4/6/07 - Good Friday - John 19:17-30

ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE CROSS
- The well-worn roads of Scripture
- The rough and dangerous roads of life

Isn’t it amazing how many Old Testament prophecies give specific details about Christ on the cross? Already in our service we’ve looked at prophecies in the Psalms about wine vinegar that Jesus had to drink, his clothes being divided by lots, and even a word for word quote of Christ: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Psalm 22:1)? Please realize how incredible these prophecies are! These particular prophecies in the Psalms that I mentioned were written down by David - who lived around 1000 B.C. “B.C.”, of course, stands for “Before Christ.” 1000 years before Christ lived and died David wrote these words about specific details of Christ on the cross! Put that into perspective! That would be as if a person in the year 1007 wrote down words describing what you specifically would wear today, an exact phrase you would say to someone this morning, and what you would drink for breakfast! It’s ridiculous to think someone could predict those things even last week - let alone 1000 years ago. 1000 years ago the Vikings were sailing the seas, the Mayan civilization was still in existence, and the Crusades to the Holy Land hadn’t even happened yet! Think of how much has changed from 1007 to 2007! And think of how different things will be in the next thousand years! Is there any way you could pick one person on one day in the year 3007, and predict what he would wear, an exact phrase he would say, and what he would drink that morning? Of course not! There is no way that could happen! It is an impossibility! But that’s exactly what the Holy Spirit did through the prophet David. We have just heard these prophecies and read them so often that we forget how miraculous they really are.
These prophecies, of course, don’t only show that the Bible is without error, they also show us the importance and the central theme of the cross in all of Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament people were waiting and watching for the Messiah. They longed for their Savior to come and they put their faith in the deliverance he would bring. And so it’s only natural that the majority of the prophecies focused on Christ and his cross. Because that’s where the deliverance is. That’s where Jesus became our Messiah, our Christ, our Savior. The cross brought to fulfillment everything that Christians had hoped for since that very first promise of a Savior made to Adam and Eve.
There are prophecies about the entire life of Christ and his work throughout the Old Testament. Prophecies about his birth, about the forerunner of Christ, John the Baptist, prophecies about Jesus’ ministry. But there are at least 24 prophecies that specifically focus on the last week of Christ’s life. From Palm Sunday until Good Friday the inspired writings of the Old Testament give us many accurate and glorious pictures. Did the Old Testament believers understand them all? Probably not. The only reason we do is because New Testament passages make them clear. But the point remains the same: for thousands of years before Christ came, prophets and preachers and leaders wrote down the words of God - and no matter what topic they were discussing at the time - their ultimate focus and underlying theme was always Christ and his cross.
There is no reason why our lives should be any different than Old Testament Scripture. There is no reason why the focus and underlying theme of everything we think, say, or do shouldn’t be Christ and his cross. And there is no reason why we should have an excuse when our lives do not demonstrate this. As Christians, as people who believe in Christ as your Savior and the salvation he won for you, everything that you do should reflect the cross. You must always ask yourself: Is every one of your actions God-pleasing? Is every one of your actions using the spiritual gifts God has given you to the best of your abilities? Is every one of your actions making the most of every opportunity to show people their Savior?
Everything that you say should reflect the cross as well. Is every one of your words showing the kindness God showed to you? Is every one of your words building others up instead of tearing them down? Is every one of your words infused with the joy of the cross and the sure hope of salvation that you firmly believe in? And let’s not forget about everything that you think. Is every one of your thoughts as pure as the blood of your dying Savior? Is every one of your thoughts directed to help others as Jesus did on Calvary? Is every one of your thoughts motivated and supported by the cross and its holy victim?
It is hard to admit that our lives don’t always reflect the cross. But how can we forget it? How can we, who are Christians, forget the cross of Christ? How often do you think about the cross outside of a church service? It should be on your mind constantly! It should fill every aspect of your life! And why wouldn’t you want it to? You know that the cross is where you find your only comfort and your only peace and your only joy. It is only to your loss and to your detriment when the cross is not clearly seen in your actions and words and thoughts.
I want you to try something as you go about your every day life. When you’re about to say something to someone else, first think of the cross. Think of the loving words Jesus spoke to his mother Mary and his disciple John: “‘Dear woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’” Think of these words of Christ and then choose your words accordingly. When you are determining what to do for the week of the day or the hour or the minute, first think of the cross. And think of what Jesus did with it and on it. “Carrying his cross, he went out to The Place of the Skull… Here they crucified him.” Think of this and then plan your day accordingly. When you catch yourself in a sin, when you have to painfully admit to yourself that you’ve failed the Lord once again, think of the cross. And think of what Jesus said because of it. “Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Think of this love on the cross and then rejoice in its forgiveness.
And isn’t that the bottom line? When it comes right down to it Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross - and so we can firmly believe that it is. His suffering was finished. His work was finished. Our salvation was finished on that cross. So tell me: what else matters? What else in your life matters more than what Christ has already accomplished for you? It is finished. Your salvation is secure. Your place in heaven is being prepared for you as we speak. Your sins and even death itself have no power over you. It is finished. It is taken care of. And Christ made it happen on the cross.
I realize that it’s hard to remember the cross in your life. Things get busy, people get on your nerves, tough decisions have to be made, pain and sin and trouble and death are inevitable. But don’t let those things cloud the cross. Everything in your life should lead you back to the cross - good and bad. The good things because every good gift is a result of the ultimate gift of salvation won on the cross, and even the bad things should lead you back to Calvary because, seeing the cross, you know that nothing else matters. When the cross is foremost in your mind, everything else is OK. When the salvation and the forgiveness Christ gave you from that tree is always lying just underneath the surface of your thoughts, nothing else seems all that serious or terrible or important. Nothing else matters but the cross. And our Lord and Savior made sure on Good Friday that on the cross all pain and sin ended, and all joy and life began.
Good Friday is traditionally a night of black clothing, of mourning, of sadness. And rightly so. God died on Good Friday. God died tonight. A painful reminder of our sins and what it took to make things right. But take a look at the cross on top of our altar. It’s empty. It’s not a crucifix with the body of Jesus still hanging on it, it is simply an empty cross. Why? Because although we celebrate the fact that Jesus died on the cross, we cannot and do not remain on Calvary. We look ahead. Specifically three days ahead to Sunday morning. When God is no longer on the cross. When God is no longer in the tomb. When God is alive! Proving that what he did on the cross mattered and counted and was accepted as the ransom price that he intended it to be. So for the rest of tonight, tomorrow, and early morning Sunday, keep this cross in mind. Remember the suffering he went through. Remember the blood he poured out. Remember what he accomplished on it. But also remember that it is empty. As empty as the tomb will be when we meet here again.
Amen.

“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” - Romans 16:20