Strathalbyn Church of Christ

There’s a lovely old hymn with a chorus “Tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story, tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” It’s the old, old story of the Cross of Jesus, followed by his resurrection. This morning being Good Friday, let’s ponder on his cross; and Easter Day, on his resurrection.

Going back to the beginning of today’s Gospel reading John 19:17 “So they took Jesus, and he went out bearing his own cross, to the place of the skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha”.

On that day, early in the morning, the streets of Jerusalem were crowded with spectators, as a young man of 33 was processed to the place of execution. It was the custom in those days for the criminal to carry the cross beam only of the cross. The criminal would be surrounded by a ring of soldiers to prevent his friends from trying to rescue him. In front of the soldiers guarding the criminal walked another man, holding up a placard on which was written the charge for which the man was to die. (“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.")

In front of the procession walked the centurion, the Regimental Sergeant Major, who was in charge of the execution party.

“There they crucified him and with him 2 others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.”

Many centuries before, a prophet called Isaiah had foretold this when he said, “he was numbered with the transgressors.” Other things had been prophesied too. John mentions several of them in today’s reading. “They parted my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” King David of Israel had written this 1,000 years previously in what we call psalm 22. And in Psalm 69: 21 we read, “for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

And so, at the crucifixion of Jesus, we have the sense that a plan is being unfolded. God had revealed what he was going to do, long before he did it.

Some weeks after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, Peter preached to the Jews and said, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and

foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up….”

Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. “This was a charge of treason, a political crime. Initially the Jewish council had condemned Jesus for blasphemy for calling himself the Son of God. The Jews had told Pilate, “We have a law and by that law he ought to die, because he has made himself the Son of God.” But later the Jews accuse Jesus of a political crime, not a religious one. “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend; everyone who makes himself a king sets himself against Caesar.”

“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments….” At 9 o’clock in the morning they drove the nails through him. He had already been scourged with a leather thong that had pieces of bone and metal fastened to it at intervals. They took his clothes off him. Criminals were crucified stark naked; it was part of the public shame.

And now John records 3 of the 7 things Jesus said from the cross. A dying man’s words are listened to carefully, especially a young man of 33 dying a horrible death after living an exemplary life.

The first words John mentions are Jesus’ words to his mother, “Woman, behold your son!” The he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!”

Among the women watching at the cross was Jesus’ mother, Mary. 33 years before, some days after Jesus was born, an old man called Simeon prophesied to Mary, “a sword will pierce your own heart too.” In other words, you too will experience great pain. Perhaps Jesus had begun to prepare his mother for this, for from the beginning of his public ministry he used a polite but impersonal term for her, namely, “woman”, “dear woman”.

At the cross Jesus made arrangements for Mary’s future. Interestingly, he didn’t commit her to any of his physical brothers, but to John, the one whom he loved. And then John took Mary away from the cross. Is that why John missed some of the sayings of Jesus from the cross?

This tells us two things about Jesus. He has honoured all his earthly obligations at a human level; and, even though he was suffering sorely, he was still concerned with Mary, and her suffering and pain.

The 2nd thing Jesus said here was “I thirst.” This is the only one of the seven sayings from the cross in which Jesus refers to his physical sufferings. It is perhaps now midday, and has borne the heat of the sun for a few hours.

A crucified man’s tongue clung to the roof of his mouth, and he was desperate for some liquid, for his whole body was drying up. So they gave Jesus some vinegar. Vinegar has an astringent quality that dries you up further, and makes you more thirsty.

This tells us that Jesus was really human, not only a heavenly visitor to this planet. The one who had said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink”, was himself thirsty. Jesus was going through hell for us. In one of his parables Jesus had depicted hell as a very thirsty place. Charles Wesley once wrote a hymn in which he said, “he has loved us so well as to lay down his life and redeem us from hell.”

The third saying of Jesus John tells us about is, “It is finished!” As far as the disciples of Jesus were concerned it was indeed finished - their dreams and hopes were shattered. Pilate thought his dilemma was finished; the soldiers thought their day’s horrible duty was finished.

But for Jesus, “it is finished” meant something very different. What was that? I have done everything that God wanted me to do. Ofcourse his ministry was to go on - he’s alive and active today, still doing things - but the work of atonement, the work of paying for our sins, yours and mine, the work of redeeming people; the work of breaking the power of Satan over people; “it is finished!” He had been through hell to save people for heaven.

“And he bowed his head and gave up his Spirit.”

This was at 3pm - at the very time hundreds of lambs were being killed for the Jewish Passover. On the cross was the Lamb of God who died to take away the sins of the world.

The soldiers then proceeded to break the legs of those crucified with Jesus to bring on their death more rapidly, because they then couldn’t support themselves, and they would soon choke and suffocate. But they were surprised to find Jesus had already died, so they didn’t break his legs It had been predicted centuries before that not a bone of God’s lamb would be broken. You were not to break any bones of Passover lambs.

Then one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, and out came blood and water. We now know that after death blood coagulates and separates into red clots and the colourless serum - proof that Jesus really was dead.

There have been theories made up by unbelievers that Jesus didn’t really die, but swooned and recovered in the cool of the grave.

“They shall look on him whom they have pierced,” had prophesied Zechariah in the Old Testament a long time before. The cross was not an unexpected tragedy, but God’s plan by which our guilt could be paid for and purged. “At once there came out blood and water.” Again it had been said by the prophet Zechariah in the Old Testament, “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and uncleanness.”

The sign of payment for sin, and for purification, was well known to the Jews as blood and water. The flow of blood and water from our Lord’s side was a sign that Christ’s death is the true fountain for pardon and cleansing, for all who will come to Him.

And then Jesus’ body was buried. Normally a crucified body was left dangling long after it was dead, and birds came and picked at it, or else the body was dumped into the deep valley of Gehenna, Jerusalem’s rubbish dump.

But God had two secret believers in the Jewish Council - Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. At last these secret believers had the courage to come out openly and show their connection with Jesus. Joseph was a rich man who owned an allotment right next to the hill of the skull, and Joseph had already hollowed out a tomb for himself there. But God laid it on his heart to give that tomb to Jesus.

Centuries before the prophet Isaiah had said, “they made his grave with a rich man in his death.”

But brothers and sisters we know that that is not the end of the story. Let’s read something from the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament: “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

How was Jesus able to go through all the suffering and pain of his cross? In short, because he kept his eyes on the future rather than the present; “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” Even though the present was humiliating for Him, the future was glory. Even though the present was painful, the future was joy. Even though the present was unhappiness, the future was happiness - “for the joy set before him endured the cross… and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Brothers and sisters, we are going through troubled and anxious times with this corona virus. Our lifestyle is taking a different shape without the usual social and group contacts and interactions we have been used to. And then there is the anxiety of possible infection. In all this let us keep looking to Jesus, and remembering that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Psalm 46: 1,2).

And there is joy ahead for us as well - ultimately the joy of communion with God in the new heaven and earth, “a better country, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16)

Let me finish with words of John in his first letter. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.”