Come to LIFE this Easter Friday

a person with malicious and malevolent intent

drove an aircraft at speed into the ground.

There was no hope of survival.

He calmly ended his own life.

He killed 149 other random people who got dressed that morning

and boarded an aircraft that he was responsible to fly.

He ignored the impassioned pleading and demands of the captain

who was trying to rescue the situation.

He turned a deaf ear to the terrified screams of his passengers.

It was an act of unspeakable evil.

It was conceived in the mind of a person.

It was enacted with callous disregard for anybody else.

And I don't think it sits easily with us as human beings this morning

that another human being would carry out such wickedness.

What a horror that another person would disregard your life or mine.

Today is Good Friday.

We've just read John's account of the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ.

The ultimate expression of human evil.

And the scale of the act is defined by who the victim is.

So if I was killed by a Viking gang bullet in Chatswood in the next couple of days,

and may that not be true,

it would be newsworthy for a couple of days, maybe even a week.

If it happened to Tony Abbott, it would be newsworthy for years.

If it did happen to Jesus, and his death still matters this morning because of who he is.

John 19 verse 7 tells us that people want him dead because he made himself the son of God.

John 19:7

His accusers are certain that Jesus was an imposter.

John tells us he is no imposter.

He is God in the flesh.

He is the real deal.

When you read John's gospel, you don't read every bit of gore that the other gospels reveal.

He tells us enough to reveal an act of unspeakable evil is being carried out.

A plan which is conceived in the hearts of the religious aristocracy, the God-men,

the men who controlled the temple and the worship of God's people.

And John lays out a series of carefully chosen signs to prove that Jesus is the son of God.

The religious leaders have all seen those signs, and they have drawn their own conclusions.

And after Jesus lovingly raised Lazarus to life, the leaders just could not cope.

They went into meltdown.

Their whole religious view of the world was threatened.

And so they made a decision.

We're going to kill Lazarus, and we're going to kill Jesus.

In fact, Caiaphas, the high priest, said in John chapter 11,

John 11 · chapter mention

So the leaders determined that God's son would die.

You almost need to be an alien, somebody from outside this world,

to understand just how evil this act is.

There's a story of an alien who came to Earth, and he landed in Sydney,

and he talked to a young couple in Pitt Street Mall, trying to understand where he was.

And he said to them,

Tell me something special about planet Earth.

And they said,

Well, our cities emit so much light,

they light up the sky,

and they can be seen from the International Space Station.

And the alien said,

Well, I've just come from the Crab Nebula,

which has a total luminosity of 75,000 times your sun.

Well, we've got aircraft that can travel up to five times the speed of sound.

I've just travelled 4.2 light years from Alpha Centauri in the last 10 minutes.

Tell me something that's really special, that's different.

And the couple stopped and they thought for a moment,

the creator God of the universe came and visited us.

And the alien was wide-eyed in amazement.

We've never met our creator.

What was he like?

When did he come?

What did he do?

What's happened to him?

And the Aussie couple dropped their eyes to the ground and they said,

We killed him.

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

is the ultimate expression of human evil.

It is an act where we are completely and utterly culpable

and we have no defence and no one else to blame.

But the really strange, if not amazing thing,

is that despite our malevolence,

God was achieving an act of unfathomable love.

Jesus is never out of control.

He voluntarily gave himself to God's mission in the Garden of Gethsemane.

He knew the dread,

but he also trusted his Father for the good that would be achieved.

Father, take this cup from me,

but not my will, but yours be done.

And in the trial before Pilate,

James has already said this morning,

but Pilate says,

Do you refuse to speak to me?

Do you realise that I have power either to free you or to crucify you?

And Jesus answered,

You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.

See, there is a much bigger play going on here

than what is merely happening at a human level.

These events have been anticipated for more than a thousand years.

When the soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing,

John sees that as the fulfilment of Psalm 22.

When the soldiers pierced his side and didn't break his legs,

John sees that as the fulfilment of Numbers 9 and Psalm 34,

where the Passover lamb was not to have any of its bones broken.

In verse 28,

Jesus knew that everything was accomplished.

He fulfilled Psalm 69 by receiving sour wine.

And in Psalm 69, if you read that in detail,

you see that the afflicted one is actually setting a table

that will become a snare to his enemies.

John is very careful not to say that Jesus died.

Yes, he did die, but he's very careful not to say it.

He tells us that he gave up his spirit.

He relinquished his life.

He yielded himself to death.

Life was not taken from him.

And even as he dies,

he is exercising control over his circumstances.

Seems ridiculous.

A condemned man in control,

even as he dies,

and then he dies with this triumphant cry,

it is finished.

It's finished.

I've run the race before me.

Mission accomplished.

And straight away,

my mind goes back to John 12,

where Jesus says,

now is the time for judgment on this world,

and now the prince of this world will be driven out,

but I, when I am lifted up from the earth,

will draw all people to myself.

C.S. Lewis draws a dramatic picture of the crucifixion

in the line, the witch, and the wardrobe.

The hounds of hell and every baying creature of evil

are salivating at the demise of the lion king, Aslan.

And he humbly and nobly walks into their domain

and into their abode.

They scream for his blood.

They go berserk with joy

as the wicked queen drives a dagger into his heart.

And at the very moment

when evil seems to have totally triumphed,

God wins a magnificent victory

and evil does not even know that it is defeated.

Now is the time for judgment on this world.

Now the prince of this world will be driven out,

but I, when I am lifted up from the earth,

will draw all people to myself.

The crucifixion of Jesus is a divine drama

which is played out in a heavenly realm.

Satan throws every bit of malevolence

that he can muster at God,

and God stares him down

and he responds with the most amazing sacrificial love.

He trumps evil with love.

So this is not cosmic child abuse.

This is God, the Son,

stepping up to the mark

and ripping Satan's domain away from him

with great power.

And our great enemy's sin and death

totally defeated,

conquered in such a way

that we can be forgiven

and safe with Jesus forever

and ever and ever.

John told us near the beginning

what this was all about.

John 3.16,

For God so loved the world

that he gave his one and only Son

that whoever believes in him

would not perish but have eternal life.

The mission of God is driven by his love for us.

Jesus went to his death

trusting his Father for victory.

When he raised Lazarus,

he said,

I am the resurrection and the life.

Whoever believes in me will live

even though he dies

and whoever lives and believes in me

will never die.

This great drama,

the crucifixion of Jesus,

is a very personal expression

of God's love for you

and also for me.

Hopefully,

none of us will ever do anything

as unspeakably evil

as the German pilot did last week.

But evil is still personal

and it's at hand in all of us

and it's seen any time

that we say to God,

stay out of my life,

it becomes an expression

of rejecting our creator.

it is ultimately an expression of evil.

Leave me alone.

I don't want God interfering

in my relationships.

Leave me alone.

I have my own plan.

Leave me alone.

I don't want to say sorry to anybody

even though I know I've hurt them.

Leave me alone.

It's my wealth.

Leave me alone.

They're my possessions.

It's a remarkable end to John 19.

The resurrection hasn't yet happened.

Come back on Sunday.

But there's great grief

and there is devastation

for Jesus' followers.

They can't see the end game yet.

We can.

But two believers come forward,

Joseph of Arimathea

and Nicodemus

and they're Pharisees.

They're Bible men.

They're God men.

They're members

of the Jewish religious elite.

And they have believed

in Jesus in secret.

Nicodemus was the man

who had come to Jesus

clandestinely at night

to suss him out.

He wasn't bold back then

but now he is emboldened.

And these guys

effectively out themselves.

They show what they believe

by their actions.

And their response

to the wickedness

of Jesus' execution

is to step forward

and to identify with him

and to stand effectively

against this injustice

which has just been done to him.

Their faith becomes public

as they ask for Jesus' body

and they bury him

with great care

and with great dignity.

Friends, I don't know

what brought you to church

this morning

but I'm really glad you're here.

We're glad you're here.

I hope that you can see

that there is something

magnificent

and triumphant

in the darkness

of Good Friday.

This is not evil

out of control.

Rather, the creator

God of the universe

stood in the midst

of great evil.

He stared it in the face

with astonishing love.

His love triumphed

over evil.

And Jesus said

in John 12,

but I, when I am lifted up

from the earth,

will draw all people

to myself.

It's a wonderful expression

where we see

that God is not

in the business

of driving people away.

He is standing

with steadfast

and unfathomable love

and he is calling

everybody to himself.

He has seen

the worst of our evil,

the darkest recesses

of our hearts

and he has responded

with love.

So you may have lived

a very dark life

running away

from Christ

and at the cross

today

he looks into your eyes

with amazing love

and he calls you

to himself.

So friends,

stop telling God

to get out of your life.

Turn to our wonderful

Saviour King

and thank him

for drawing you near.

What a wonderful way

to respond to the love

of God today,

this Good Friday.

Amen.