Good Friday

Introduction: Today we gather to look intently at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday is a day that we often look past. It’s ugly it’s brutal and quite honestly to remember the cross, is to remember that it was our sin that made it necessary.

That was our punishment.

Isaiah 53:3–6 ESV

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. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Today we sit here and we remember what our salvation cost.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to John 17. To get a personal picture of what the cross means, we are going to be looking at the first part of what is refered to as the “High Priestly Prayer.” In the Jewish culture, prior to the Passover Sacrifice, the High Priest would pray a prayer over the people of Israel and then stand as their representative in the sacrifice.

In John 17, Jesus prays for His people and then stands in their place as He goes to the cross to be the substitute for the forgiveness of their sins.

And we all know that when that in an hour of desperation, we pray for what really matters.

On the night Jesus was betrayed leading to cross, what does He care most about?

We learn that…

Introduce:

Big Idea: The CROSS is the Glory of God’s PERFECTION and LOVE.

Read:

John 17:1–4 ESV

1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

1. The CROSS Reveals God’s NATURE and PURPOSE. (John 17:1)

Explanation: I think one of the most profound questions we can ask is “Why did Jesus come to the Earth?”

Why did the God of the universe humble Himself to be born in a stable in Bethlehem?

Why would he allow Himself to be beaten, abused, mistreated, crucified and murdered? And do so without a fight?

Paul talked about what Jesus did.

Philippians 2:7–11 ESV

7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Illustration: In 2012, Joshua Bell, who at the time was considered to be the best violin players in the US (possibly the world), played in the DC metro station. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes.

During that time, only 6 people stopped to listen. He made $32 in tips. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Most of them completely missed what was happening. They were too busy going about their day. Had they known who it was?

It’s probably good that they didn’t know because the violin that he was playing was valued at over $3 Million dollars. That would buy a lot of eggs.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

So why was he there?

Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

Now Jesus came to this earth not for a social experiment. This isn’t the story of the king who changes places with the pauper for a day. This isn’t undercover boss.

This is all about the purpose of God to bring Glory to His name.

But the glory of God’s name wasn’t just a general renown. But it would be especially glorified in a specific event that we know as the cross. And God would save His people from their sin and this would bring His name great glory!

When Adam and Eve sinned, it didn’t take God by surprise. He already had an answer. It was this moment.

Jesus was going to be born so that He could die for our sins.

Too many people talk about the cross as “God fixing our mess.” But the cross was always plan A.

God gave Adam and Eve everything they needed to stand before Him in righteousness. but they were destined to fall.

The fall was inevitable. God knew it. So even though Satan thought he had won, he won nothing.

Because saving His people from their sins would give Him greater glory than if Adam and Eve had never sinned and needed a savior.

Revelation 13:8 speaks of Jesus as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Not that Jesus was crucified before creation but this was God’s plan. God knew.

So Jesus came to earth to fulfill the eternal plan of God.

So God’s nature is that He is a good and loving God showing mercy and love to His people.

And the way that He shows that mercy and love is the Cross.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Application: So Jesus, in His prayer, acknowledges that the time has come for God to be glorified in the fulfillment of the eternal plan of salvation for His people. The ultimate example of His goodness and grace is about to be revealed.

Sure that night Jesus was in great anguish. There was a suffering coming that none of us could bare. But on the other side that suffering was glory with the father on the cross.

2. The CROSS Reveals God’s GLORY and LOVE. (John 17:4)

Explanation:The present hour produced in Jesus a desire for prayer.

What did Jesus pray for? He prayed for himself, but in light of God’s glory. He prayed that God would use the incredible suffering that He was about to experience to bring God glory. He prayed that the Relationship that he had with the father would not falter but would be made even stronger.

But this wasn’t the first time Jesus prayed. Luke 5:16 tells us that Jesus would always make time for prayer. As busy as He seemed to be, He always made time for His Father.

One of the major themes of the Bible is God’s glory.

But what is Glory?

Throughout history, many soldiers and warriors have sought glory on the field of battle. Legendary heroes like Hercules and Hector are remembered. To even die in battle was a glorious death.

Nowadays we can think of the glory of sports victories. Someone won the Super Bowl.

Venezuela won the world baseball classic.

Dodgers won the WS twice.

There is glory in victory. There is seldom any glory in defeat.

Which makes the cross of Jesus Christ and odd thing to call glorious.

The sinless, perfect Son of God dying on the cross would seem to be the greatest upset in history.

Yet in anticipation of that, Jesus expects that this hour that is coming would be the single greatest evidence of the glory of God ever shown.

One of the reasons is all the way back in the OT.

In Exodus after God used Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness, Moses worked up the nerve to say to God

Exodus 33:18 ESV

18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Listen to God’s response.

Exodus 33:19 ESV

19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, God showed him His goodness.

So when we see the cross, what we are seeing is God’s goodness on full display.

The goodness of God that sent His Son to die on the cross for the sins of His people.

Goodness that does for us what we can’t do for ourselves.

And in this, was not defeat, but victory beyond imagine. In death Jesus allowed Satan to think He’d won. But as we have seen, Jesus dying on behalf of His friends is the greatest act of love.

John 15:13 ESV

13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

And that is what was on full display on the cross.

Jesus willingly dying for His people. It was a glorious victory that in the moment looked like defeat.

Application: But that’s how God sometimes works. Many times the things that look like defeats are really victories.

Many things that look like victories are really defeats.

You may not get a promotion when you maintain your integrity and refuse to play the game.

Sometimes God strips you of all but Him so that in victory you may see that He was all you ever needed in the first place.

That one sacrificial act on the cross was the glory of God so much so that even those who don’t believe can’t deny that something happened that changed the world.

Response: How will you better CONTEMPLATE the cross this EASTER season?

Summation:

1. The Cross Reveals God’s Nature and Purpose. (John 17:1)

2. The Cross Reveals God’s Glory and Love. (John 17:4)

Closing Illustration:

If the cross that paid the penalty for sin brought glory to God, how should we respond?

We should respond in faith.

The cross is the ultimate glory of God, we are invited to partake as well.

It always seems weird when our team wins the big game and even though we did nothing to help them win, we take pride it it as well.

When it comes to the cross, we do play a part in the cross, by committing sin that made it necessary. But the cross then becomes our victory in that we are saved because of it.

So if we rejoice that our team wins the big game, how much more should we respond that Jesus secured our salvation?

How should the fact that the cross was an example of the glory of God change our perspective on the what the cross means for us?

It’s weird sometimes that we decorate our worship spaces with a symbol of brutality. One of the most horrible inventions made to inflict the greatest amount of suffering on its victims is now jewelry we wear around our necks.

How do we as God’s people continue the work of Jesus in bringing glory to God?

And now in response to the cross, Jesus calls each one of us to go and tell the world what He has done for us.

Each time we tell someone the Gospel, even if they reject it, God is glorified because it recounts the story of God’s goodness and grace. Even if noone believed it, it would not cease to be true.

What are tangible ways that we can do work that glorifies God?

So this weekend we can live out the purpose of God, by walking in our salvation. Thanking God for all that He has done for us. And of course telling others what great things He has done.

Let’s pray.