Good Friday

Hymns: 146, 174, 153, 172, 175, 358

John 18:1-19:42
— “The One Who Delivered Me to You Has the Greater Sin.”

      Grace, mercy, and peace to you all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

      Today is Good Friday and the appointed reading of the Gospel of John serves as our sermon text.

      In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Introduction

      Good Friday. On this day God accomplished the impossible and redeemed what could not be redeemed. On this day the one who cannot die gave Himself into death for us. On this day righteousness was crucified in order to redeem unrighteousness. On this day, by means of the death of God in the flesh, the death of mankind was overcome. On this day, the one who knew no sin was made to be sin for us.

      Wow! What a day! St. John’s account is different from the three synoptic accounts. Matthew, Mark, and Luke direct their focus upon more of the facts and give more accurate time references. John writes his account many years after the others. He assumes that the widely circulated accounts are already well known and so he deals with the presentation of the account to build upon what has already been recorded. Such is the way with the apostles and with all true preachers of the Gospel. Nothing new is taught, but fresh assurances are given. As John writes near the end of his Gospel account at the end of chapter 20, “these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

I.      Betrayal, Denial, Accusations, Judgment

      After Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples, He gave them the Sacrament of the Cup of the New Testament in His blood. He explained to them what this wonderful New Testament was, but they were not ready to embrace it for what it was. They received in faith what they did not yet understand. They knew that Jesus was the promised Messiah. But they did not really understand fully what that meant, either. John spends a great deal of time telling us how Jesus explained these things before, during, and after the Passover meal and before the institution of the New Testament by which the Church would receive all the blessings of the fullness of communion with God. The Holy Communion was given to the eleven after the son of perdition had been sent off to do the evil that he had determined to do for a bag of silver. For a tenfold trinity of silver, 30 pieces, Judas had sold out the Holy Communion of God in the body of Christ. But for those who had not been lost to Jesus, the meal of forgiveness and renewal was given to keep them from the devil’s snares.

      After the institution of the New Testament, Jesus brings the eleven to their garden of prayer where they had been many times before. Here they would observe why Judas had been sent away. Here they would see the fulfilment of the New Testament that they had just received. And Judas led his lords of mammon, the Jews, to the place where he knew that Jesus and His true disciples would be. It is not that Judas did not love Jesus. It is not that Judas did not desire to be a disciple of Jesus. It was simply that he found a way to profit from his relationship with Jesus. Judas thought that he had found a way to have the best of both worlds. He did not take time to examine what this really meant. He did not realize how far his betrayal would go.

      After all, these were the church leaders. Judas did not make his bargain with the devil, but with the leaders who sat on Moses’ seat. Somehow Judas convinced himself that he could remain in fellowship both with the church body that opposed Jesus and with the Lord Jesus. Somehow Judas imagined that he could be true to both at the same time.

      When Judas and the troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees came, Jesus knew why they had come and went to them asking them whom they were seeking. They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” When He told them, “I AM He,” using the sacred name given to Moses for the Church to use, they drew back and fell to the ground. But they still followed their chosen path in keeping with their church. Judas still betrayed the Lord with a kiss, and the soldiers still arrested Jesus. Even after the incident with Peter and Malchus, they still did not repent.

      Peter tried to defend his Lord, only to be told that it was not his place. Poor Peter was terribly confused. He had no better understanding than those who came to arrest Jesus. Like them, he thought that he was to defend the truth by his own actions. But the Truth told him to put away his sword.

      Then Jesus was taken to Annas and then to Caiaphas to be accused and judged. During this time, Peter was accused as well. Three times he was accused of being a true believer in Jesus. Three times he denied having anything to do with Jesus. Then Caiaphas sent Jesus to Pilate to be judged and condemned by the government. Why? Earlier they brought an adulterous woman to be judged by Jesus and they took up stones to kill her. They did not bring her to Pilate. Why now bring Jesus to Pilate?

      They brought Jesus to Pilate because they knew that they were in the wrong and could not justify their actions. They knew that they were acting against the Word of the Lord and that the people would know it. So they turned to the government.

      First they mocked the Lord. They mocked the Truth. They used twisted logic to justify doing what was not in accord with the Word of God. Then they cast judgment upon Jesus and sent Him to Pilate to be judged also by the government and crucified.

II.      The One Who Delivered Me to You Has the Greater Sin - the Sixth Hour

      Now comes the shocker. In this instance, the government sought to do what was right. Pilate, who was not even a confessor of the truth, who did not even pretend to know what truth is, this pagan ruler recognized the truth and tried to prevent the injustice of the church leaders. While the church leaders judged the Word of God as not what should be trusted and followed, demanding their own church laws be enforced, Pilate could find nothing wrong in the Word of God. When the church leaders showed no mercy and no love of God, Pilate sought to release Jesus. When the church leaders stirred up the people against this, and especially against the prophecy that Jesus is the Son of God, Pilate asked Jesus,

“Where are You from?”
     But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”
     Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”
     From then on Pilate sought to release Him.

      Pilate heard what the others had shut their hearts and ears against. Pilate heard the truth that his power was from God and was not to be abused. Pilate heard that judgment is not given to men, but is according to the truth already declared by God Himself. How often those claiming to represent God refuse to hear what Pilate heard.

      But the words of Jesus to Pilate are much bigger than even this. Much debate has been argued over whom Jesus means when He says, “the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

      Some say that Jesus is referring to Judas, but Judas did not deliver Jesus to Pilate. Judas is responsible for this indirectly, but Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jews and the church leaders.

      Some say that Caiaphas is the one of whom Jesus speaks, and Caiaphas certainly is responsible, but not alone. Caiaphas did not act alone in sending Jesus to Pilate.

      So then of whom is Jesus speaking? Who is the one who has the greater sin in delivering Jesus to Pilate? Who truly is responsible for the fact that Jesus is standing before Pilate?

      God is the guilty one. John makes it clear that Jesus could have prevented all this with a single word. Jesus volunteered for this in response to the will of God. Jesus is Himself God. As the Son of Man He submitted to the will of the Son of God, whose will was subject to God the Father. God made this judgement. God turned Jesus over to Pilate. Jesus stood before Pilate as the one with the greater sin.

      Yes, in fact, God takes all the blame of all the world into His own person. God carries the cross to Golgatha and places Himself into the hands of sinners to be judged and mocked and tortured and crucified to death by them and for them. The God-Man, Jesus, is the one who carries the greater sin, actually being made to be sin for us.

      Pilate tried again to have Jesus released, but seeing that the matter was out of his hands and having heard from Jesus the reason that Jesus was going to the cross willingly, Pilate sat down in the judgment seat and declared the reason that Jesus would be crucified, saying to the Jews, “Behold your King!”

      John says that this was on the “Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour.” This is another of John’s unique comments that has inspired much debate by many experts. John’s sixth hour does not seem to match with the accounts of the synoptic accounts. In fact, much debate has developed over other times that he uses. So let’s briefly consider them.

      In John 1:39, John says that two disciples followed Jesus and continued with Him at about the tenth hour. Ten is the number of perfection or fulfillment. In John 4:6 Jesus sits down at Jacob’s well and waits to talk to a woman living in sin and following the false religion of the Samaritans at about the sixth hour. Six is the number of not quite completion, the number used for the devil and for evil. In John 4:52 the ruler from Capernaum receives word that at about the seventh hour, the same hour that Jesus promised that his dying son lives, the fever left his son. Seven is the number for the complete work of God in creation. Now, John says that at about the sixth hour, the hour of the judgment of evil, Pilate sits down in the judgment seat and tries to argue for the release of Jesus but fails and Jesus is condemned to go to the cross.

      The other Gospel accounts tell us that on the cross, having been made to be sin for us, Jesus cries out, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken Me?”

      This is truly marvelous and relieving to hear. At this moment, Jesus has so become the one who has the greater sin, that according to His human flesh and spirit, He can no longer see anything of the love of God. This is the cry of Adam in the garden after the fall. This is the cry of all sinners because of sin. But Jesus has the worst sin of all, for it is not His own sin for which He stands condemned. No one else will ever face such judgment, because we all are facing only the judgment that we deserve. For the wages of sin is death. Like the thief on the cross, we know that we are guilty and receive only what is our just punishment, but we can still repent and turn to God for mercy. Jesus did not have this option, for He was dying with the sin of the entire world, and sin that was not even His own. Even though He Himself was fully God, the sin that He had taken for us completely blotted out the loving countenance of God. Darkness even overcame the light of the sun so that even this was taken away from Jesus in His last moments.

      Yet even now, the perfect and holy Son of God does not loose faith. Still He addresses God as MY God. For God did not abandon His righteous one. Even as God will never abandon us, no matter how dark our sins may be. Jesus takes our sins and gives us His righteousness. No matter what happens in our lives, being baptized into Jesus and His crucifixion, God still looks upon us as those wrapped in the clothing of righteousness and hears us. We may always remember that Jesus’ final words from the cross were words of faith and grace, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit!”

III.      After This . . .

     After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury.
     Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.

      How amazingly wonderful! After this, after seeing the fulfillment of their salvation, even though they did not yet fully understand, these dear saints no longer hid in fear. Why? Because of the body of Jesus given for them. They still did not fully understand, but they were not willing to be separated from the body of their Lord. They did not understand, but they truly believed, they truly discerned the body of the Lord as that which was needed for faith and life.

      So even though they knew that they would be in great danger from the leaders of the church, they went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus to be given to them. Pilate gave them the body of Jesus and they prepared His body for the Sabbath Day that He would sanctify with His own body. Now the saints would never again fear the sleep of death, for Jesus entered our place of death and turned it from a place of corruption to a place of life. Death has no power over those who fall asleep in Jesus. Those who are baptized into His body and are made to be communicants of His body and blood, have entered into the everlasting Sabbath of the Lord.

Conclusion

      Is it any wonder that this day has been named Good Friday?

      In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

      The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus forever. Amen.

Good Friday

Hymns: 146, 174, 153, 172, 175, 358

INTROIT

COLLECT (1 of 3 in the Agenda)

Almighty God, we beseech Thee graciously to behold this Thy family, for which our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed and given up into the hands of wicked men and to suffer death upon the cross: through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

GRADUAL / TRACT

( note: there is only the OT & Gospel pericopes prescribed)

The Old Testament     Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (NKJV)

The Holy Gospel     St. John 18:1-19:42 (NKJV)

John 18:1-19:42