Good Friday 2022

Why does he allow natural disasters like the recent floods or any number of other natural disasters that happen around the world on an all too frequent basis?

Why does he allow the wars to happen that needlessly devastate the lives of so many people? The Russia-Ukraine war is dominating our screens, but there are actually many damaging conflicts around the world.

Or on a personal level we could ask why God allows people we know to get cancer, or have relationship problems, or financial stress?

Now the theologically correct answer, is that there is sin in the world.

But yet, it can feel a very cold answer. Yes technically it’s correct, but where’s the comfort?

You see, here’s the thing. God created a perfect world. But evil entered and sin has spread. Creation was subject to frustration.

So what does God do?

Perhaps we might be tempted to answer - well, can’t God just make all things right again? Then we’ll have that easy road that we all want.

But there would be a problem… You see, to do so, would be to overlook the sin. To overlook the sin would be an injustice. To have injustice, we still have sin.

It’s a massive dilemma, but God is a God who can deal with massive problems, and he had the perfect plan. It’s a plan that can deal with the problem while maintaining justice - and of course, it centers around the very thing that we focus on on Good Friday - the cross.

Why is it called Good Friday?

Now, as many of you will know, I teach scripture in the local school, and every year in the lead up to Easter, I’ll do an Easter lesson. And almost every year, including this year, I get asked the question, why do we call Good Friday ‘good’?

And it’s a very understandable question. It usually gets asked just after we’ve spoken about the fact that on Good Friday, we remember that Jesus died on a cross. So of course the question is: why would we call something that involves the death of a loved person, good? The quick answer that I usually give is that it is good because the problem of our sin is taken care of.

For the child in scripture, we can understand it on this level. However, it is as we dig deeper and begin to grasp the full extent of what Jesus did for us that we begin to see how most extraordinary this day really is.

In my brief reflections this morning, I want to just highlight a few parts of the story found in John’s gospel that help us to see better what Jesus did.

Humbling Himself

I’ll start the account at John 18:1. Jesus has just finished praying - the contents of which we can read in the previous chapter. He then crosses over to the Kidron Valley. Jesus knows very well what is about to happen, and he willingly moves there. He may be about to be betrayed, but this is not a misstep on Jesus’ behalf. This is a deliberate move.

Judas, the betrayer, comes with a detachment of soldiers.

The “I am”

We then come to the first of a number of little snapshots from the account that I want to highlight this morning. It’s an incident that is easy to gloss over if you don’t pay careful attention.

You see, Jesus, knowing what is about to happen, asks the question: “Who is it you want?”

The reply, as expected, is “Jesus of Nazareth”.

But it is then what happens next which is my point of interest. Jesus answers “I am he”.

On first hearing, that might seem fairly innocuous. Isn’t he just acknowledging who he is?

Well, verse 6 is where we find our little surprise. It tells us, that at his answer “I am he”, they drew back and fell to the ground.

So what’s going on there? Is it just that they were surprised to find Jesus so quickly?

Well, it seems relatively clear that it was more than just surprise. You see, the phrase “I am”, is a direct reminder of the covenantal name God refers to himself. The “I am who I am”.

I highlight this now, because while it might seem subtle, we’re reminded early in this account of the power that is within this man. He is none other than God himself. And yet he willingly submits himself to this process.

Peter cuts soldiers ear

The next snapshot I want to highlight occurs almost immediately following.

As the soliders move to arrest Jesus, Peter takes things into his own hands. He pulls out his sword, and strikes the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.

But it’s actually Jesus’ response I want to highlight. Far from showing appreciation to Peter for standing up for him, he rebukes Peter.

You see, if Jesus wanted to escape from this situation, he could have done so with the greatest of ease. But Jesus says: “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Jesus and the High Priest

Well, let me jump over Peter’s subsequent denial of Jesus and briefly stop at verse 19 where we find Jesus being questioned by the high priest.

Now there is a little interesting observation that we can make in this little section.

Jesus asks his own questions of the high priest in a way that was perceived as not showing the respect needed of this position. Now there is an irony to this whole section which perhaps isn’t immediately obvious.

We only really see it when we recognise that Jesus is the real high priest. Not in the order of things that the Jews would naturally see. But in an order that is even greater.

I highlight this because we’ve already had a glimpse of him as the “I am”. And just a few verses later, a nod to him being the real high priest.

Jesus a king

Well, let’s move a little further through the narrative, and we find a further glimpse of the real nature of Jesus. I’m now in the part where Jesus finds himself before Pilate - the Roman who has the authority to either let him go or order him to be crucified.

In verse 33, Pilate asks a very direct question: “Are you the king of the Jews?”

Jesus’ answer is actually quite candid in many ways, saying in verse 36: “My kingdom is not of this world”.

He is indeed a king - but just like his high priesthood, one that is of a higher order of things.

And so, we’ve now seen Jesus as the “I am”. Jesus as high priest. And now Jesus as King.

I’m highlighting these, because it is as we begin to appreciate these factors, that we begin to grasp just how extraordinary this action was.

Above all authorities

As we then move into chapter 19, Jesus is taken to be flogged and ridiculed for an absurd claim to be king. Knowing that he is the “I am”… that he is the true high priest… and the true King - this should be shocking.

But then Jesus is brought before Pilate again. Although Pilate himself becomes somewhat afraid when he hears that Jesus has claimed to be the Son of God.

He question Jesus about this - to which Jesus is initially silent.

But it is in verse 11 that Jesus gives the response that I next want to highlight. He says to Pilate: “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above”.

The implication is clear. All earthly power is subject to the power of God.

This is again the remider that we need. As much as this seems to be going terribly for Jesus - and don’t get me wrong, in one regard, it is the worst experience ever - but this is not a picture of someone who is out of control. He’s not out of his depth in a world that is too powerful for him. Rather he is perfectly in control and willingly submitting himself for a very deliberate reason.

Death

It’s not long after, that Pilate hands Jesus over to be crucified.

Jesus is then forced to carry his own cross up to Golgotha.

They would have then driven the nails into his wrists and his feet. In perhaps the worst way to die, Jesus was then hoisted up where he would then struggle for each and every breath he took. Above his head read the sign - King of the Jews. To the Romans it was meant ironically. But what was meant ironically, was a truth much deeper than anyone at the time realised.

Watching this dreadful spectacle were the women that had journeyed with Jesus. The male disciples, with only one exception, had all run away. But the women stayed.

Finally in verse 30, we get the last of the snapshots I want to highlight this morning.

Jesus says three final words “It is finished”. And with this he bows his head and gave up his spirit.

I highlight this, because right to the end, despite all of the pain and anguish, Jesus is in control. And a sense of purpose remains, right to the end.

Someone in control

I’ve highlighted all of the snapshots that I have this morning, because through it we can see something deeper.

I answered my scripture student that this day is good because we know our sins are taken care of. That is true, because on the cross we see justice being done. Sin exists, and sin needs punishment - and punishment has now occured.

But as we dug a little deeper, we see how extraordinary this was. You see, it starts to make sense how powerful this one death some 2000 odd years ago actually is. It makes sense when we realise that he is God, that he is the true high priest, and the king of kings. This is not just the death of another person. It’s not even just the death of an extraordinarily good person. It’s the death of the one and only son of God - the second person of the Trinity.

He willingly handed himself over, even though he had the power to stop it.

He did this for you and for me.

Conclusion

You see, I actually started this message by asking why our road couldn’t be easier.

Yes, on one level I answered that it was because of sin in the world.

But when we look at the cross like we do on Good Friday, we see this painful road we walk on in such a different light. Because we can see it from the perspective of someone who is above all things, who has walked an even harder road for love.

We can tie our suffering to that of Jesus - because in his work, he has taken the sting out of all our turmoil. That’s not to say it isn’t hard - but our struggles can ultimately be seen as good - because in Jesus they are leading somewhere amazing.

I want to invite you this Easter to continue to dig deeper on this amazing story. Consider to see who Jesus is and how extraordinary it is that he willingly submitted himself to the authorities that he indeed had power over himself.

And as you do, recognise that as a result, we can now overcome the problems that are set before us.

And we can now continue to reflect on this as I invite our communion stewards up to the communion table...

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