalted His Servant, the Crucified One, and given Him the Name which is above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father who together with the Holy Spirit, belongs honor, glory, and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
On Monday in Holy Week we heard from St Peter: He himself bore our sins in His body on the Tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls (1 Pt 2:24-25).
Tonight you realize that St Peter is referencing the prophet Isaiah. Referencing, not quoting, because the word Peter used, often translated as “stripes” in the King James Version or “wounds” in the English Standard Version, is actually in the singular. It is the word for wound or welt. A deep gash. The Roman lash was a mop-head of leather straps embedded with bits of bone and metal. Our Lord’s back wasn’t striped with many different cuts. It was one giant open wound. Even if they hadn’t crucified Him it is likely that He would have died from the scourging.
Isaiah said that His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and His form beyond that of children of mankind; kings shall shut their mouths because of Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Innocent One, is so gruesomely beaten that even Pilate is shocked by the cruelty. For that which has not been told to him he sees and that which he has not heard he understands.
But what sort of evil could cause a man to do this to another man? No man, no matter how evil, would do this to dog or any animal. And then, having opened His back in this way, as He is bleeding and dying in complete agony in front of you, to take Him to the barracks, slap Him, spit in His face, and force a crown of thorns down upon His head. How is this sort of cruelty even possible?
In all of this everyone is surprised by Jesus’ actions. Peter is ready with the sword and to go down fighting if need be; but he doesn’t know what to say or do about the Man who meekly gives Himself up as a Lamb into the lion’s mouth. Judas, too, probably expected Jesus to resist arrest, to defend Himself in some way. But when He is condemned and sentenced to death the betrayer is overcome with remorse and succumbs to despair. Even Pilate is surprised by the silence of the Lamb who makes no answer to the accusations leveled against Him. None of these charges should stick. He’s not guilty. But He refused to argue His case.
What is even more astonishing is that Jesus knew such things were going to happen to Him. He knew. And yet He willingly goes to Jerusalem. He gives Himself over to His betrayer and captors. He receives the verdict though it is all a sham. He endures the flogging. He is nailed to the Tree. He goes all the way to death. And He does it all willingly!
What are we to think or say about Jesus? Is He hell bent on some kind of suicide mission? Is He intent on throwing His life away? He’s had a lot of followers, on and off along the way, but He’s also managed to alienate many if not most of them. Public opinions rise and fall like election polls; the crowds tend to be fickle, their loyalties shallow. Is Jesus getting desperate? Despairing? His own family has already feared at times that He has lost His mind.
Hasn’t He been telling His disciples that He’s going to Jerusalem expecting to be condemned and put to death? And remember how He responded when Simon Peter objected to that prospect? He spoke of His coming death as a necessity, a given, and as the very purpose for which He has come into the world. He has clearly said that He will lay down His life in order to save others.
So, is Jesus suicidal as He enters Jerusalem and makes His way for the Cross?
By no means! He is not despairing, but confident and faithful. He is not crazy, but trusts in His God and Father. He is not giving up hope, nor abandoning His vocation, but proceeding in the way that His Father has set before Him. He sets His face toward Jerusalem and with steeled resolve and unyielding faith toward God and fervent love for you, He goes to the Cross to accomplish the salvation of mankind.
And remember what it is that first brings Jesus to Jerusalem before the start of Holy Week - the death of His dear friend Lazarus of Bethany. And when the disciples attempted to dissuade Him from returning to Jerusalem on account of the Jews were just now seeking to stone Him, Jesus said to them, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. After saying these things, He said to them, Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, I go to awaken him. The disciples presumed He meant rest. Therefore He told them plainly, Lazarus has died and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.
For your sake I am glad. Knowing what lies ahead, Jesus is glad. For your sake. For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross, despising the shame (Heb 12:2). Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
The fallen world, Judas, Pilate, Peter before the Resurrection and Pentecost, even you according to your flesh, cannot make sense of this Self-Offering, this Sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. You can discern, to some extent, the self-sacrifice of duty, of those who put themselves in harm’s way to save others: soldiers, police, firefighters. We like our superheroes who miraculously appear and rescue us from the destruction of an evil foe; preserving our way of life.
But what the fallen world, and our flesh, does not recognize, nor can it really know, is the true glory of the Cross. It does not see the bullet that Christ takes, the bomb that He smothers and absorbs with His Body. It does not realize the ransom that He pays to redeem the world from complete and utter destruction. The Cross seems to be, not the faithfulness of duty, but simply foolishness. Not the glory of a heroic rescue from danger, but a futile waste, a misguided effort, a failed mission, a dismal loss.
Or at best, the world might think of the crucified Jesus as a Martyr for some cause; His death is some fervent emotional appeal for tolerance. We want our heroes handsome and witty; jumping into phone booths to don suits that disguise their identity in order to save the girl or stop the runaway train. But the Self-Sacrifice of the Son of God disguised in the shame and bloody gore of the Cross is folly to us; and seemingly inconsequential. Therefore the holy evangelist St John, quoting the prophet, says, Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
But St John goes on to say that Isaiah said these things because he saw the glory of the Christ and spoke of Him. So descriptive, so precise, so accurate was the prophecy of Isaiah that his text is at times referred to as the Gospel according to Isaiah. For He speaks of the glory of the Christ. A glory revealed in shame, a power made perfect in weakness, a salvation despised and rejected by the world that cannot comprehend and doesn’t want it. But to you who are being saved: Christ the crucified, the power of God and the salvation of God. The Lamb who is slain who atones for your most vile sins and rescues you from the clutches of death.
He knew. And still He went. For it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief. The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself. For our sake He made Him to be Sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Martin Luther wrote, “The right way to reach a true knowledge of Christ’s sufferings is to perceive and understand not only what He suffered, but how it was His heart and will to suffer. For whoever looks upon Christ’s sufferings without His heart and will therein must be filled with fear rather than joy. But if we can truly see [by faith in His Word] His heart and will in it, it gives true comfort, trust, and joy in Christ.”
Dear Christians, one and all rejoice. Good Friday is not a funeral for Jesus. It is a day of repentant joy and praise for the redemption Christ accomplished for us upon the Cross. It is the fulfillment and culmination of His Incarnation. Which, in fact, takes on greater significance this Good Friday. We are exactly nine months from Christmas. Nine months, the gestation of a baby. Today, dear ones, is not only Good Friday, today, March 25th, is also the Annunciation of our Lord; a rare, but immensely theologically signifiant occasion.
Today is the celebration of the day on which the angel Gabriel appeared to the Virgin Mary and told her she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to the Holy Son of God. And she is to give Him the Name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. The Ancient Church believed the crucifixion to have occurred on March 25, and the noble death of a hero was thought to be linked to his conception. Thus, in the Annunciation, the Church joined together both the Incarnation of Jesus and the atonement He accomplished.
And God has highly exalted His Servant, the Crucified One, and given Him the Name which is above every name; that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father who together with the Holy Spirit, belongs honor, glory, and dominion, both now and forever. Amen.
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