Isaiah 62:11-63:7; Revelation 1:5b-7; St Luke 22-23
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, Certainly this man was innocent!
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 seeing His heart and will therein must be filled with fear rather than joy, but if we can truly see His heart and will in it, it gives true comfort, trust, and joy in Christ” (Quinquagesima, 1525).
Here we see laid bare the problem that some have with the crucifix. They fail to see the heart and will of Christ. Our focus should not be on the agony and pain that our Lord endured. The focus should be, as it is in the Bible, on our Lord’s free and loving desire to bear our sins in His own body to death on the cross.
If you cannot bear the thought of the Cross, then you are not a Christian. If you will not have a crucified Lord, then you do not have the Lord. If you want something nice, something kinder, something gentler, then Satan has alternatives galore for your perusal. He will gladly hold your hand on the broad, easy path to hell. But if you would be saved, you must overcome the stumbling block of the cross, the scandal of Jesus’ death; rather, you must be overcome by it.
So the centurion, as recorded by St Luke, when he saw what had happened, he praised God. Seeing the kind of death Jesus died, the centurion gave thanks to God. This is not the same sentiment as General George Patton, looking upon the men he sacrificed for victory and urging us not to bemoan the fact that such men died, but to “thank God that such men lived.” Rather, this soldier, the centurion, recognizes that this wasn’t his sacrifice to win some victory. This was God’s sacrifice to win him.
So he gets neither gloomy nor triumphant. He is not filled with terror, horror, or guilt, nor is he self-satisfied. After sinking his spear into our blessed Lord’s side and setting free the water and the blood, he praises God, saying, Certainly this man was innocent. Certainly this man was the Son of God. And that is something for which to praise God. For if Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of God, both true God and true Man, then His innocent death has rendered payment for the unrighteous sons of the devil; that is to say, for us.
Jesus, then, is more than a martyr. His death is more than noble. There is joy at His death. Not because He stood up for a cause or was brave or even did the right thing. Rather, there is joy in His death because this is the atoning sacrifice for all the world and is the heart and will of the Father.
This is not simply the death of an innocent man who loved His brothers. This is the great injustice and intervention of God Himself. God in the flesh lays down His life for His enemies. Patton’s soldiers died at his command and will for their country. Jesus died of His own will for His enemies. If Patton’s soldiers had done that, we would call them traitors.
Gathered around the cross that Good Friday, only the repentant thief and the centurion really get it. The majority there - even the inner circle of disciples, Mary Magdalene, and the Blessed Virgin - all beat their breasts and mourn over the sad fact of these three crucifixions. They see no glory, no power, no love of God there. Only another human tragedy.
But the centurion, seeing the kind of death Jesus died, recognizes, by the grace of God, who Jesus is. He rejoices and praises God. For the death of Jesus Christ is substitutionary. It was not a soldier’s death or a martyr’s death. It was sin’s death. It was death’s death. And if Jesus seems a bit like a traitor, dying for enemies, then so be it. For He opened heaven to traitors and rebels.
The centurion recognizes that Jesus has died in his place. That Jesus has substituted His perfect life and death for his. He realizes that he could not have obtained this in any other way. In his sins, he was God’s sworn and eternal enemy. But Jesus died for him and has freed him from his sins by His blood. Jesus loved him and by His death made him a friend and even a child of God. So he praises God.
Let us join him. We have no less to praise God for than he did. We too have been born anew in the water and the blood set free by his spear. We too have been made friends and even children of God. This is truly something for which to praise God. For surely this Jesus is a righteous man for us. And by His righteousness we are declared righteous. Certainly He is the Son of God who make us His brothers and thereby also sons of God; a kingdom and priests to His God and Father. Let us sing praises to Him.
For certain His death is our salvation and His resurrection is the inauguration, the beginning, the breaking out of our own future resurrections. He, the first born of the dead, we to follow. The Son of Man has been lifted up on the cruel killing scaffold and it is the Tree of Life. He has trodden the winepress and poured out His lifeblood. The banner of His Cross marks the hill where sin and death are defeated. This event has drawn us to Him. It is a good day, the best day, the day the Lord has made, the day He made us His.
Praise God, Jesus died to make us free. Praise God, He did not shrink from His mission but loved us to the end according to the abundance of His steadfast love. Praise God, He is not dead. He lives. And we too live in Him. Our “Alleluias” draw nigh. Easter is coming.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, Certainly this man was innocent!
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 seeing His heart and will therein must be filled with fear rather than joy, but if we can truly see His heart and will in it, it gives true comfort, trust, and joy in Christ” (Quinquagesima, 1525).
Here we see laid bare the problem that some have with the crucifix. They fail to see the heart and will of Christ. Our focus should not be on the agony and pain that our Lord endured. The focus should be, as it is in the Bible, on our Lord’s free and loving desire to bear our sins in His own body to death on the cross.
If you cannot bear the thought of the Cross, then you are not a Christian. If you will not have a crucified Lord, then you do not have the Lord. If you want something nice, something kinder, something gentler, then Satan has alternatives galore for your perusal. He will gladly hold your hand on the broad, easy path to hell. But if you would be saved, you must overcome the stumbling block of the cross, the scandal of Jesus’ death; rather, you must be overcome by it.
So the centurion, as recorded by St Luke, when he saw what had happened, he praised God. Seeing the kind of death Jesus died, the centurion gave thanks to God. This is not the same sentiment as General George Patton, looking upon the men he sacrificed for victory and urging us not to bemoan the fact that such men died, but to “thank God that such men lived.” Rather, this soldier, the centurion, recognizes that this wasn’t his sacrifice to win some victory. This was God’s sacrifice to win him.
So he gets neither gloomy nor triumphant. He is not filled with terror, horror, or guilt, nor is he self-satisfied. After sinking his spear into our blessed Lord’s side and setting free the water and the blood, he praises God, saying, Certainly this man was innocent. Certainly this man was the Son of God. And that is something for which to praise God. For if Jesus Christ is the righteous Son of God, both true God and true Man, then His innocent death has rendered payment for the unrighteous sons of the devil; that is to say, for us.
Jesus, then, is more than a martyr. His death is more than noble. There is joy at His death. Not because He stood up for a cause or was brave or even did the right thing. Rather, there is joy in His death because this is the atoning sacrifice for all the world and is the heart and will of the Father.
This is not simply the death of an innocent man who loved His brothers. This is the great injustice and intervention of God Himself. God in the flesh lays down His life for His enemies. Patton’s soldiers died at his command and will for their country. Jesus died of His own will for His enemies. If Patton’s soldiers had done that, we would call them traitors.
Gathered around the cross that Good Friday, only the repentant thief and the centurion really get it. The majority there - even the inner circle of disciples, Mary Magdalene, and the Blessed Virgin - all beat their breasts and mourn over the sad fact of these three crucifixions. They see no glory, no power, no love of God there. Only another human tragedy.
But the centurion, seeing the kind of death Jesus died, recognizes, by the grace of God, who Jesus is. He rejoices and praises God. For the death of Jesus Christ is substitutionary. It was not a soldier’s death or a martyr’s death. It was sin’s death. It was death’s death. And if Jesus seems a bit like a traitor, dying for enemies, then so be it. For He opened heaven to traitors and rebels.
The centurion recognizes that Jesus has died in his place. That Jesus has substituted His perfect life and death for his. He realizes that he could not have obtained this in any other way. In his sins, he was God’s sworn and eternal enemy. But Jesus died for him and has freed him from his sins by His blood. Jesus loved him and by His death made him a friend and even a child of God. So he praises God.
Let us join him. We have no less to praise God for than he did. We too have been born anew in the water and the blood set free by his spear. We too have been made friends and even children of God. This is truly something for which to praise God. For surely this Jesus is a righteous man for us. And by His righteousness we are declared righteous. Certainly He is the Son of God who make us His brothers and thereby also sons of God; a kingdom and priests to His God and Father. Let us sing praises to Him.
For certain His death is our salvation and His resurrection is the inauguration, the beginning, the breaking out of our own future resurrections. He, the first born of the dead, we to follow. The Son of Man has been lifted up on the cruel killing scaffold and it is the Tree of Life. He has trodden the winepress and poured out His lifeblood. The banner of His Cross marks the hill where sin and death are defeated. This event has drawn us to Him. It is a good day, the best day, the day the Lord has made, the day He made us His.
Praise God, Jesus died to make us free. Praise God, He did not shrink from His mission but loved us to the end according to the abundance of His steadfast love. Praise God, He is not dead. He lives. And we too live in Him. Our “Alleluias” draw nigh. Easter is coming.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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