April 7, 2023 – Good Friday Tenebrae Text: Luke 23:32-34
Dear Friends in Christ,
Were you there? Were you there when they crucified my Lord…when they nailed him to the tree…when they laid him in the tomb? We sing it every Good Friday Tenebrae Service as our closing hymn. Were you there?
Who was there? Roman soldiers. It was their job. They had to be. None of them realized when they drove nails into Jesus and divided up his clothes that they were fulfilling hundreds of years old prophecies. It did make a difference to one man, the centurion, who confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. (Mt. 27:54)
Two criminals were there. They also had no choice. They were being punished for their crimes. Both derided Jesus, but then one confessed his sin and Jesus assured him they would be united in paradise. (Lk. 23:41-43)
The Jewish leaders were there to make sure Pilate followed through on his plan to execute Jesus. They were going to enjoy this. They got nasty and challenged Jesus to come down from the cross.
It would be nice if we could say the disciples were there to give their support. But most of them were not. John was there along with another disciple as they stood by Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was there. As she watched her Son die it had to break her heart.
We know who was there, but we ask again: “Were you there?” The obvious answer is no. You and I were not physically there. But think a little harder and the answer is yes. You were there. We didn’t condemn Him. We didn’t jeer at Him. We were there because our sins were there. Jesus carried them there, on the cross He bore the crushing burden of our sin.
Our sin was the reason Christ had to die. We are no less guilty than the
Roman soldiers or the Jewish leaders or the AWOL disciples. Look up at that cross. Look deep inside and examine your heart and compare yourself with Jesus.
A billboard once had these words: “Real Christians forgive like Jesus.” Would those words motivate you to forgive? Remember what Jesus taught – “turn the other cheek,” “not 7 times, but 70 times 7,” “the parable of the prodigal son”. I am reminded of Jesus’ prayer from the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (v. 34). Jesus asked God to pardon the people who were putting him to death. Jesus had selfless love.
If I start comparing that to my own life with its perceived slights and petty squabbles, and the hurtful things I have said, it makes me fall to my knees in repentance. Too many times I have help on to grudges and withheld forgiveness. If real Christians forgive like Jesus, what does that make me? If you claim to be a Christian, and are held to the same standard of forgiving like Jesus, what does that make you? It makes us all guilty, not at all deserving of God’s love. We need a miracle to be rescued from our sins.
Jesus didn’t look like a miracle worker on this Friday. He looked weak and helpless. Bloodied. Beaten. Defeated. The devil had won the day.
But the celebration was short-lived. The evil ones had good reason to be afraid. The Messiah was about to perform his greatest miracle. To declare his final victory over the devil, to demonstrate his power over death, to announce to the world that news of his demise had been greatly exaggerated and assure you that all your sins have been forgiven, Jesus holds out to you His . . .
“NAIL-PIERCED HANDS”
It was a couple of days after Good Friday, and those disciples who were nowhere to be found on Calvary were now behind locked doors. They were perplexed about all the happenings of the weekend. They were in fear of their future. But then they think they see a ghost, it’s not, it is Jesus. He brings a message of peace. He shows them something personal that instantly took away their anxieties. He showed them his hands. The nail-pierced hands.
Many scars are not attractive. For the disciples, these were. For us, they are. The wounds remind us of the high cost of redemption. Jesus took on flesh. Jesus felt our pain. Jesus endured the righteous wrath of God in our place. Jesus prayed for our forgiveness on the cross, and he suffered and died on the cross to earn it.
It is this unconditional, sacrificial love of Jesus that makes this day good. When your sins condemn you, he intercedes for you. When Satan seeks to devour you, Jesus will defend you. When you are feeling guilty, spiritually empty, totally unworthy of God’s love, remember what God has done to save you. Remember that he will never leave you or forsake you. Remember that he has ascended into heaven to prepare a place for you.
You are here. Look up. Look to the cross. Look to Jesus. Look at your living Savior’s nail-pierced hands.
Amen.