Good Friday: It ends the same way every time
Have you ever watched a movie
for the second or third time hoping it will end differently? Hoping that the good guy will actually
survive or win only to see the movie end the same way every time? This is kind of like how I feel on Good Friday. When I remember these events that took place
some two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, a part of me hopes for a different
ending. Maybe Jesus doesn’t have to die.
Maybe
Judas will have a change of heart. Won’t
Judas change his mind and decide not to betray Jesus? Won’t he remember that the riches of God’s
grace offer much more than the riches of this world? But that doesn’t happen. Judas brings a detachment of soldiers with
the police, chief priests, and Pharisees.
They come with lanterns and torches and weapons. They come to take Jesus away and sentence him
to death. Judas betrays the trust of
Jesus and his friends.
Maybe
Jesus will cheer Peter on when he takes out his sword and cuts off Malchus’ ear. Won’t Jesus let Peter fight off the soldiers
and police and lead Jesus and his disciples out of town under the cover of
darkness? But Jesus says to Peter, “Put
your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has
given me?” The soldiers and police then bind
Jesus and take him away. Jesus doesn’t
even put up a fight.
Maybe
Peter will remember Jesus’ prediction of the cock crowing three times and
change his mind. Won’t Peter wise up and
boldly proclaim Christ as Lord as he did so passionately before? But that doesn’t happen. Peter denies Christ three times. Peter thinks only of himself.
Jesus
has another chance to save himself when he stands before the religious
authorities—the chief priest and the high priest. Maybe Jesus will finally submit to the
religious authorities. Won’t Jesus just give
in to the demands of the power hungry so he can go free? But it doesn’t happen that way. The only one whom Jesus will submit to is his
Father in heaven.
But
maybe Pilate will see through this power struggle. Doesn’t Pilate see that the religious
authorities have a weak case against Jesus?
But the religious authorities aren’t interested in listening to reason
and logic—they are influenced by power and control. And so is Pilate. So Pilate washes his hands
clean of any responsibility and hands Jesus over to death at the request of the
religious authorities. Pilate surrenders
his integrity for popularity’s sake.
But
wait, maybe the angry mob will realize that they are out of control. Won’t they see that Barabbas, a proven
criminal, is the person who is really deserving of death? Won’t they demand his blood instead of the blood
of an innocent Jew? But that doesn’t happen. They shout even louder—Crucify him! Crucify him!
The crowd wants a good show; they came to Jerusalem to be entertained. Not
even the crowd will save Jesus.
Pilate
sends Jesus away to be crucified and has the title “Jesus of Nazareth, King of
the Jews” inscribed on the cross Jesus will soon hang upon, a title not even
the Jewish elite accept. Meanwhile, Jesus’ mother Mary, Mary Magdalene, Mary
wife of Clopas, and Jesus’ beloved disciple watch helplessly as Jesus’ carries
his instrument of death to Golgotha.
Surely these people hoped the ending wouldn’t be like this either. But even those closest to Jesus are blind to
see that the will of God sees beyond death and the grave.
Jesus
is taken to the Stone Pavement and crucified between two criminals. He is crowned with a crown of thorns and
mocked when they make him put on a purple robe.
In the end Jesus isn’t even spared the dignity of clothes as they are
divided up among the soldiers. And
finally, before Jesus takes his last breath, he tastes the bitterness of the
world that he came to save and is given a sponge full of wine on a branch of
hyssop. When Jesus tastes the wine, he
says his last words, “It is finished” and breathes his last. The End. The story of Good Friday ends this way every time.
This
question for us even today, even after the resurrection, asks, how could we
call a story like this one “good.”? How
is Jesus’ death a part of the good news?
How can we call a day like today, a day when we remember how the world
killed its Savior, “Good Friday?” What
good could possibly come from Christ’s suffering and death?
Now
there are a lot of atonement theories out there, theories that tell us why
Jesus had to die in order for the world to know life. I am not going to get all theological on you
this afternoon. But there is something
that I want to challenge you to think about and pray about over the next few
days as we approach Resurrection Sunday.
Where
do you find yourself in this passion narrative?
Where do you stand at the foot of the cross? And where you find yourself today is probably
different than where you found yourself last year. Be honest because only when you are honest
can you be ready to receive the good news.
In
what ways are you like Judas? What is it
like to live with the knowledge that you have the capacity to betray not only
your friends but also your Lord? In what
ways are you like Peter? What is it like
to be excited about serving God one minute but when challenged by your faith
you retreat? In what ways are you like
Pilate? What is it like to put your own
convictions aside in order to please the people? In what ways are you like the crowd? What is it like to do the popular thing even
when you know it is probably wrong? In
what ways are you like Jesus’ family?
What is it like to watch helplessly as your loved one dies? In a nutshell, what is it like to live in the
knowledge that you are a sinner? What is
it like to live in the knowledge that you cannot save the world?
I
know these are hard questions to answer.
I know these questions stir up a lot of uncomfortable feelings. But the good news is that our faith doesn’t
leave us to spend our lives in the depth of despair and shame—our faith doesn’t
leave us at the foot of the cross. While
the cross of Christ certainly reminds us of where and how we fall short, the empty
cross is a reminder that we can live beyond our sin, we can live beyond our
death because Jesus lives beyond our sin and beyond our death. There is life beyond failure. There is life beyond the grave.
But
we will never understand this gospel truth if we can’t accept and acknowledge
our sin and failure. As long as we avoid
confronting the hard truth that we are responsible for the death of Jesus, that
we can’t save the world—even us fine church going people, then we can never join
Jesus in life beyond the cross. If we
can’t admit that the story of Good Friday has to end with the death of Jesus,
then we can never be a part of Jesus’ Resurrection story.
Good
Friday certainly digs up a lot of bad news, but unless can we name honestly
that bad news, unless we can accept the reality of not only our broken world, but
also the brokenness of our own lives then we will never be able to fully accept
the good news that God is making for us on the other side of the cross. As Christians, we can call today good because in Christ God gives us
grace to confront and name all that is wrong in our world and in our lives with
the confidence that through the cross Jesus gives us the ability to live beyond
it all. Amen
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