BELIEVE: Soldier

iD›     Introduction

Good Evening and welcome to our annual Good Friday Service.  You have probably already gotten the sense that this service is unlike anything else that we do all year.  Typically our services are bright and hopeful and we end our service each week with a time of fellowship… but not tonight.

Tonight is the one time in our year when we choose to focus deeply on the weight of our sin, the cost of our salvation, and the sacrifice of our Savior.  I typically describe it as something that is “good”, but not necessarily fun.

›     Orientation

And since this service is so unique, I like to begin by explaining what we are going to do before we do so.  So in a moment:

· I will open in a word of prayer. 

· Then we will sing a couple of songs with an intentional focus on the cross.

· Then I will give a Good Friday Message, in line with our BELIEVE series.

· Then we will together consider the words of a special musical number.

· After the special music I will give the instructions for the last element of the service which includes a final song, a time of personal reflection and an interactive up front before we silently leave the building and get in our cars.

· I will give the instructions for this last element again later so you don’t have to remember them, but I just wanted you to all be prepared for that last part especially.  The point of our leaving in silence is to help us get a sense of the isolation and aloneness of the disciples that first Good Friday.

It is awkward feeling by design, so that the dark memory of this evening will be joyfully eclipsed by our rejoining the Body of Christ on Sunday mourning… just as it was for the disciples.

So that is where we are heading tonight… and I will begin with prayer.

SONG #1:

SONG #2:

›     Tension

All four gospel accounts record the sentencing, scourging, mocking, and crucifixion of Jesus. (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19) To help get us in the right frame of mind for this somber service I am going to read from Mark’s account of the events. 

I know that we typically have our Bibles open and even the words on the screen, but as tonight is a different kind of service I am just going to read the Word to you and encourage you to do whatever you need to fully engage in listening and taking them in. 

That may even mean closing your eyes or fixing them on something to keep your mind from wandering… whatever you need to do to be able to best hear this part of Jesus’ story and what He endured for you and for me.

Mark 15:8–39ESV

8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” 15So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. 16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. 21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.  33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

And if these events were set in our day, then the Solder’s response may have looked something like this…

VIDEO:  BELIEVE - Soldier

What the Roman Solider who oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus witnessed on Good Friday was unlike anything he had ever encountered in his violence-ridden life. And understand that this man’s job was not just to execute prisoners, but to make sure they felt the most pain possible in the process.  In fact, the word “excruciating” comes from the Latin word for “tormented” which is based on the Latin word for “cross”. 

And the soldier in the video said it well in only three words: “I break people”but the Gospels say basically the same thing using a different three words: “…they crucified him.” (Mark 15:24)

It seems that the Gospel writers knew that this would be enough for their first audiences to understand what happened.  “they crucified him” was enough to give them the appropriate sense of unsettling gore, violence and disgust.  They knew what these three words meant.  Crucifixions were a regular aspect of Roman control and fear.  Some of them had seen a crucifixion but they all had glimpse of them.  This brutal and demeaning experience was reserved for the worst of the worst criminals and yet… Jesus was crucified.   

But the full weight of what Jesus experienced on our behalf is not limited to the terror he experienced on the cross.  Jesus also walked through the worst of what mankind has to offer on his way there.  Where men and women treated Jesus in the most inhumane ways, the worst ways imaginable.

In our day, we cannot relate to the horror of a crucifixion, but we can relate to these other evils because, we have experienced them.  Maybe they were done to us to a lesser degree, but we can understand them in principle.  And worse than that, we can also remember times when we have done them to others… and even to God himself.

So we are going to walk through seven of these evils tonight, with the intent of seeing both how Jesus experienced them on his way to the cross…  and how we have displayed them in our own lives… leading us to need the cross in the first place. 

›     Truth

The first one is Betrayal

Matthew 26:14–16 ESV

14 Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

The name “Judas” is synonymous with the word “betrayal”.  We may even call someone who betrayed us a “Judas”.  To betray someone is to violate their trust, exposing them to danger by giving information to another, an enemy who will do damage with it. 

It was no secret that the religious leaders had set themselves up as enemies of Jesus.  They wanted to arrest him and put him to death, but they were afraid of doing so publicly for fear of the crowd.  The people loved His miracles, teachings and healings and they would revolt if they saw the leaders arrest him.  What they needed was someone who knew where Jesus was privately.  Someone that Jesus trusted.  So Judas, in love with the things of this world, was willing to expose Jesus to these dangerous men.

And some have tried to soften Judas’ betrayal, trying to make him out to be just misunderstood and not really a bad guy, but the Bible leaves no room for this. At one point,  a woman came in to Jesus and began anointing his feet with expensive perfume and immediately Judas began complaining saying

John 12:5–6ESV

5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.

So you see, Judas’ betrayal of Jesus went beyond those 30 pieces of silver he received from the chief priests.  He had been betraying Jesus for some time… taking what Jesus had entrusted to him to bless others with and spending it on himself instead. 

So the Question Is: How have we done this?

 Remembering that the very breath in our lungs is entrusted to us from God, have we ever taken the things God gave us for his purposes and used them for our own? 

That’s Betrayal(snuff out candle)

Secondly, Denial  

Talk is cheap.  And so it is much easier to talk about how we think we might respond in a crisis situation than it is to actually go through it.

One time when Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to Jerusalem to be delivered over to the religious leaders and be killed and then rise again three days later... Peter was quick to tell Jesus how he would respond.  Even if all the other disciples ran away, Peter said he never would abandon Jesus. 

But Jesus knew that Peter’s whole word was about to be turn upside down in a way that he could not even imagine.  The solders came in to arrest Jesus in the dead of night and Peter tried to stop them but Jesus told him to put away his sword.  And then he didn’t know what to do… so along with the rest of the disciples he ran away and returned only to follow Jesus at a distance.  In Jesus’ most pressing hour, Peter was hiding in the shadows… till someone saw him. Mark tells us…

Mark 14:66–72ESV

66 And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67 and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69 And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71 But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72 And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

Throughout Scripture Peter is described as the strongest of Jesus’ friends.  His name is often mentioned first in all the lists, and he seemed to be the first one to step into action when a decision needed to be made, or an action needed to be taken.  With his pattern of faithfulness, it made sense to think that if any disciple would speak up for Jesus it would be Peter… but he didn’t.  He denied even knowing him.

So the Question is: How have we done this?

Do you ever think back to those times when you could have spoken up for Jesus and you didn’t? Maybe a co-worker, family member or friend said something about Christians, the Church or even the idea of believing in God and you felt like you should say something … but you didn’t.  Maybe it’s because we too are just hanging back in the shadows, following Jesus at a distance.  Or maybe we use the same justification that Peter used, “I didn’t know or understand what they meant”.  But we know that we missed an opportunity to speak up for Jesus…  and we didn’t.

That’s Denial(snuff out candle #2)

Thirdly Disobedience

Mark 14:32–34ESV

32 And they went to a place called Gethsemane. And he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 And he took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. 34And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.”

Jesus gave these three disciples just one command to obey:  Stay Awake.  That is what it means to be on “watch” it is to stay awake.  Why?  So that Jesus would not be disturbed and could meet with the Father in prayer...

Mark 14:35–36ESV

35 And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Knowing the kind of suffering that awaited him the following day, Jesus - in his flesh - asked the Father one last time if there is another way?  But notice the attitude Jesus took toward this difficult task he faced… yet not my will but your will be done.   And then he returns to his disciples…

Mark 14:37–41ESV

37 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? 38Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. 41 And he came the third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners

And the Question is: How have we done this? 

How many times have we struggled to obey Jesus commands?  In the weakness of our flesh, we struggle to keep awake both physically and spiritually… but especially when we go to pray.  We know that we need that constant connection with God, but we are so quick to throw it to the side for other things that we think are more pressing.   

That is Disobedience

Fourth is Deception

I don’t know about you, but there are few thing more infuriating to me then being accused of something that I did not do.  But since Jesus never did anything wrong, deception was all his enemies could do to trap him.

Mark 14:55–59ESV

55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.  so everybody gave up and went home… not hardly…

6 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.

This would almost be comical if it wasn’t so diabolical.  According to Jewish law you couldn’t condemn someone without at least two witnesses, but apparently their false witnesses couldn’t keep their stories straight and they kept contradicting one another.

The whole trial was bent.  They had no interest in justice.  They had no interest in the truth.  It was all lies and deception to do what they wanted to do... but make it look like they were still doing things God’s way.

So the Question is:  How have we done this?

How have we resorted to deception, half-truths or outright lies to be able to do what we want to do, but make it look like ware still living a life faithful to God’s way.  We are never so brilliant as when we are looking to justify ourselves!  

That is Deception.

Five is Despising

Some 700 years before Jesus even walked the earth the prophet Isaiah described the kind of contempt that Jesus would face on his way to the cross. He said:

Isaiah 53:3–4ESV

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

Did you catch that?  Jesus was acquainted with grief, because he carried our grief.  He was a man of sorrows because he carried our sorrows.  And yet we despised him!

Isaiah 53:5ESV

5 But 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.

What a vivid picture of the cross, hundreds of years before it was even invented! 

But Jesus’ experience of suffering in our world involved more than just physical pain.  Every moment he walked this earth he deserved the constant glory of man’s worship, and yet he suffered derision and was despised by men, the very people that he entered this world to rescue!

And so the Question again Is: How have we done this? 

How might we have despised Jesus by not giving him the worship that He is due in our own lives.  By relegating his reign over our lives to just Sunday Morning or the occasional half hour Bible reading in the morning. To limit his claim on our lives to just a small part…     

…is to DESPISE Him

Number 6 is similar, it is Mocking

Matthew 27:31ESV

31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:41–43 ESV

41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”

And the Question is: How have we done this?

Certainly we can’t do this in the same way as the Roman solders or even the religious leaders but how might we have made a mockery of Jesus’ name.  The name that we wear if we are a “Christian”… a “Christ… ian”.   

And the final evil that Jesus experienced is not one that any of us here have ever experienced, at least not yet.    

Number 7 is Death

Now of courses this is the theme that most Good Friday Services are primarily focused on and so we certainly didn’t want to miss this.  Jesus died in our place.  He died the death that we deserved in order that we could be brought into a life that only He deserves.  And this is what that final moment looked like.  

Luke 23:44–46ESV

44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Matthew 27:54

54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[i] of God!”

This is what the Roman Solder was responding to.  The whole world was shaken up in these moments.  And when the Temple curtain ripped in half it symbolized that God had resolved the separation between Him and us.  That even though we have, can and even do things that God cannot abide… Jesus took the rap for us.  Jesus died in our place.  While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Good Friday

This is what makes Good Friday so good.  Not just that Jesus died, but that his death accomplished great things for us.  He died for us.  He paid our debt.  He took all the ugliness of every sin mankind has ever committed on himself in these moments.  That is why the world was so dark! Jesus was bearing all our sin on the cross, suffering the torment that we deserved as he absorbed all the wrath of God toward that sin.

And we look at these dark and evil things not to bring us to a hopeless point of depression or despair but to help us to never take Jesus’ sacrifice for granted.  To remember it was not just the idea of sin, or some cosmic “force of sin” that Jesus died for… it was our sin that nailed Jesus to the cross… but it was his love that kept him there.   

I invite you listen to the words of the next song as we prepare our hearts to respond to this important

THE CROSS- Chara

Last Element

So in just a moment Trevor is going to lead us in one final song together and after we finish singing the words there will just be instrumental music playing and you are invited to spend a little time considering the cross.  The price Jesus paid for your sin and the love that drove Him to it. 

· This could be a time of repentance for sins not confessed or turned away from. 

· It could be a time of renewed thanksgiving over what Jesus did for you

· It could be a time of re-commitment toward those promises that you made to God and haven’t kept.

· It could just be a time of listening, to see what else God might want to say in this moment…

But whatever that time looks like, and for however long, I would then invite you to come up to the big cross here and pick up one of these little ones.  Then go over to the table on the side and using the stamp pad there I invite you to put your fingerprint on the cross, reminding you that it was your sin that caused Jesus to endure the cross, but also that it was Jesus love for you that drove him to do it.

Then as I explained earlier, as much as possible leave the building silently all the way to our cars to help us try and capture something of the aloneness that the first disciples felt… in order to more deeply feel the excitement when we join back together on Easter Morning.

Because it’s Friday… But Sunday’s a coming. 

One last song before the time of prayerful contemplation…