Good Friday 2018

This is a mock of a Roman crucifixion nail.

I got it when I was younger.

My parents wrote my name on it.

And uh we have since written the names of our family to remind us that Christ died for us.

Why do I show you that?

Not to focus on the violence of it or the gore of it, because none of the gospels do that.

But rather to ask the very pointed question: what happened at the crucifixion?

Well, two things.

Jesus died, and when he died, death was defeated.

Before our passage in Matthew chapter 27, we see a court scene in the 26th chapter.

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

Jesus is hauled before the Sanhedrin.

It's the equivalent of all of our legislative, executive, and judicial branches all rolled together into one.

And it's a mock trial, and they ask Jesus, Are you the Son of God?

And he responds, I am.

And when he says, I am, he is claiming divinity.

Now, to the Jews, they thought that the Messiah would be divinely sent, yes, but divine, no.

And so to make matters worse, he goes on to say, and you will see the Son of Man coming with power on the clouds of heaven.

And then at that moment, the greatest possible outrage took place in the temple.

The high priest tore his holy robes.

Why?

Because they would have known what he meant when he said, You will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, because they would have known back in Daniel chapter 7, there was a prophecy that the Messiah would come, not on the clouds like we have today, vapory, misty, wispy type clouds, but in clouds that are the very glory that God reserves for himself alone.

Daniel 7 · chapter mention

Jesus is saying, I am the Lord.

And so what began as a mock-type court scene turns into a mob scene, and they haul him before Pontius Pilate because they don't have the authority to crucify.

But Pilate doesn't want to have him crucified because he doesn't find anything wrong with him.

But because he's afraid of the crowds, he's going to have him crucified anyways.

And he uh as Jesus is making his way up to the place where he would be crucified in those days, uh, those uh sentenced to crucifixion would often carry the cross piece that would be placed on the cross for the for the post that was in the ground.

And because Jesus was beaten, and because he was so uh badly injured he couldn't carry, and so he couldn't carry his cross piece, so they found a man, a passerby, named Simon of Cyrene, and they gave to him Jesus' cross piece to carry.

And all of a sudden, what began as a great paradox in this courtroom, Jesus proclaiming divinity and saying, Though you think you're judging me, there will be a day when I come to judge the whole world, and whether you acknowledge it or not, I am your king.

Now it seems like someone else is judging.

This one that healed the blind and the sick and the lame, now it seems like someone else is doing the judging.

Who is it?

So we come to our passage in Matthew chapter 27 and verse 45.

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli Eli Lama Sabakfani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Every gospel writer takes pains to portray to us that darkness covered the land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour.

That's noon to 3 p.m.

And the reason they take pains to tell us that darkness covered the land from noon to 3 p.m.

is because darkness in the Bible represents God's judgment.

And one of the greatest examples that we see perhaps in the Old Testament is the penultimate plague in Egypt, when darkness covers Egypt because of Pharaoh's sins.

And in this case, darkness covers the land while Christ is on the cross representing God's judgment.

So who's sitting in judgment?

It's God.

And who's he judging?

The Jews?

No.

The Romans?

No.

The fickle crowds?

No.

The disciples, you, me?

No, he's judging Jesus.

And verse fifty tells us.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

In real time, in real space, the second member of the Trinity, very God of very God, died.

And don't let the time of death escape you.

It says he died about 3 p.m.

Do you know what happened?

Every day, every week, every month, every year for about fourteen hundred years in that place at 3 p.m.

The priests offered sacrifices.

And there the perfect sacrifice died.

Jesus died.

And when he died, he defeated death.

Listen to what goes on to happen.

It says, Behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

And the earth shook, and the rocks were split, and the tombs were also opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

And when the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what had taken place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly this was the Son of God.

The first thing that happens is that this great curtain in the temple is torn.

Do you remember it's the curtain?

We talked about it before.

It's the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies, God's very presence from the people of God.

It was this massive curtain, not like the old black curtain that we used at the high school that blocked off the bleachers and the state championship posters.

It was this great big, heavy, thick affair that woven purple fabric with these great golden clasps on this great golden bar that not only said God is holy and no one can enter, but it but it was a physical reminder of the separation between God and man.

So much so that when the high priest entered it once a year, they would tie a rope around his ankle in case he perished in there so that they could pull him out.

And when Jesus died, the text tells us the temple, the curtain in the temple was torn, and to make sure we know who tore it, it says it was torn from top to bottom.

And it was torn to represent that now no longer, because of Jesus' death, death is defeated, and no longer is there a separation between God and man.

And to make sure we know that anybody can go in, Matthew tells us about the first person that goes in, the centurion.

He says, Truly, this person was the Son of God.

Mark's gospel tells us, and knowing certain ways, that he's the first person to ever put it together, that Jesus is the Son of God.

And what that means for us, that we can come to him knowing that we can go in, knowing that all of our sin, all of the things that we've done previously, all the things that we are doing today, all the things that we will do in the future are forever forgiven in the person and work of Jesus Christ, in the cross of Christ.

A symbol of torture for the Romans, a symbol of cursed for the Jews, but the greatest symbol of freedom for believers.

And you can go in too.

But then something else happened.

One of the most curious voices verses in all of Scripture, it says in verse 52, the tombs were also opened, and many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went to the holy city and appeared to many.

Now, what is that about?

Well, I think Matthew is doing a couple of things.

He's making a theological statement, and he's encerning it non-chronologically so that it fits thematically in the text.

What do I mean by that?

As soon as I just said that sentence, I think.

I don't even know what that means.

Matthew is saying, there's two ways to interpret it.

We could interpret it.

As soon as Jesus died, the tombs were opened, and they were made to stay in their tombs until the resurrection on Sunday, and then on Sunday, they got up and came out and walked around the Holy City.

I don't think that's what Matthew is trying to say here.

The only thing chronologically is that we have is that the tombs are opened, and then coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they went to the Holy City.

So likely on Sunday, the day that Jesus rose from the dead, so did also many of the saints that died in the Lord rose from the grave and walked about the city.

Now, the biggest question is, what'd they do?

Who'd they talk to?

Imagine seeing your grandparent walking down the street thinking.

I mean, it would be completely unsettling.

Who do they meet with?

Who do they speak with?

What do they talk about?

How long?

Did they die again?

What happened?

Matthew doesn't say.

And you know why he doesn't say?

Because the purpose isn't to tell us about all the things that happened, but rather to assure us that because of Jesus' death, death is defeated forever, and one day we will live with him in all eternity.

The point is to make that because Jesus defeated death, one day we will rise together with him and live forever with him in glory.

We can glory in the cross.

The greatest symbol of torture for Romans, the greatest curse for the Jews, but the greatest symbol of freedom for us.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the power of your word and the power of your cross.

And Lord, you tell us in your word that you could have called down twelve legions, seventy-two thousand angels, warriors from heaven, and the Father would have sent them to you.

But you hung on the cross and you endured the shame, and you endured the torture and the persecution, and you drank the cup of the Father's wrath poured out for our sins.

And you drank it to the dregs.

And because of that, Lord, we will never taste the wrath of God.

Father, this good Friday, let us somberly and soberly celebrate your great gift to us.

And we pray it in Jesus' name.

Amen.