Good Friday Service

Well, please do sit down.

Before we start properly, I do want to thank Paul for his welcome.

Thank you all for your welcome.

And thank you for your prayers for us over the last few months.

We really appreciate it.

I know some kind offers of help as well.

So thank you.

Thank you very much.

It's nice to be back.

It's nice to stand up here in the new building for the first time.

It's even greater.

Better bring God's word to you.

Let's pray together again.

Almighty God, our Father, it is wonderful to sing these truths about the power of the cross.

Christ became sin for us.

Heavenly Father, we pray that you'd send your spirit now.

For flesh cannot discern the things of the spirit.

Help me to handle these unfathomable truths.

With reverence and awe.

And by the power of your spirit, help us to grasp afresh something of the magnitude of your love for us in Christ Jesus.

And the hideous nature of our sin and what it deserves.

For we ask it in the precious, powerful name of Jesus, your only Son.

Amen.

Amen.

Many of you will know, and my wife can confirm this, and my children, I am not the most observant person in the world.

If there is a bird in the garden, I will be the last to see it.

And when it comes to things that I kind of see every day, I'm completely useless.

Does he wear glasses?

I have no idea.

What color is the wallpaper?

What color is our bedroom painted?

I don't know.

Is it Magnolia?

Probably.

That's what I wanted everything to be, because that makes my life simple.

I just don't recognize things that are in front of me.

And the danger, as we look at the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, is this is a story we know so well.

We're familiar with it.

If you've been a Christian for any length of time, or around church for any length of time,

you'll be aware of the doctrine of the atonement and what it meant.

And yet, it can be like wallpaper.

Paul, in writing to the Galatians, one of the earliest letters in the New Testament,

he says to them at the start of the chapter 3,

you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you'd be turning to another gospel which is no gospel?

It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

And so this morning, I hope that by God's grace, Jesus Christ will be publicly portrayed as crucified.

That he might grip our attention.

And that we might not turn to the various false gospels, the self-help, the freedom by following your desires,

and all the other nonsense that is around us in the world, and yet can seem so attractive,

and come back again to Christ and not be bewitched.

Well, I am a child of the 1970s, I'm pleased to admit to.

And that meant when I was learning to cross the road, I was helped by the Green Cross code man,

who very simply said, stop, look, listen.

And having done that, decide to respond safely in whether you cross the road or not.

So this morning, very simply, I want us to stop, to look, to listen,

and then to respond to what we have seen and heard.

So first of all, let's look, especially in verses 32 to 39,

as Matthew trains his camera on this scene,

and highlights particular things he wants us to see.

And what do we see as we look at this man stumbling out of Jerusalem,

with a cross beam of a cross on his back?

It's a scene of complete horror and humiliation, isn't it?

When we sit and look at it.

Complete horror and humiliation.

For a start, the very location of it.

He is outside the city, verse 32,

as they went out.

So they go out of the city.

This crucifixion is so horrible.

It has to take place out of the city.

It's beyond the pale.

You can't be part of society and be crucified.

In fact, the Romans would often have crucifixions in a very public place,

where people coming into a city could see it.

So they would learn the lesson from it.

And so here it is.

This man, Jesus,

is facing the most horrendous death of all.

Crucifixion, Cicero wrote,

should be farthest from the mind of the Roman citizen.

It is the lowest of the low.

No Roman citizen could be crucified

except with the express order of Caesar.

It was left for the slaves and the lowest in society.

Deliberately public example.

It's horrific.

But also look at the horror

and the humiliation of this sight.

As they went out,

they found a man of Cyrene named Simon by name.

They compelled him to carry his cross.

Why?

Because Jesus was so weak.

He'd been, after all,

he'd been up all night.

Been marched backwards and forwards through the city

for his trial.

In the previous scene,

we didn't look at.

He'd been flogged and mocked and beaten.

As he comes out of the city now,

there's blood from where the crown of thorns had been

on his head.

There's blood dripping from his back,

from his scourging.

It's a horrible sight.

And he is weak.

He's not like the James Bond action figure

who can come out of the destroyed building

and yet still be all guns blazing

and kill the enemy.

He has no strength left to carry his own cross.

It's pitiful.

It's humiliating.

And look closely at who do we see with him?

No one.

No one.

It's a horror and humiliation

of facing this dark hour on his own.

Paul read earlier on in our prayers

from Psalm 88

that darkness was his closest friend.

That was true for the Lord Jesus.

The previous night,

as he was arrested,

all his disciples disappeared

into the darkness.

Ashamed and scared,

they ran away.

It's now humiliated,

horrifically alone.

He comes out of the city.

As we go on,

verse 34,

they offered him wine to drink

mixed with gall.

But when he tasted it,

he would not drink it.

It's like the sufferer

in Psalm 69.

The humiliation of getting something

that should be comforting,

but is not.

It's a cruel,

mocking joke.

It wasn't something

to satisfy his thirst.

As the psalmist says

in Psalm 69,

I looked for pity,

but there was none.

For comforters,

but I found none.

They gave me poison

for my food,

and for my thirst,

they gave me sour wine

to drink.

It's humiliating, isn't it?

They mock him.

And there's the horror

and humiliation

of his powerlessness.

Verse 39,

when they crucified him,

they divided his garments

among them

by casting lots.

Now, if we lived

in the first century,

we'd know fine well

that to be crucified

would mean to hang there

naked, exposed,

humiliated.

And it's the powerlessness

of it, isn't it?

The soldier's just

playing dice for his clothes

as he hangs there,

humiliated above them.

And if you and I

were good first century Jews,

we'd see another level

of humiliation here.

For the law of God

stated very clearly,

Deuteronomy 21, 23,

that anyone who is hung

on a cross

is under the curse of God.

And see,

we see this man

who'd ridden into town

just a few days earlier,

being acclaimed

as a king,

coming in the name

of David

and the coming kingdom.

Yet here he is,

publicly,

horrifically,

humiliated,

in front of our very eyes,

under the curse of God.

And if we're sensitive

to what Matthew

is showing us,

we see it as the horror

and humiliation

of a king.

because that's the overall

picture here.

We would have seen it

in the previous scene

where the Roman soldiers

mocked him,

gave him a reed,

gave him a crown

of thorns,

dressed him in a purple robe

and mocked the idea

of him being king.

We see it in the sign

above his head,

verse 37.

This is Jesus,

the king of the Jews,

hanging between two robbers.

We see it most of all

in the expert way

Matthew sets up his camera

like a brilliant movie producer,

showing us scenes

which echo

and show signs of,

scenes from previous movies.

So Matthew highlights

what looks like Psalm 22,

which David starts

by saying,

my God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

The very worst,

Jesus will cry out

in a few hours,

a few verses later.

He deliberately points

to the camera

so he can see

all that being echoed.

And the question behind it

is,

who is God's king?

Who is God's king?

Which kingdom rules here?

The kingdom of Pilate?

The kingdom of the world?

The kingdom

of the religious leaders?

Or the kingdom

of this humiliated,

horrific-looking man

rejected by God?

And of course,

the answer,

if we know Psalm 22,

is that what starts

with suffering

and humiliation

and rejection

ends in victory.

Psalm 22,

Psalms 22:28

verse 28,

for kingship

belongs to the Lord

and he rules

over the nations.

This is the humiliation

of God's king.

And we should ask,

shouldn't we,

why is this happening?

We could give

all sorts of answers.

We could say

it's because of the envy

of the religious leaders.

And certainly,

that's something

Pilate had noticed

back in verse 18.

We could say

it's because

Pilate is a coward

and despite

declaring Jesus

to be innocent,

still gave in

because he feared a riot.

And there might be

some truth in that,

verse 24.

But Matthew,

the gospel writer,

wants us to see

another truth,

a deeper,

more profound mystery.

This is happening

because the night before,

Jesus had knelt

in Gethsemane.

Chapter 26,

verse 39,

and prayed,

my father,

if it be possible,

let this cup,

this suffering,

this horrific humiliation

pass from me.

Nevertheless,

not as I will,

but what you will.

That cup,

that horrific humiliation

was God's right anger,

right punishment,

his settled personal hostility

against all this evil

in the world,

against all our sin,

all our self-centeredness,

all the ways we swallow

Satan's lie that says,

God is not good.

God doesn't really love you.

All our gossip,

all our comparing ourselves

to other people,

all our self-satisfaction,

all our little selfish moments

and bitter thoughts

and angry resentments,

all our shame,

all our secrets.

And Jesus,

the Holy One,

understood better than any of us

ever could

what it meant

to take the Father's wrath

against all that.

And yet still,

that previous night,

he renewed his commitment

to come and suffer

in the place of people

like you and I.

Of course,

that commitment

was older than just

the previous evening.

It was a commitment

he'd renewed

every day of his life

from the cradle

in Bethlehem

to a dying breath

on Calvary

as he committed himself

to go the Father's way.

It was a commitment

that was born

in his very name,

the name the angels

had given him

before he was born

as a child.

For his name is Jesus,

that he will save his people

from their sins.

It was a commitment

he renewed every day

as he obeyed the law,

not only in the obvious things,

but never having a look

of frustration,

never a sigh of self-centeredness

against God's will.

It was written

in the scriptures

he fulfilled.

It was written

before the dawn of time.

Peter says

in 1 Peter chapter 1,

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

he was the lamb

slain before the foundation

of the world.

It was written together

in the mystery

of the eternal covenant

that we read about

in Ephesians 1

and in John 17,

where the Father

chose to redeem,

the Son chose

to come into the world

and shed his blood

to rescue us,

and the Spirit

chose to come

and apply that

to blind sinners

like us.

This is happening

because the man

Christ Jesus

chose for it to happen

in fulfillment

to God's eternal purposes.

So as we look

at the horror

and humiliation

of this man

on the cross,

what must we grasp here?

But we need to grasp,

don't we,

that there was

no other way,

there was no other way

that we could be forgiven.

There's no quick,

easy route

to say sorry.

There's no get out

of jail free card

for God to just

overlook our sin.

It matters.

It matters.

There's no cheap price.

No cut price deal.

And as we look

at Jesus'

humiliation

before people,

we need to grasp,

don't we,

that what he suffered

publicly that we see

is,

it's only the tip

of the iceberg.

You know what they say

about icebergs,

don't you?

We only see

sort of the 10%

that is visible,

the vast majority

that is underneath.

And so it is

as we look

at Jesus' suffering.

We only see

the tip of the iceberg.

We don't get

to grasp

the full wrath

that he bore for us.

We hear it a little bit

in his cry later on.

My God,

my God,

why have you forsaken me?

But we only get

a glimpse of it.

And moreover,

the horror

and humiliation

he suffered

before men

that day

is,

my friends,

what you and I

deserve before God.

And yet he bore

it for us.

what we see here

is how serious

our sin is.

But also,

don't we see

something else?

How incredible

is God's love?

How incredible

is the love

of Jesus

that he should

choose to do that

for me

or for you?

How incredible

is the love

of the Father

that he would

give his only

son

that we

could be his?

That Jesus

should be despised

and rejected

so that we

could be loved

and accepted?

That he should

be humiliated

and cast down

so that we

can be lifted up?

That he should

be bloodied

and bruised

so that we

should be safe

forever?

Can we get

a glimpse

of this love

that he would

willingly suffer

for us?

How can we

ever doubt

that God

loves us?

In those

dark moments

where you think

God does not

care,

can you look

back at Jesus

on the cross

and really

ask that?

As the hymn

writer put it,

upon the cross

of Jesus

mine eyes

at times

can see

the very

dying form

of one

who suffered

there for me

and from

my smitten

heart with

tears

two wonders

I confess

the wonders

of his

glorious love

and my

own

worthlessness

well that's

what we see

what do we

hear?

Listen,

stop,

look,

listen,

what do we

hear as we

listen?

Verses 39

to 44

well what

the English

translation

can't really

capture here

is we

what we

hear

is continual

mocking

and temptation

from all

around

it's continual

in the original

language it's

clear it's

harder in the

English

verse 39

the passers-by

kept on

deriding him

verses 41

to 43

the religious

leaders keep

on saying

things

that are

mocking and

tempting

and accusing

him

verse 44

the two

robbers kept

on reviling

him

it was

consistent

it didn't

stop

it was

from all

around

not just

the robbers

on either

side

but from

the highest

in society

the leaders

the passers-by

just doing

their thing

and the lowest

of the low

they crucified

with him

albeit Luke

tells us

one changed

their tune

later

let's listen

to what

the mocking

consists of

the passers-by

verses 39

and 40

they were

wagging their

heads

a sign

of

disdain

and contempt

and they

distort

Jesus'

words

verse 40

you who

destroy

the temple

and rebuild

it in three

days

save yourselves

see there's

something about

Jesus

there's something

about what

he said

but they

get it wrong

what Jesus

has actually

said

John 2

John 2:19

verse 19

was you

destroy this

temple

meaning his

body

and I will

rebuild it

in three

days

but they

didn't really

understand

so instead

they're mocking

him

saying

you think

you can

destroy

this

beautiful

temple

Herod's

built

and then

rebuild it

in three

days

but it

took him

40 years

but here's

the very

first irony

because the

true temple

the true

meeting place

of God

with his

people

is not

the real

estate

back in

the city

that's

gone

in 40

years

that will

be

rubble

the real

meeting

place

is in

the flesh

of Jesus

Christ

his body

is the

new

temple

and they

spoke too

soon

didn't

they

if only

they'd

waited

till

Sunday

afternoon

they'd

known

he was

alive

the body

had indeed

been raised

from the

dead

but it's

not just

the

pastors

by

it's

the

religious

elite

as well

and their

continual

mocking

is

laden

with

irony

so verse

42

he saved

others

he cannot

save

himself

but that's

the whole

point

he's choosing

to save

others

by not

saving

himself

he resisted

the temptation

to show

his power

then

so his power

can be seen

for all

eternity

and the

people

like you

and me

he's brought

to himself

then they

mock the

idea of

his kingship

and power

he is the

king of

Israel

the king

of God's

covenant

people

let him

come down

now from

the cross

and we

will believe

in him

if you're

the king

show us

your power

and yet

it is because

he is the

king

of God's

people

he stays

up on

the cross

to win

an eternal

kingdom

that you

and I

can be

part

of

because

he is

God's

king

he stays

on the

cross

until

he is

defeated

sin

and death

and Satan

for kingship

belongs to

the Lord

and he

rules over

the nations

Psalm 22

Psalms 22:28

verse 28

again

and then

they mock

the idea

don't they

in verse

43

that God

desires him

he trusts

in God

let God

deliver him

if he

desires him

for he said

I am the

son of

God

that's

an echo

of Satan's

temptation

back in

chapter 4

verses 3

and 6

if you

really are

God's son

then do a

miracle

show God

loves you

show God

cares

and if

you're a

Christian

you will

know that

temptation

won't you

oh really

you think

God loves

you

and why

did he let

one of your

loved ones

die

during this

pandemic

you think

God loves

you

then why

did that

relationship

not work

out

you think

God loves

you

then why

hasn't he

answered that

prayer you've

been praying

for years

why are some

of your

children still

walking away

from the

Lord

you think

God loves

you

then why

is life

so miserable

and hard

you think

God loves

you

then why

do you

constantly

deal with

the anxiety

and depression

if God

loves you

why are you

so lonely

and if you

know that

temptation

then do you

see

you see

what Jesus

is doing

he is

resisting

it

he is

overcoming

it

he is

continuing

to trust

his

father

and he's

waiting for

God the

father to

vindicate

him

and that

gives us

hope

when Satan

hurls those

fiery arrows

at us

and insinuates

that God

doesn't care

and we can

see God's

love

as we look

at Jesus

well then

there's the

robbers next

to him

verse 44

they keep

on mocking

him

and they

simply have

the same

taunts as

everyone else

don't they

just fall

into line

with what

everyone else

is saying

and so it

comes from

all sides

here is

poor Jesus

hanging on

his own

getting continually

mocked and

tempted from

all sides

and listen

carefully

do you hear

any encouraging

words

anyone on

his side

any cheerleaders

no

he's absolutely

isolated

all his disciples

have gone and

deserted him

he dies alone

to establish

his kingdom

and if we

believe in

Jesus as

king

if we live

for his

kingdom

not the

kingdom of

this world

then we

will face

that mocking

too

won't we

many of us

have already

experienced it

you'll be laughed

at for

believing in

God

like believing

in the tooth

fairy

you'll be

mocked

for believing

in ancient

fairy tales

you'll be

mocked

for thinking

that Jesus

is the

only way

to God

if you're

at school

perhaps you're

or even

if you're

not at

school

you'll be

mocked

and face

humiliation

believing

what Jesus

teaches

about

about ethics

especially

sexual ethics

and relationships

and identity

and male

and female

how narrow

minded

how oppressive

will face

the temptation

to cave

in

and yet

what kingdom

are we

living for

are we

living

for being

accepted

now

or for the

kingdom

to come

we need to

remember

Jesus earlier

promise

blessed are

those who

are persecuted

for righteousness

sake

for theirs

is the

kingdom

of heaven

blessed are

you when

others revile

you

and persecute

you

not are

all kinds

of evil

against you

falsely

on my

account

Jesus

was blessed

as he hung

there

faithful to

the father

and what

do we hear

from Jesus

as we listen

we hear

nothing

not a murmur

of complaint

not a sigh

of self

pity

not a quiet

word of

explanation

he suffers

in silence

so look

we see

the horror

and humiliation

that our

sin incurs

listen

we hear

the continual

mocking

and temptation

but finally

let's respond

where do we

see ourselves

in this picture

Matthew paints

it's easy

to be like

the passers

by

there were

religious people

going to

Jerusalem

around Jerusalem

for worship

at Passover

and it's

easy

in a sense

even if we

are Christians

to pass

by

here once

a year

we get

to Good

Friday

and we

think about

it there

J.C.

Ryle

writing

about 140

years ago

said let us

meditate

frequently on

these things

let us

often read

over the

story of

Christ's

passion

let us

not settle

for second

hand

knowledge

like those

passers

by

if we

don't

understand

what's

going on

then let's

pray

let's seek

let's

think

let's

ask

for help

let's

not be

overtaken

by urgent

matters

of the

day

that

outweigh

the

eternal

matters

of

judgment

before

the

throne

of

God

let us

not

pass

by

the

son

of

God

on

a

cross

let's

just

wallpaper

our

eyes

let us

ponder

until

we can

save

the

apostle

Paul

the

son

of

God

loved

me

and

gave

himself

for

me

maybe

we're

like

religious

leaders

unfortunately

like me

you've

grown up

in a

church

you may

think of

them as

pantomime

villains

we see

them

we want

to

boo

and hiss

because

they're

the

bad

guys

right

but

actually

they were

the people

who knew

their

Bibles

they were

the people

who in

one sense

were

zealous

to do

what

God

wanted

but not

according

to

knowledge

they were

people

with a

privileged

position

and yet

you didn't

really respond

to it

what

happened

why is it

they were

so arrogant

to Jesus

it's because

God blinded

them

God gave

them over

to their

pride

to their

self

righteousness

to their

hard

heartedness

and if

we're honest

if we come

from a

religious

background

like I

do

it's easy

to grow

up knowing

the answers

it's easy

to grow

up looking

good in

the eyes

of the

world

and thinking

we're

quite

fine

thank you

I

wouldn't

it be

an awful

thing

if God

left us

blind

in our

sin

it's

only by

the mercy

of God

that we

can see

this

so let's

pray

that the

doctrine

of the

atonement

will not

merely be

a fact

that we

assert

but a

heartwarming

truth that

informs our

lives

and the

way we

live day

by day

we might

not stand

at the

foot of

the cross

and mock

as they

did

but weep

over our

sin

and weep

over his

love

maybe we

can be like

the robbers

you just

join in

without

thinking

let's not

just join in

with the

taunts of

the world

maybe you've

done that

for some

time

not

taking

christianity

and the

cross

seriously

please don't

fall into

that trap

please

consider

what god

has done

for you

in christ

but if

you're a

baptized

christian

here today

i hope you

can see

yourself

somewhere

else in

this

story

because

the amazing

truth is

we are

baptized

into

christ's

death

do you

not know

says the

apostle paul

all of you

baptized into

christ jesus

were baptized

into his

death

as you look

at this

scene

where do

you see

yourself

baptized

christian

you can

see yourself

in christ

on the

cross

for he

has taken

your sin

he has

borne your

punishment

as he

hangs there

not only

that he

has taken

our very

sinful

nature

our old

selves

with all

our distorted

loves and

twisted desires

he has

nailed it to

the cross

so it is

dead

and now

we have

a new

life

by faith

in christ

in him

you are

justified

it's just

as if

you'd

never

sinned

it's just

as if

you'd

always

obeyed

it's just

as if

you'd

lived

jesus

life

your old

sinful

nature

hangs

there

dead

no longer

with power

over you

you have

a new

nature

to come

it comes

out the

tomb

on sunday

you are

dead to

the world

system

you're

dead to

belonging to

this age

needing to

prove yourself

to needing

to be popular

to needing

to be accepted

because you

are loved

by the king

of kings

and you're

a place

in an

eternal

kingdom

so why

worry about

riches or

honor or

success or

reputation or

promotion or

whether you've

got a house

or not

you have

an eternal

dwelling

place

and as

you hear

jesus

breathing his

last

victory

cry

that is

your victory

because jesus

has won it

for you

and satan

is defeated

life is

ours to

live

because he

has died

where do you

see yourself

as you look

at this scene

i hope we

see ourselves

united to

jesus

the one who

has died

for us

and he

will rise

again

because it's

friday

but sunday

is coming

i hope you

see yourself

loved and

cherished forever

because that

is what you

are

so how do

we respond

to what we

see and

hear

well it's

right to

weep with

sorrow for

our sin

by god's

grace may

we also

weep for

joy

and for

love that's

been shown

us

and may

we live

on in

confidence

knowing our

king will

come back

and that

life is

ours to

live

through him

let's pray

Amen.