Good Friday: The King's Enthronement

As we reflect on the crucifixion of our precious Lord Jesus Christ,

we will continue to read John's account of this historic event in John 19, 16 to 37.

As we are a needy, unspiritual people without the help of God,

let's bow our heads in prayer and plea for his gracious mercy.

Heavenly Father, we ask that though we are so undeserving,

won't you meet us here in this place?

Address us through your word.

Speak to us.

God, help us to see with full eyes of faith

the truth that you loved us so much

that you sent your one and only son to die a death

that he did not deserve

so that we would have life,

that he, though being rich, became poor

so that in his poverty that we would have life,

that we would have abundant life,

that we would be rich.

God, speak to us.

Let not this story wash over us in numbness,

if we've heard it a thousand times,

but help us

to understand,

to see the weight,

the cost,

so we'd see how much you love us.

I pray all these things in your heavenly son's name.

Amen.

Please stand, if you are able,

for the reading of God's infallible word.

So they took Jesus,

and he went out,

bearing his own cross

to the place called the Place of the Skull,

which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.

There they crucified him,

and with him two others,

one on either side,

and Jesus between them.

Pilate also wrote an inscription,

and put it on the cross.

It read,

Jesus of Nazareth,

the King of the Jews.

Many of the Jews read this inscription

for the place where Jesus was crucified,

was near the city,

and it was written in Aramaic,

in Latin,

and in Greek.

So the chief priest said to the Jews,

so the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate,

do not write the King of the Jews,

but rather,

this man said,

I am King of the Jews.

Pilate answered,

what I have written,

I have written.

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus,

they took his garments

and divided them into four parts,

one part for each soldier,

also his tunic.

But the tunic was seamless,

woven in one piece from top to bottom.

So they said to one another,

let us not tear it,

but cast lots for it,

to see whose it shall be.

This was to fulfill the scripture,

which says,

they divided my garments among them,

and for my clothing,

they cast lots.

So the soldiers did these things.

But standing by the cross of Jesus

were his mother,

and his mother's sister,

Mary the wife of Clopas,

and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother

and the disciple whom he loved

standing nearby,

he said to his mother,

woman,

behold your son.

Then he said to the disciple,

behold your mother.

And from that hour,

the disciple took her

to his own home.

After this,

Jesus,

knowing that all was now finished,

said,

to fulfill the scripture,

I thirst.

A jar full of sour wine

stood there,

so they put a sponge

full of the sour wine

on a hyssop branch

and held it to his mouth.

When Jesus had received

the sour wine,

he said,

it is finished.

And he bowed his head

and gave up his spirit.

Since it was the day

of preparation,

and so that the bodies

would not remain

on the cross

on the Sabbath,

for that Sabbath

was a high day,

the Jews asked Pilate

that their legs

might be broken

and that they might

be taken away.

So the soldiers came

and broke the legs

of the first

and of the other

who had been crucified

with him.

But when they came

to Jesus

and saw that he was

already dead,

they did not

break his legs.

but one of the soldiers

pierced his side

with a spear

and at once

there came out

blood and water.

He who saw it

has borne witness.

His testimony

is true

and he knows

that he is telling

the truth

that you also

may believe.

For these things

took place

that the scripture

might be fulfilled.

Not one of his bones

will be broken.

And again,

another scripture says

they will look

on him

whom they have pierced.

This is God's

holy and authoritative word.

Please be seated.

One of the most

comforting promises

in all of scripture

that has encouraged

saints throughout history

has to be

from Romans 8, 28.

It goes like this.

We know that

for those who love God,

all things

work together for good.

for those who are called

according to his purpose.

There's so much strength

and fortitude

that we can draw

from this promise

because when we are

enduring

the most horrendous evil,

when we're going

through the toughest

seasons of pain

and suffering,

it fortifies our faith

to know that this is

going all according

to plan.

when life feels

out of control,

we can have faith

that instead

it's all working out

for good

and the Father's

good plan for us.

But if we're honest,

it's easy

to let doubt

creep up

and settle in.

We can start

to wonder,

is this really

for good?

is God

still in control?

Although we know

today how Jesus'

story ends

in resurrection

and in triumph,

just put yourself

in the shoes

and the witnesses

of Jesus' death

this Good Friday.

It wouldn't be hard

to let those

same doubts

creep in

as you see

Jesus,

your King,

the one you left

everything to go follow,

to see Him

suffering,

humiliated,

struggling

on the cross.

It in fact

would have been

an insult

to His followers

if they heard that.

We called it

a Good Friday.

However,

tonight,

we can take heart

because John

does not neglect us

to remind us

who is in charge,

who is in control.

Through Old Testament

reference after reference,

John makes it clear

to us today

that every detail,

every character,

every action

is going exactly

as the Father intended.

So much so

that despite

all His suffering,

when Jesus

is lifted up

on the cross,

supported on

His four wounds,

when He's gasping

for air,

John shows us

that this instead

is Jesus'

enthronement,

the inauguration

of His glorious

kingship.

And this account

of Jesus' death

was written back then

and is preached

to you today

so that you may

believe,

you may believe

in this crucified King

and be delivered

from your sins.

So today,

we will see

how Jesus

is enthroned

as King

in verses 16-24,

how He acts

as King,

what His first decree

is as King

in verses 25-27,

and how He dies

as our King

in verses 28-37.

So looking

to our passage

tonight,

we read earlier

in John 19

that despite

Pilate's attempts

to spare Jesus

the death penalty,

the chief priests

demand Pilate

to crucify Jesus,

and in doing so,

they vehemently

deny Jesus

as their King,

and they betray

really what

all their scriptures

pointed to,

who all the faithful

saints and the prophets

have been waiting for.

they instead

bastardize

what it means

to be a Hebrew

by claiming

Caesar

as their King.

Out of a fear

and a desire

to please the Jews,

then,

Pilate obliges

by handing Jesus

over to be crucified.

Many of you

need not

an introduction

to the horrors

of Roman crucifixion.

You're aware

that it was

a punishment

so severe

that it was

typically reserved

only for slaves

and rebels,

and that no Roman citizen

could be crucified.

As we will see,

the ultimate goal

was to combine

emotional

and mental shame

with physical anguish

as the victim

hung in the air,

slowly left to die.

It starts with

a gruesome flocking

of the victim

in which he is scourged

with a whip

that had knotted

sharp pieces

of metal

and bone

into it.

And you can only

imagine what kind

of damage

that it would do

to someone's flesh.

It wasn't uncommon

for the victims

of the Roman scourge

then to die

from ensuing

blood loss

and shock.

So it's not hard

to see then

that as he died,

Jesus' appearance

was so marred

beyond human semblance

and his form

beyond that

of the children

of mankind

just as the prophet

Isaiah predicted

in chapter 52,

verse 14.

The Roman guards

then forced Jesus

to carry his crossbar,

the horizontal piece

to the cross,

outside of the city

to Golgotha.

While John doesn't

include an explicit

reference

to this passage,

many astute

biblical scholars

have made this connection

from this short verse

to Genesis 22

where God tests Abraham

to sacrifice

his beloved son Isaac.

So obedient Abraham

rises up early,

loads the wood

for the offering

on his miracle child Isaac

and leads the two of them

to Mount Moriah.

As he binds Isaac

and is about

to slaughter him,

obeying God's command

for him in faith.

An angel calls

to stop him

and God provides.

God provides

a sacrificial ram

instead of Isaac.

So Abraham declares

and believes

that God will always

be faithful to provide.

And in this short verse,

we see the ultimate fulfillment

of that promise

of provision

all the way back

to Abraham

to send his promised son

as a sacrificial ram

to die for our sins.

Jesus carries his cross

to the designated location

of Golgotha,

which we can infer

was a public area

as we read earlier

in verse 20

that many walked past

this location.

It's there

where they nailed

Jesus' hands or wrists

to the crossbar,

lifted him up

to be pinned

to the vertical post

by driving nails

through his feet.

And many of you

are well aware

that victims

of crucifixion

didn't die

by the nail wounds,

but instead

by asphyxiation,

by suffocation.

The way they hung

prevented them

from breathing normally.

So with their backs

all torn up,

they were forced

to struggle themselves up

against the wood

on their nail wounds

to grasp for air

than to let themselves down,

only to just repeat this

for hours on end.

And throughout this whole event,

you have to ask,

where are Jesus'

11 disciples?

Where are the ones

who declared

that they would never leave him

and that they were able

to drink the cup of wrath

that Jesus was destined

to drink?

In Matthew 20,

John and James

declare that

they want to sit

at Jesus'

right and left hand

and they believe themselves

to be worthy

of such an honor.

But as Sean observed

last year,

and it's worth

mentioning again,

it's not John

or James

who are crucified

at the right

or left hand

of Jesus,

but it's

criminals,

rebels,

insurrectionists,

completely alone.

Jesus is utterly forsaken

by those who claimed

they would follow him

until the very end.

And while the Romans

likely meant

to shame Jesus

by numbering

among the transgressors,

the father,

he used this

for his purposes.

He was the foretold

suffering servant

in Isaiah 53

who poured out

his soul to death

and was numbered

with the transgressors,

yet bore the sins

of many

and made intercession

for the transgressors.

Yet another

Old Testament prophecy

fulfilled.

We see then

in verses 19 to 21

how Pilate

plays right

into the father's plan

by enthroning

Jesus as king.

It was custom

back then

to fasten

to the cross

a description

of the crime

that the victim

had committed.

So Pilate chooses

to inscribe this,

Jesus of Nazareth,

the king of the Jews.

And to publicize

his crime

and to make it

even more intelligible

to all peoples,

Pilate writes this

in Aramaic,

in Latin,

and in Greek.

To no surprise then

the chief priests

protest this sign

and demand Pilate

to change it

to say that Jesus

isn't their king

but that Jesus

was given the death penalty

for claiming

to be their king.

This is a fine example

of irony

that John tends to use

throughout his gospel

that the faithless

Gentile Roman ruler,

he's the one

that's declaring

Jesus as king

but God's own

chosen people

who have claimed

God to be their king

in times past,

they're the ones

to abandon

and reject Jesus.

Truly, truly,

he was abandoned

not just by his disciples

but by his entire people.

But it's not

that the gospel writers

depict Pilate

as having saving faith.

likely it's instead

that Pilate's title

for Jesus

and his refusal

to change it

was more to mock the Jews.

He was mocking

their powerless status

under Rome

by crowning

a victim

of crucifixion

as their king.

But little does he know

that in the end

it's not himself

or Rome

who has the power

but it's God

who's orchestrating

every detail

of this story.

In this God

the Father

does honor

his son.

In fact,

Jesus' cross

is the means

of his exaltation

and the very manner

of his glorification.

God transforms

the cross,

one of the most horrific

of torture devices

throughout history,

to be Jesus' throne

where he reigns on

from on high.

Jesus is our great

high priest

who is also

the sacrificial victim.

He is the conquering king

who is also

the suffering servant.

Still,

that doesn't mitigate

the humiliation

Jesus had to endure

on his throne.

We read in verses

23 to 25

that they stripped

Jesus completely naked

by hanging him

on the cross

again to maximize

the shame

felt by the victims.

It's like those

hung on the cross

were forced

to expose

to all the public world

the atrociousness

of their actions

and deeds

but also the imperfections

and the weaknesses,

the blemishes

of their human bodies.

There was no place

to hide,

no thing you could hide

while on the cross.

And unlike lying,

rebellious,

self-seeking Adam and Eve,

God does not

clothe them

with garments of skins.

Jesus was

intentionally left

naked and exposed.

And by taking

the clothes on his back,

the Roman soldiers

literally stripped Jesus

of every last

earthly possession

he owned.

With his clothing

per custom,

the four Roman soldiers

decided to divide it

amongst themselves.

They likely had

an easier time

dividing amongst themselves

Jesus'

outer garment,

his belt,

his sandal,

and head covering.

Four things

for four people.

But with Jesus'

seamless inner tunic,

they greedily thought,

what a waste

to split it up.

Let's just cast lots

to see who would win it.

And why does John

include this

seemingly off-topic

detail

to again

make the point

that this was

all fulfilling scripture,

this time from

Psalm 22, 18.

In fact,

when you read

the rest of that psalm,

you clearly see

that it was all

about Jesus.

For he endorsed

the full experience

of spiritual

forsakenness

depicted in that psalm.

from a plan

set ages

and ages ago,

this was going

all according

to the Father's plan.

With Jesus

now on his throne,

we witness

his first decree

as king,

and it's one

that just displays

how lovely

he is.

We read in verse 25

that despite

no mention

of some of Jesus'

closest disciples

like Peter

and James,

John does mention

that there are likely

four women nearby,

which include

Jesus' mother.

To you mothers

here,

can you pause

and imagine

what Mary saw

that faithful day?

Her beloved son,

who never wronged her

and obeyed her,

honored her

without a fault?

To the degree

that she couldn't

even think of

one thing

that he did wrong

against her?

To see this gentle

and lowly son

with whom she knew

he would never

even break

a bruised reed?

To die a death

of evil criminals?

Can you imagine

just her horror?

In recent years,

we as a nation

have witnessed

terrible

and wicked murders

by the hands

of policemen

who are meant

to uphold justice.

And with the

widespread use

of body cameras,

we have

literally seen

the moments

before their death.

Two of these

men's murders

are seared

into my mind.

The harrowing

videos of the

deaths of

Mr. George Floyd

back in 2020

and Mr. Tyree Nichols

just a few months ago.

In those videos,

do you know

who they were

calling out for?

Who they're calling

out for right

before they were killed?

They're calling

for their mothers.

they're crying

for their moms

to come save them.

And so in verse 26,

when Jesus

directs his attention

to his mother

and to the disciple

whom he loved,

John himself,

while he's enduring

one of the most

excruciating deaths

that a man

could experience,

you might have

every reason

to expect

that Jesus,

the man,

that he too

would cry

for his mother

to come rescue him,

to ease his pain

and suffering

even just a little.

But no,

what

Jesus is concerned

with

is his mother's

future livelihood.

What?

He's concerned

for her.

So he directs

John

to take care

of his widowed

mother,

knowing that

in their society

she had to depend

on others

for her livelihood.

The king,

the suffering king,

he cared

for her.

Isn't that just

incredible?

Do you see

just how lovely

and compassionate

of a king

we serve?

Brothers and sisters,

how intentional

Jesus is

in what he chooses

to say.

when he could

have easily

defended himself

during his earlier

trials,

the Lamb of God

fell silent.

When he could

have called

down a legion

of angels

to come deliver

him from the cross,

the King of Kings

fell silent.

But when he wanted

to make sure

that his mom

would be okay,

he opened

his mouth

and spoke.

today,

he has

the same

kind of

compassion

towards you,

friend.

He is lovingly

concerned

with your

physical

and spiritual

well-being.

So to you

struggling

friends,

suffering ones,

be encouraged

this Good Friday

that while you

walk

through the

valley of

shadow and

death,

while you may

not have all

the answers

for all the

trials that

you are enduring,

know that you

are never

alone.

It is a lie

from Satan

to believe

you are alone.

Jesus,

too,

has experienced

firsthand

injustice,

temptation,

despair,

rejection,

gossip,

shame,

loneliness,

poverty,

bereavement,

and torture.

He is able

to sympathize

with you.

Jesus is a

far better

savior than

we often

think him

to be.

Put your

faith in

this gentle

king.

For it is

this king

who has

given the

ultimate

price in

verses 28

to 30.

I've been

intentionally

careful thus

far to state

that this

has been

going according

to God

the Father's

plan.

The historical

doctrine of the

Trinity upholds

that our one

God is

three equal

and distinct

but not

divided

persons.

Each have

distinct roles

appropriate to

themselves,

so the

Father originates

and the

Son accomplishes.

And in our

passage,

we distinctly

observe that

while it's in

the Father's

plan,

the Son

is in

complete

union

with the

Father.

Jesus knew

that everything

that he was

sent out to do

was now

finished and

his death

was imminent.

So he

says,

I thirst

specifically to

fulfill scripture.

This makes it

abundantly clear

Jesus is

willingly and

actively

fulfilling all

of the

Father's plan

for him to

die a death

for all

sinners.

And these

two words,

I thirst,

are really

loaded.

If there

were any

doubt that

Jesus,

though fully

God,

was also

fully man,

these two

words put

those doubts

to rest.

Charles Spurgeon,

pastor from the

1800,

quotes,

Jesus was

proved to be

really man

because he

suffered the

pains which

belonged to

manhood.

Angels cannot

suffer thirst.

A phantom,

as some have

called him,

could not

suffer in this

fashion.

But Jesus

really suffered

not only the

more refined

pains of

delicate and

sensitive minds,

but the

rougher and

commoner

pains of

flesh and

blood.

Observe

Christ's

great

condescension

for you.

Remember

earlier,

Jesus

offered

living

water,

which

those who

partook of

it would

never thirst

again.

This

same

Christ is

now thirsty.

The

great

voluntary

reversal

of

the

servant

king.

It's

because

Jesus

says

he

thirsts,

the

Roman

soldiers

get a

sponge

damp

with

sour

wine

to

lead

Jesus'

lips.

This

most

likely

and

most

directly

fulfills

Psalm

69

21

from

tonight's

reading,

which

reads

from

verse

20,

reproaches

have

broken

my

heart

so

that

I

am

in

despair.

I

looked

for

pity,

but

there

was

none,

and

for

comforters,

but I

found

none.

They

gave

me

poison

for

food,

and

for

my

thirst,

they

gave

me

sour

wine

to

drink.

Miserable

comforters,

the lot

of you.

Just

look

out how

men have

treated

the

God

incarnate

from

his

birth

to

his

death.

When

Jesus

was

born,

men

could

not

make

room

for

him.

A

king

murdered

thousands

of

boys

at the

chance

of

killing

him

too.

Now

Jesus

suffers

the

thirst

of

divine

judgment.

Man

has

no

soothing

cup

of

water,

but

shoves

a

vinegar

filled

sponge

to

his

bleeding

mouth.

This

drink

is

not

to

be

confused

with

the

wine

mixed

with

myrrh

that

was

offered

to

Jesus

on

his

way

to

the

cross

recorded

in

some

of

the

synoptic

gospels.

That

sedative

drink

would

have

numbed

some

of

the

pain

that

Jesus

experienced.

But

he

rejected

that

outrightly,

resolving

to

drink

full

the

cup

of

wrath

from

his

heavenly

father.

Moreover,

we've

been

speaking

of

Jesus'

physical

suffering,

but

these

two

words

give

insight

to

the

spiritual

dimension

of

Jesus'

suffering

on

the

cross.

In

Luke 16,

Jesus spoke

earlier of

a parable

of the

rich man

and

Lazarus.

The rich

man who

was greedy

and selfish

and ungodly,

he went to

the depths

of hell,

and in

his

unquenchable

thirst,

he begs

Lazarus

in heaven

for just

one cool

drop of

water for

his tongue.

So

Jesus,

enduring

our

hell,

experienced

the same

fiery

thirst so

that we

would be

saved from

the terrible

wrath that

you and

I deserved.

Again,

here's

Spurgeon,

if Jesus

had not

thirsted,

every one

of us

would have

thirsted

forever

afar from

God.

With an

impassable

gulf between

us and

heaven,

our sinful

tongues blistered

by the fever

of passion

must have

burned forever

had not

his tongue

been tormented

with thirst

in our

stead.

Spurgeon

and the rest

of the Bible

make it

plainly clear

that Jesus,

though he

did not

know sin,

became sin,

was a

substitute on

our behalf

to be the

propitiation

for our

sins.

Our

very sins

were imputed

onto Christ.

For before,

when the

Father saw

Jesus,

he saw

the Son

with whom

he is

well pleased

with for

all eternity.

But now,

when the

Father saw

Jesus,

he saw

sin.

So he,

being a

holy God,

had to

turn his

face away.

Not only

was Jesus

abandoned by

his people,

his disciples,

but now his

heavenly Father.

Truly,

truly,

the incredible

physical suffering

was nothing

compared to

the spiritual

experience of

cosmic

abandonment.

We can

confidently say

that no one

on earth

has experienced

or understood

the depths of

loneliness

like Jesus

as he hung

on the cross.

as Jesus

received the

vinegary drink,

he said,

it is

finished

and gives

up his

spirit.

Not that

anyone took

it from

him,

but that

Jesus

voluntarily

gives up

his spirit.

Jesus

proclaimed

that he

has

triumphantly

and

faithfully

completed

the work

that he

was sent

out to

do.

He died

with a

cry of

a victor,

one who

has finished

his rescue

mission.

And in

this cry,

all the

saints hear

the declaration

of his

finished work

for our

salvation,

for all

eternity.

Christian,

hear Jesus'

victory cry.

I have

completed

the work

completely

and perfectly.

But so

often we

live as if

Jesus'

last words

were,

work

harder,

do better,

add to

my work.

Instead,

Christian,

trust not

your experience

or your

abilities to

save yourself,

but without

fearing punishment

for our sins

anymore,

rest,

rest,

rest in

the perfect

work of

Jesus for

your salvation,

for it is

finished.

There is no

more for

heaven now

to give.

And his

suffering and

death was not

a hoax.

He really

did die.

As we read

in our last

verses, a

final validation

of Jesus'

death.

According to

Jewish law,

it would be

a desecration

to the

land if

they left

cadavers

overnight hung

on the

cross.

They instead

were to bury

the bodies

that same

day.

Because it

was the day

of preparation,

the day

before

Sabbath,

or Friday,

hence Good

Friday,

and especially

because this

Sabbath was a

particularly special

one, a

high day,

the chief

priests

insisted on

expediting their

executions.

As a side

note, isn't

this just

soaked with

sour irony

that the

Jewish leaders

had just

killed their

own true

king, but

they wanted

to get this

correctly?

So per

Pilate's

command, the

soldiers broke

the legs of

the two men to

the right and

to the left

of Jesus.

The heavy

mallet they

would have

used would

have not only

caused extreme

pain or shock,

but it would

have prevented

the victims from

using their

leg muscles to

push up to

gasp for air.

With their

weaker arm

muscles giving

out, they

would have

suffocated to

death.

When they

came to

Jesus, they

found out that

Jesus had

already died,

so they saw

no need to

break his

legs.

Instead, one

soldier pierced

Jesus' side with

a spear to

fully confirm

for himself and

to us that

he died.

He really

did die, and

out came both

blood and

water.

And we

know and

believe that

it is by

this poured

out water and

blood, Christ's

bride, the

church, is

washed clean

from all her

crimson stains.

Therefore, it

is as the

hymn of old

sings, rock of

ages cleft for

me, let me

hide myself in

thee.

Let the

water and the

blood from

thy wounded

side which

flowed.

Be of sin

the double

cure, safe

from wrath, and

make me pure.

Once more, John

lays out clearly

how this

fulfilled prophecies

of old.

First being that

Jesus' bones would

not be broken,

found either in

Exodus 12, 46,

or Numbers 9, 12.

And the second

being that they

will look on him

whom they have

pierced, found

in Zechariah 12, 10.

Don't you see,

friends, that the

evidence of the

father's sovereignty

is throughout this

entire account?

And why?

Why does John

include all these

evidences of God's

plan?

We find the

answer in verse

35.

It's so that you

may believe.

Yes, you.

John and God

wrote this account

of Jesus' death

so that you may

believe that Jesus

is the Christ,

the Messiah,

the Son of God,

and that by

believing you may

have life in his

name.

For this is the

truth you must

believe.

It is a

historical fact

that Christ

Jesus, God

incarnate,

walked this

earth, died

this gruesome

death, and as

we'll soon hear,

resurrected on the

third day.

Only by believing

and trusting in

Jesus' death for

the forgiveness of

your sins can you

have life.

Brothers and

sisters, this is

the only way to

an abundant life.

What that means is

that your sin,

your rebelliousness,

your lust,

your anger,

your selfishness,

your sin,

is the greatest

problem that you

have in your

life.

It's not that you

need a job.

It's not that you're

not married yet.

It's not that you're

sick with chronic

illness.

The greatest

problem in your

life is that you

have sinned against

the holy God,

and without the

penal substitution

of his son,

the Lamb of God,

the God's wrath

is directed right

at you.

But God so

loved the world

that he gave

his only son

that whoever

believes in him

should not

perish,

but have eternal

life.

If you don't

let believe,

ponder this

historical account

this Good Friday,

and please

don't delay

to start to ask

the real questions.

Is this account

historically true?

Who is Jesus?

Did he really

die for me?

Can God really

forgive me?

If you do believe,

fight to shake

off the numbness

of hearing the story

times over.

Ponder the weight

of Jesus'

sacrifice.

Ruminate on how

much it costs

to buy you

and the love

demonstrated

to save you.

Finally,

finally,

see in faith

what the gospel

of Jesus Christ

is.

It is as

Tim Keller

said,

the gospel

is this,

we are

more sinful

and flawed

in ourselves

than we ever

dared believe.

Yet,

at the very

same time,

we are more

loved

and accepted

in Jesus Christ

than we ever

dared hope.

Let's pray.

God,

we again

ask humbly

knowing that

we do not

deserve

such mercy,

such kindness.

give us

the faith

to see

how much

it costs

to send

your one

and only

son.

Help us

to see

the sacrifice,

the great

voluntary

reversal

of the

servant

king

to come

die

for us

and help

us to

claim

this abundant

life for

ourselves.

Help us

to see

the greatest

problem

is our

sin,

but you've

made a

way.

There was

a chasm,

there was

no way

before,

but you've

made a

way.

Help us

to take

that to

heart,

to trust

in you,

Jesus,

for all

our soul,

all our

life,

and for

the forgiveness

of our

sins.

Be honored

and glorified.