The cross (John 18 - 19:27

Good Friday Morning (2^nd April 2010)

Theme: The cross (John 18 – 19:27)

 

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday I have been talking about one common theme: submission and humility. The theme culminates with the cross, the symbol of Christianity, which is one of the most common symbols in the world.

During the days of Jesus, the cross was a symbol of shame and embarrassment, a symbol of warning and terror. The Roman Empire used the cross as a means of execution, reserved only for slaves, robbers, assassins and rebels. Caesar Augustus bragged about capturing 20,000 slaves, and those who were not wanted were crucified in public. As a general rule, Roman citizens wouldn’t be executed on a cross, because it was too shameful of a way to die.

To the Jews, a person who is punished to death by crucifixion meant that he was considered cursed by God. The description of the crucifixion that I inserted in your prayer booklet is how historians and medical scientists saw it.  It is too gory to describe.

The cross was not a Christian symbol during the early days of Christianity.  It was only when the Roman Empire got Christianized, and Roman Emperor Constantine took over in the late 4th century, that the cross became associated with something religious. Constantine adapted the cross almost as a “good luck” charm or symbol of triumph. He placed the cross on the shields of his soldiers for protection.

Until today, many people are confused by the cross. They don’t understand how Jesus, the Son of God could allow the shame of the cross to take place.   So they either deny that Jesus died on the cross, or otherwise, try to explain his death in other ways.  Some find the symbol offensive; they would do anything to get it removed.  Therefore, we shall spend this morning to take a fresh look at the crucifixion of Jesus, and see what we can learn from the Cross and see things which are hidden from the eyes of so many people.

Just ask yourself: “What does the cross mean to me?”  Is it just a decoration piece?  Is it a good luck charm or an amulet to protect you from dangers?   Many people wear the cross of silver, gold, wood or plastic. We have a cross right there at the sanctuary of the church. On a Good Friday morning like this, many churches conduct the service of the station of the cross and the veneration the cross by kissing the foot of the cross.

The first that we need to do as we think about the cross is to thank God for it.  But, we need to remember that it is not the cross that makes Jesus special: it is Jesus that makes the cross special.  

I am sure too that when we read the description of the crucifixion we can get emotional about it, and be angry at those people who were inflicting all these evil things upon our Lord.  However, we must understand that without the cross we would be destined to eternal death and hell. The Bible is very clear on that issue.   Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God”.  Hebrews 9:22 says, “In fact, the law of God requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”  And Hebrews 9:28a says, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people…”

So the first thing we can learn about the cross is that the death of Jesus on the cross was a necessary death.  It was a necessary death because you and I could never do enough good on our own to earn the favour of God. Romans 3:10-11 “there is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.”  It means without that death, you and I could never be right with God, and we shall remain sinners destined to be punished and end up in hell. 

As we sit in Church this morning, reflecting the suffering and death of Jesus, we feel sad – not actually for Jesus who had to die that way.  We are sad because we know it is our sins that caused Jesus to go through that suffering.   We are really among those people in the crowd who was yelling “Crucify Him, Crucify Him”. 

Second, the cross teaches us that people who look at it will come away with different conclusion.   If you read Luke 23:35-39, it says, “The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One." The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself."

People had rejected Jesus in the past, and there are people who reject him now, and there will always be people who will reject him in the future.  There are many reasons why people reject him.  For them Jesus’ claims and teaching are ridiculous: if he could save others why couldn’t he save himself?  If Jesus is the Son of a loving God, why would the Father allow him die a painful death on the cross?  If he is a powerful God, why was Jesus helplessly hanging on the cross?  It is no wonder that Paul commented in 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 

For many people, it does not make sense at all for God to do all these things or allow them to happen in order to save humankind.  I can tell you it will never make sense to anybody unless the person has humility.  That is why during my last two sermons I have put emphasis on humility, because without it you can never understand what this Good Friday cross really means. You may recognize a cross, wear a cross, or venerate the cross, but without humility you will fail to see its true meaning.  Without humility we will always look for loopholes so that we can decide which rules apply to us and what do not. Without humility we cannot even see our own sins, so we think that Pontius Pilate, the Roman soldiers and the Jews must be at fault for putting Jesus up there on the cross.

If we Christians can think like that, just imagine what non-believers are thinking.  They think that they don’t need the salvation that Jesus offered on the cross because they can save themselves by their own good works.  Therefore, what we must do this morning is also to pray.  Pray that the story of Good Friday will open the eyes of men and women who are blind to the truth.  So as we pray the solemn collect or intercession later on, I invite each of us to remember certain person we know who needs to understand the meaning of the cross in his or her life.

Finally, the Cross teaches us that all people are redeemable.  Luke 23: 39-43 tells us that when one of the criminals who were hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us.”  The other criminal rebuked him and said, "Don’t you fear God…since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

This is one of the most beautiful scenes of the crucifixion account.  As far as the Jews were concerned, this man was a hopeless case.  To them he had done too much evil to deserve to live.  But to Jesus, he was a perfect candidate for salvation, because he realized his sinful condition and that only Jesus could help him.  Unlike the other criminal, he didn’t ask Jesus to save him from the pain and agony of the cross: he knew he deserved this punishment according to the law of man.  But he asked permission to be remembered by Jesus and to be able to go into His kingdom when his life was over. 

The wonderful thing about this story is this: with Jesus, even the worse of sinners still have a chance to be saved. It doesn’t matter how big your sin is and how long you have been doing it; there is no one person who still alive that Jesus can’t save.  So if you have loved ones who are still lost, and are close to the end of their lives, pass them this message. If you know of someone who is at a dead end, share with them this message of Good Friday - that with Jesus, there is a second chance and they need not leave this world in fear of the unknown. Just as Jesus showed mercy to the repentant robber at the cross, he too will show them mercy.  No living person is beyond salvation.  All that they need to do is to let go of their pride, and come to repentance, and believe and accept Jesus as their personal Saviour.   But warn them also that there are terms and conditions: they will only get this chance while they are still alive.  Tell them that it will be too late to come to Christ after they die, because in death there is no more second chance.  In death all the decisions have already been made.