What's so good about Friday

We are fast approaching Easter, and this Friday is what we’d call in Japanese churches “Holy Friday.” (聖金曜日）

In English, though, we have another name for it: “Good Friday.”

Actually, to me all Friday’s are good. In English we often say, “TGIF”: “Thank you God! It’s Friday!” I always loved Good Friday in Hawaii because it was actually a state holiday and we had a three-day weekend. Unfortunately, we don’t have a three-day weekend in Japan, but to me it’s still “Good Friday.” But what exactly makes Good Friday good? Well, it’s the day that Jesus died on the cross.

Now if you’re new to church, you’re probably going, “Wait a minute. Friday’s good because Jesus died on that day?” Exactly!

Why do Christians say that’s good? Well, it’s certainly not because we love watching people die. We’re not sadists. Rather, we call it good because of what Jesus’ death means for you and me. What does it mean? Why did Jesus have to die anyway?

That’s what we want to talk about today.

We’re continuing our “Climax series,” looking at the death and resurrection of Jesus. And today, we’ll be looking one of the more remarkable prophesies about Jesus in the Bible. The prophet Isaiah wrote this approximately 700 years before Jesus was born. Isaiah actually wrote many remarkable prophesies. So remarkable, in fact, that there are many biblical scholars that say that Isaiah only wrote up to chapter 40, and the rest was written by one or two other unknown authors. Why would they say that? For one thing, Isaiah talks about Israel’s exile to Babylon before Babylon even became a world power. And second, Isaiah names a future king of Persia named Cyrus before Cyrus was even born. So many scholars say, “Of course this must have been written after these events occurred.” There’s only one "little” problem with this reasoning: Everyone agrees that Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born. But as we’ll see, the prophesies we’re going to read today are just as remarkable if not more remarkable than the prophesies about Babylon and Cyrus. Because they talk in great detail about both Jesus’ death and resurrection. So let’s take a look starting at Isaiah 52:13. God’s speaking and he says,

See, my servant, will be successful; he will be raised and lifted up and greatly exalted. (Isaiah 52:13)

Starting from Isaiah 40, Isaiah often uses the term, “servant of the Lord.” And at first, it’s mostly used to describe the nation of Israel. But what you quickly find is that this servant is not always such a good servant. Instead, God calls this servant “deaf and blind” (Isaiah 42:18-20). Things get so bad, that this servant gets exiled to Babylon. And even on returning, this servant is still deaf and blind (43:8)

But in other parts, Isaiah seems to talk about a servant of the Lord who is different. A servant that is utterly faithful to God. And ultimately there is only one person who fits that description: Jesus. According to Isaiah, God commissions Jesus as his servant to bring back not only Israel, but all nations to God (49:1-13). And as we saw in Isaiah 52:13, God says that Jesus will be successful, high and lifted up. Sounds great, right? But then Isaiah says this and it points to Jesus on the cross.

Just as many were appalled at you—his appearance was so disfigured that he did not look like a man, and his form did not resemble a human being—so he will sprinkle many nations. (52:14-15)

What is going on here? How can you say this is a “successful servant,” someone who’s high and lifted up? How can you say that when people are appalled just looking at him? How can you say that when he becomes so disfigured that he doesn’t even look human anymore? The answer is found in the next words. “He will sprinkle many nations.” There’s some debate on how to translate that verse, whether it should be “He will astound many nations” or “He will sprinkle them.” There are good reasons for both, but I think this translation is correct. Throughout the Old Testament, sprinkling people with the blood of sacrifices or with water were pictures of purifying people from their sin (Exodus 24:6-8; Numbers 19:17-21; Ezekiel 36:25). And that’s exactly what this servant will do by his death. We see this in the next chapter, starting at verse 1.

Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? (Isaiah 53:1)

We’ve already seen that there’s something strange about God’s servant. That though he is called successful, he’s going to be disfigured so badly that people won’t even recognize him as human anymore. And so Isaiah says, “Who has believed this message we’ve heard from God? It sounds like foolishness. Who would look at this servant, at Jesus, and say, “this is the arm of the Lord?” Now in Isaiah, the term “arm of the Lord,” is used to describe God’s mighty power to save and to bring about justice (Isaiah 51:5, 9; 52:10 ). And Isaiah says this servant is going to act as God’s arm to his people. But instead of embracing him, people are looking at him, and saying, “This is the arm of the Lord? This is the one that’s going to bring salvation and justice?” Why are they so surprised? Verse 2.

He grew up before him like a young plant and like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him.

What is this servant going to be like? Surely he’s going to be someone like Saul, the first king of Israel: more physically imposing than anyone in Israel (1 Sam. 10:23). Or he’s going to be like king David who was extraordinarily good-looking (1 Sam. 16:12b). But according to Isaiah, Jesus was nothing like that. He looked like just an ordinary man. No one was attracted to him by how he looked. Instead, Isaiah says he would be like a root out of dry ground. In other words, he wouldn’t grow up in a king’s palace or in some wealthy, prominent family. He would grow up in an insignificant home. Jesus, as we know, grew up as a lowly carpenter’s son. But things get worse. Verse 3.

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him. (3)

We didn't value him. That word “value” is an accounting word. And ultimately, what people were saying was, “This man is of no value.” Remember how we often talk about as God’s children, we are considered 5’s or A+s in God’s eyes? According to Isaiah, people would value Jesus as a zero. They would despise him and turn away from him. You might say, “But I thought Jesus was popular. Didn’t great crowds follow him?” Yes, but when his teachings became hard to accept, many of his followers turned away from him (John 6:66). And ultimately, they crucified him. That was considered the worst kind of death to the Jews, because according to God’s law, such people were cursed. (Galatians 3:13; Deut. 21:22-23). We see that in verse 4.

Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. (53:4)

Matthew tells us in his gospel that Jesus fulfilled the first part of that prophesy in his healing ministry (Matthew 8:16-17). In those days, people with physical problems were often considered cursed by God. And by healing them, Jesus took away that stigma. But later when people saw Jesus suffering on the cross, they now considered him cursed by God. They mocked him saying, “You saved so many people from God’s curse. But now God has cursed you and you can’t save yourself (Matthew 27:41-42).” But Isaiah tells us that they were mistaken. God wasn’t cursing Jesus for any sins he committed. Verse 5.

But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. (53:5)

Think about those words for a minute. They had to be astounding to Isaiah’s readers the first time they read them. “Wait, what? He’s not suffering for his own rebellion against God? He’s suffering for ours? He’s not being crushed for his own sins, he’s being crushed for ours?”

I think those words were probably astounding for two reasons. First, this concept that a person could take another’s person’s punishment. That’s hard to accept even in our day and age. Have you ever heard of someone actually doing that? It’s unthinkable. But the second reason is this: even if you accept that someone could take the punishment for your sins, people looked at this servant’s punishment and said, “Wait a minute, I’m not that bad. I don’t deserve that.”

Some of you sitting here may be thinking the same thing. “I’m not such a bad person. Why would anyone have to die in that way for me? I have never hurt anyone. Well, okay, maybe I’ve said things that have hurt people or done things from time to time that hurt them. But it’s not like I killed anyone or anything like that. Are you seriously saying that I’m so bad that Jesus had to suffer that much?” And Isaiah’s answer is, “yes.” But what was so bad about what we did? Verse 6.

We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

I’ve used the word “sin” in this message. But what exactly is sin? I think Isaiah defines it here: We have all turned to our own way. Like Pastor Fumi talked about a couple of weeks ago, God is our rightful king. He created this world and everything in it, and so everything rightfully belongs to him. Including us. But instead of joyfully and willingly following him, we went our own way. Instead of living for him, we lived for ourselves. Instead of honoring him, we treated him like a zero. As not worth our attention. As not worth our loyalty and trust in everything. But living that way is living in rebellion against our rightful King. What is the penalty for that? Death. We are all worthy of death.

You see, the main issue is not whether you’ve killed anyone or not. The main issue is not how many people you may or may not have hurt in your lifetime. The main issue is your relationship with your King. Do you give him the highest honor not just on Sundays, but every single day, submitting to his good rule in your life? In your relationships. In your time. In your money. In every aspect of life, are you submitted to your good King? Or do you treat him like a zero by just doing things your own way and living for yourself? If that’s you, you’re acting like a rebel against your King. Have you ever lived that way? Have you ever treated God like a zero? Everyone has. Including me. And so we come back to the question, why did Jesus have to die? I think we can paraphrase Isaiah’s answer this way: The Lord has punished him for the rebellion of us all.”

Those are the most amazing words. Jesus, our rightful king, died for our rebellion. There’s a song we used to sing in Crossroad long ago. “Amazing love, how can it be, that you my King would die for me.”

God had every right to execute us all as rebels against him. But instead he sent his Son and Jesus died in our place. We see this in verses 8 and 12.

He was taken away because of oppression and judgment, and who considered his fate? For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.…he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

All this was fulfilled in Jesus’ life. He was given a sham trial and then sentenced to death on a cross where he was crucified between two rebels. We often hear that Jesus was crucified along with two thieves or robbers (Matthew 27:38). But while the Greek word can mean “robbers,” it is also used to depict political rebels or revolutionaries. Considering that Jesus was crucified for being King of the Jews, it makes sense that the Romans would crucify him alongside other revolutionaries.

But the main point is that Jesus died for rebels. And we are the rebels that he interceded for. How is it that a King would die for the very people who rebelled against him? Who treated him as a zero? Who in some cases even hated him? But that’s exactly what Jesus did. But it’s not the end of the story. Verse 9.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, but he was with a rich man at his death… (53:9)

Jesus fulfilled that too. By Roman custom, Jesus was originally assigned a common grave with other crucified criminals. But a rich man named Joseph, who was a secret disciple of Jesus, asked for his body and buried him in his own tomb. And then Isaiah says something interesting.

Yet the Lord was pleased to crush him severely. When you make him a guilt offering, he will see his seed, he will prolong his days, and by his hand, the Lord’s pleasure will be accomplished. After his anguish, he will see light and be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will carry their iniquities. (53:10-11)

When people committed sins in the Old Testament days, God required that they make guilt offerings so that their sins could be forgiven. The interesting thing is that people made them when they sinned unintentionally and then recognized their sin later (Leviticus 5:14-19). Many of us were that way. We didn’t mean to rebel against God. But we did. And Jesus died as a guilt offering for us. More incredibly, some of us actually did willfully rebel against him. But Jesus’ death covers that too if we’ll just turn back to him.

Another interesting thing in this passage is that we see hints of resurrection. It says that after being the guilt offering, Jesus will see his seed and prolong his days. How in the world can a dead person prolong his days? Only if he rises from the dead. And Isaiah says that after his suffering, he will see and be satisfied. Why? Because by Jesus paying for our sins on the cross, we are put back into right relationship with God. That’s what the word “justify” means: being put back in right relationship with God. Not only that, God makes us Jesus’ seed. In other words, we’re Jesus’ spiritual descendants, adopted into God’s family as his beloved children.

So why did Jesus have to die? To bring us rebels back into a right relationship with God. Why would he do that? Because though we treated him like a zero, not worth our time or attention, he considered us worth everything. And all this was prophesied nearly 700 years before Jesus was born.

So what does this all mean for us?

If you’re a Christian, I want you to think about something. Do you still have the wonder for the cross that you had when you first became a Christian? The wonder of the cross comes from understanding first who we were. We were rebels against our King, some of us hesitating, and some of us outright refusing to hand over full reign of our lives to him. But instead of executing us as rebels, Jesus died in our place. “Amazing love, how can it be that you my King would die for me?” Do you hold that wonder in your heart?

And if you do, then my second question to you is, “What is your response?” What is our rightful response? First, worship. Standing in wonder at the good King he is. One way to do that is taking time in his Word every day. That means more than just reading your passage for the day and then forgetting one minute later everything you read. Think on his words. One question you might ask yourself as you read the Bible is, “What does this tell me about God? What does this tell me about his character? Of what he values? Of what he thinks of me?” And as you think on these things, worship him.

Recently, I was reading Luke 1 in our Bible reading plan and the word I kept seeing over and over was “favored.” “Greetings favored one. God is with you.” “Don’t be afraid, you have found favor with God.” “God has looked on me with favor and taken away my disgrace.” Seeing those truths about how God sees me and how gracious he is just totally blew me away. I couldn’t help but worship.

How about you? How often do you spend time in his Word like that? How often do you instead spend time on the internet? Or watching Youtube? Or playing video games? Or whatever your hobbies may be? How much of your time is spent worshiping God for who he is?

Second, thanksgiving. Thanking him for his grace. Thanking him for his mercy. Thanking him for all he did for you on the cross. We often make so many requests of God. “Please do this for me. Please help me do that.” But how often do we stand before him with hearts full of thanksgiving for what he’s already done? For the blessings that he gave us through the cross? For the blessings that he gives us every day. Do you have a heart of thanksgiving every day? I’m doing better at that, but honestly, I need more of a thankful heart. How about you?

Third, offering full reign of your life over to him. Paul says in Romans 11:36 that everything we have is from God and through him, and is therefore rightfully his. So knowing that, will we then say, “I offer my whole life to you. Reign over everything in my life. My time. My finances. My relationships. My life.” That, Paul says, is true worship (Romans 12:1). Not simply singing songs. But handing over the reins of our life to him. That is our rightful response to our good King.

Some of you here, though, are pondering these things for the first time. Before today, you never really considered God worth even a second’s thought. But here’s the thing. He is your King whether you recognize it or not. And right now, by going your own way, by treating him as a zero, you are actually living in rebellion against him. But despite that, your good King gave his life for you, paying the penalty for your rebellion on the cross. And now he lives, and he’s inviting you. “Come into my kingdom. I’m a good King. So stop your rebellion. Stop going your own way and come under my good reign. And if you do, you’ll find what out exactly what your life is meant to be.” Is that what you want? Jesus is life. So if you want to know more, please talk to Pastor Fumi, or me, or the friend that brought you here to church. And we’d love to talk to you.