“Remember the Cross”

We live in a world full of many problems, where people are dealing with suffering and pain. Maybe you are here tonight and find yourself there. I hear people tell me Pastor our world is just so dark and bad. Yes, but there is hope and that is why we are gathered here tonight. So, there are many days where we need to be reminded of some good things and why there is a specific day that is truly GOOD. In just a few days there will be many Christians who celebrate “Good Friday.” Tonight we have gathered together as a church to remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. So, in a similar fashion tonight we too celebrate Good Friday. However, I think that there are many believers who still wonder what is so good about Good Friday? When we really think about this day we could say it was one of the most difficult and dark days of history. This was a day in which one of the most heinous crimes was ever committed against a righteous and just person. Jesus was crucified on a cross. And yet, we as Christians still call it a good day.

How can this be a good day? Why can we consider this a good day? Well, God took one of the most evil acts in all of history and transformed this day in a glorious working for His sovereign purpose. This day was not an accident by any means. Because God had predetermined this plan before the foundation of the world. God knew that because of our sin problem that He would have to send His one and only Son to rescue us from Sin, Satan, and Hell.

It is interesting that when we pick up God’s Word and we read through the book of Exodus in the Old Testament we come to understand how God rescued His people from the bondage in Egypt. The Hebrew people called out too God to deliver them from the cruel slavery that they faced in Egypt, and God heard their cries. When God delivered His people and they came to the wilderness He gave them His laws to help them live for Him. Remember that Moses went up on the mountain and God gave him 10 commandments to give to the people. What He really did is give them a set of sanctions. He gave them a promise of blessing and a threat of cursing. If God’s people kept His law, they would be blessed. If they failed to keep His laws, they would be cursed. Once that covenant was broken, the only thing that God’s people could expect was that curse. And from that time on till Christ came, they would have to offer up an animal sacrifice to atone for their sin. Sadly, under the old way of things, under the law no one can obey it perfectly.

The Apostle Paul, helps us to understand this a little better when writing about this old covenant to the Galatians. Paul said, “all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them. Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for The righteous shall live by faith.” There is no way any of us can keep God’s laws perfectly because we all fall short in one way or another. So, this is what is so amazing and so good about “Good Friday.” When Jesus came to this earth and lived a perfect life, He came to redeem us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Here is the good news.

Galatians 3:13 ESV

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

In Leviticus chapter 16 we read about this Day of Atonement. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16 and I want you to see something here. Let’s begin in verse 20.

Leviticus 16:20–22 ESV

20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

In the Old Testament there were actually 2 goats that were involved in the Day of Atonement. One goat was sacrificed by the priests and one goat was called the scapegoat. After the blood offering of the first goat had been offered to satisfy the demand of God’s law, then the priest would put his hands on the head of the scapegoat. By doing this act, he symbolically transferred all the sins that the people had committed in the previous 12 months. With the sins on the back of the goat, the goat was driven outside the camp and into the wilderness. I wanted to explain this to us tonight because this helps us to see that Jesus is not only the lamb, but He is also the goat. Jesus is the fulfillment of both animals sacrifice found in the perfect atonement by what He did for us on the cross. Turn over with me to Mark chapter 15.

Mark 15:21–39 ESV

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. 22 And 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. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And 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. 34 And 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?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And 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. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And 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!”

When the Roman centurion saw what had just taken place he exclaimed, Truly Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus was the Lamb whose blood satisfied the demands of God’s justice, and yet He was also the scapegoat who took our sin away.

John 19:28–30 ESV

28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The author of Hebrews tells us that all the rituals done on the Day of Atonement were powerless in themselves to do anything, for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. We needed a better and perfect Lamb to do this and that of Jesus. Jesus became our propitiation which means that He satisfied the demands of God’s justice and holiness. When Jesus called out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me,” He was bearing the curse for our sin. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was saying that His work was done. Jesus had drunk the cup of God’s wrath. The curse had been removed. Jesus had done everything His Father had asked Him to do and had paid the price of sin for His people.

I want you to know church family, that you no longer have to be discouraged about your past, present, or future circumstances. Today can be a day of hope and joy for you because of what Christ has done. His life and death our everything!!! Because of Good Friday, we can say Lord thank you for what you have done for me. I love you and my peace and joy are found in what you have done for me. Then remember some even better news Church, Sunday is coming.

(Close in Prayer)