JESUS DIED TODAY
There could be Nothing More Evil
Jesus died today. Actually, by this time of the evening, Jesus would have already been in the grave. Remember that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had to rush to get Jesus’ body down from the cross, clean it off, wrap it in spices and linens, and then place it in a cave before nightfall because the Sabbath day was to start at dusk. And so by 7 p.m. on that infamous Friday evening, Calvary would have already been deserted, the cross would have been empty, and the tomb would have been occupied.
Regardless of the time frame of the events, the Friday before Easter Sunday is always the day on which we commemorate the anniversary of the death of Jesus. And could we be commemorating anything more evil? Could there have been anything more evil than God’s creatures crucifying their Creator? Could there have been anything more evil than mortal human beings ripping life away from the Life-Giver? Could there have been anything more evil than a betrayal-induced, hate-motivated, corrupt-government-authorized, public torture of the only Innocent Person ever to walk the face of this earth? I can’t think of anything more evil, can you? The cruelty and the brutality and the downright nastiness of what happened to Jesus that day is sickening. And not just his death of course. We have to include the scourging he received from the soldiers, the crown of thorns pressed into his skull, the beating he took over the head with a wooden staff, the punches he received to the face from the Jewish leaders the night before, the spit, the mockery, the humiliation of hanging naked and battered and bleeding in front of his people. It was an awful 24 hours for Jesus. It was evil at its worst.
Remembering His Death is a Reminder of Our Sin
And that’s not something we like to think about, is it? Normally when we bring to mind a family member who has passed away or even do something to remember the anniversary on which a loved one has died, we think about the good things and the fun times and the happy experiences we had with that person, don’t we? We don’t like to bring up the unpleasant memories or any of the terrible things that we might have done to that person when they were alive. But here we have to. Here, on the day we remember the death of our Lord, we have to remember the bad things. We have to deal with the ugliness. We have to talk about us. Because on the anniversary of Jesus’ death our mistakes and our faults and our evils are never clearer.
That’s why Jesus was hanging there in the first place, wasn’t it? We failed him. That’s why he was screaming so loud from excruciating pain: those were the consequences of our sins causing Jesus so much agony. That’s why his own Father left him: he was supposed to leave us. That’s why Jesus’ heart eventually stopped beating and his lungs stopped breathing and his mind stopped functioning: because we messed up and we couldn’t do anything about it. We are responsible for Jesus’ pain there on the cross. We are the reason that God was a corpse for three days. And that’s not something nice to think about either. Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross isn’t something that should warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. It’s something that should upset your stomach a little bit and bring tears to your eyes. Jesus died today. The life of your God was taken away from him today. What an evil thing! And it was all because of us!
“Deliver Us from Evil”
The very last request we make of our Father in the Lord’s Prayer is: “Deliver us from evil.” And when we pray this petition I would imagine that most of us usually think of the Lord delivering his people from the evils of car accidents and the evils of diseases and the evils of murderers and the evils of natural disasters... And those evils are certainly all included in the 7th petition of the Lord’s Prayer. And the Lord undoubtedly delivers us from many of those unfortunate side effects of sin. But whenever you pray this petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the future, don’t forget to also think about the cross. Because nowhere else did the Lord “deliver us from evil” to such a greater extent than he did while hanging on those two pieces of wood outside of the walls of Jerusalem. There on the cross it was more than a deliverance from accidents or diseases or murderers or disasters. There on the cross it was a deliverance from the searing pains of hell and from a death that never ends and from an eternity of God’s hate and from the evils within ourselves. There on the cross Jesus actually delivered us from ourselves. He saved us from ourselves. Because the evil that festers within our sinful nature would drag us down to hell if not for the cross. It would condemn us if not for the cross. We were part of the evil! We were part of the problem from which we had to be delivered! And so whenever you pray: “Deliver us from evil” - include yourself in that last word. And then include yourself in that first word. Because you have been delivered. You have been rescued. You have been forgiven from all of the evils around you and from all of the evils within. You are saved. You are secured. But only because Jesus died.
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’”
The Effects of Jesus’ Death
Jesus’ death itself wasn’t a good thing. But what happened because of his death was. Things started splitting in half! The temple curtain, the rocks, the tombs of believers… And these things started splitting in half because what Jesus did through his death truly was earth shattering! The sting of sin was sterilized, death and the devil was defeated, and evil - in every form - was ended. This was no normal death! This wasn’t the usual end to an everyday life! In fact, it wasn’t the “end” at all. Jesus’ death was the beginning of life for those who had longed for his coming; it was the beginning of forgiveness for those who would believe; and it was the beginning of a peace that the world at that time had not yet known. The temple curtain splitting in two, the rocks splitting apart, and the tombs splitting open proved it. Jesus’ death had opened the way to life. And nothing was ever going to close it again.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the hymns are in a minor key. And our worship has a somber tone about it. And Christians for centuries have gotten rid of the Hallelujahs and the candles and sometimes even the singing during this anniversary of our Lord’s death. Because Jesus died today. But that is also why we have hope. Jesus’ death is why we are here tonight as Christians. Jesus death on Friday afternoon is why we can look ahead to Sunday morning. Because we know what’s coming. We know that the tomb that is holding our Savior’s dead body on this Friday night will soon be holding him no more. We know how Jesus will prove to us that his death earlier today actually worked. And so look forward to that celebration. Anticipate what is to come. Because Sunday morning’s dawn is going to shed a glorious new light on this Friday evening darkness. Jesus died today. But we wouldn’t have an Easter if he didn’t. And we wouldn’t have forgiveness either.
Amen.
There could be Nothing More Evil
Jesus died today. Actually, by this time of the evening, Jesus would have already been in the grave. Remember that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had to rush to get Jesus’ body down from the cross, clean it off, wrap it in spices and linens, and then place it in a cave before nightfall because the Sabbath day was to start at dusk. And so by 7 p.m. on that infamous Friday evening, Calvary would have already been deserted, the cross would have been empty, and the tomb would have been occupied.
Regardless of the time frame of the events, the Friday before Easter Sunday is always the day on which we commemorate the anniversary of the death of Jesus. And could we be commemorating anything more evil? Could there have been anything more evil than God’s creatures crucifying their Creator? Could there have been anything more evil than mortal human beings ripping life away from the Life-Giver? Could there have been anything more evil than a betrayal-induced, hate-motivated, corrupt-government-authorized, public torture of the only Innocent Person ever to walk the face of this earth? I can’t think of anything more evil, can you? The cruelty and the brutality and the downright nastiness of what happened to Jesus that day is sickening. And not just his death of course. We have to include the scourging he received from the soldiers, the crown of thorns pressed into his skull, the beating he took over the head with a wooden staff, the punches he received to the face from the Jewish leaders the night before, the spit, the mockery, the humiliation of hanging naked and battered and bleeding in front of his people. It was an awful 24 hours for Jesus. It was evil at its worst.
Remembering His Death is a Reminder of Our Sin
And that’s not something we like to think about, is it? Normally when we bring to mind a family member who has passed away or even do something to remember the anniversary on which a loved one has died, we think about the good things and the fun times and the happy experiences we had with that person, don’t we? We don’t like to bring up the unpleasant memories or any of the terrible things that we might have done to that person when they were alive. But here we have to. Here, on the day we remember the death of our Lord, we have to remember the bad things. We have to deal with the ugliness. We have to talk about us. Because on the anniversary of Jesus’ death our mistakes and our faults and our evils are never clearer.
That’s why Jesus was hanging there in the first place, wasn’t it? We failed him. That’s why he was screaming so loud from excruciating pain: those were the consequences of our sins causing Jesus so much agony. That’s why his own Father left him: he was supposed to leave us. That’s why Jesus’ heart eventually stopped beating and his lungs stopped breathing and his mind stopped functioning: because we messed up and we couldn’t do anything about it. We are responsible for Jesus’ pain there on the cross. We are the reason that God was a corpse for three days. And that’s not something nice to think about either. Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross isn’t something that should warm your heart and bring a smile to your face. It’s something that should upset your stomach a little bit and bring tears to your eyes. Jesus died today. The life of your God was taken away from him today. What an evil thing! And it was all because of us!
“Deliver Us from Evil”
The very last request we make of our Father in the Lord’s Prayer is: “Deliver us from evil.” And when we pray this petition I would imagine that most of us usually think of the Lord delivering his people from the evils of car accidents and the evils of diseases and the evils of murderers and the evils of natural disasters... And those evils are certainly all included in the 7th petition of the Lord’s Prayer. And the Lord undoubtedly delivers us from many of those unfortunate side effects of sin. But whenever you pray this petition of the Lord’s Prayer in the future, don’t forget to also think about the cross. Because nowhere else did the Lord “deliver us from evil” to such a greater extent than he did while hanging on those two pieces of wood outside of the walls of Jerusalem. There on the cross it was more than a deliverance from accidents or diseases or murderers or disasters. There on the cross it was a deliverance from the searing pains of hell and from a death that never ends and from an eternity of God’s hate and from the evils within ourselves. There on the cross Jesus actually delivered us from ourselves. He saved us from ourselves. Because the evil that festers within our sinful nature would drag us down to hell if not for the cross. It would condemn us if not for the cross. We were part of the evil! We were part of the problem from which we had to be delivered! And so whenever you pray: “Deliver us from evil” - include yourself in that last word. And then include yourself in that first word. Because you have been delivered. You have been rescued. You have been forgiven from all of the evils around you and from all of the evils within. You are saved. You are secured. But only because Jesus died.
“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely he was the Son of God!’”
The Effects of Jesus’ Death
Jesus’ death itself wasn’t a good thing. But what happened because of his death was. Things started splitting in half! The temple curtain, the rocks, the tombs of believers… And these things started splitting in half because what Jesus did through his death truly was earth shattering! The sting of sin was sterilized, death and the devil was defeated, and evil - in every form - was ended. This was no normal death! This wasn’t the usual end to an everyday life! In fact, it wasn’t the “end” at all. Jesus’ death was the beginning of life for those who had longed for his coming; it was the beginning of forgiveness for those who would believe; and it was the beginning of a peace that the world at that time had not yet known. The temple curtain splitting in two, the rocks splitting apart, and the tombs splitting open proved it. Jesus’ death had opened the way to life. And nothing was ever going to close it again.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the hymns are in a minor key. And our worship has a somber tone about it. And Christians for centuries have gotten rid of the Hallelujahs and the candles and sometimes even the singing during this anniversary of our Lord’s death. Because Jesus died today. But that is also why we have hope. Jesus’ death is why we are here tonight as Christians. Jesus death on Friday afternoon is why we can look ahead to Sunday morning. Because we know what’s coming. We know that the tomb that is holding our Savior’s dead body on this Friday night will soon be holding him no more. We know how Jesus will prove to us that his death earlier today actually worked. And so look forward to that celebration. Anticipate what is to come. Because Sunday morning’s dawn is going to shed a glorious new light on this Friday evening darkness. Jesus died today. But we wouldn’t have an Easter if he didn’t. And we wouldn’t have forgiveness either.
Amen.
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