Rev. Stephen E. Stults
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
Good Friday
March 24, 2024
Today is Good Friday. Today is the awesome day of the Lord. Jesus
made payment today, once, for all sins, trespasses, and negligences against God
the Father and the His complete, absolute holiness. In the most incomprehensible act of
overwhelming generosity, God Himself pays the debt for sin’s “due and payable” debts
against God. The act itself is colossal,
incredible, and as the old plainsong hymn named
it, the “conflict stupendous”. If we have any spark of faith in us, the Holy
Spirit should lead us to our knees in utter adoration and worship.
This is the day of
atonement, which literally means “at-one-ment.”
In a mighty, yet humble act of supreme obedience, Jesus offered Himself
us, for us, despite all our
nastiness, filthiness, pettiness and sheer ungodliness. He who knew no sin took all sin unto Himself
for our sakes. What this means, in the
most terrible terms, is that Christ, while he hung in unspeakable physical
agony on the Cross, also suffered unspeakably in His soul and spirit as
well. Imagine the sinless Christ taking
unto himself the nasty impulses of a pedophile, or a child abuser, or a
murderer or a torturer. Imagine the
sinless, pure Jesus feeling every stinking, putrefying, dirty, nasty bit of sin
as He hung helpless, yet purposeful, on the Cross of shame and death. It was the most heroic act ever done, or that
ever will be done in the history of the world. As one old hymn puts it, “what stands between
our sins and their reward is the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord.” And so it
is. Only Jesus and His obedience,
resulting in our atonement with God the Father shields us from the natural and
ultimate consequence of our sins: death and Hell.
Let me share a telling
episode of the modern mind with you. Several years ago on a business trip, I
was having a discussion with a co-worker.
She was a mature woman, and very intelligent and articulate. The discussion turned philosophical. We started talking about life and death and
this person voiced the opinion that when one dies, one just ceases to
exist. She believed there was no heaven,
no hell, just sweet, blissful nothingness, a complete void.
Beloved, for the sake of
those pagans, both willful and unwillful, knowing and unknowing, I wish that is
were not so. I do wish that those folks who know not God could just slide off
into eternal silence and anonymity. But sadly, in “ain't” true. Jesus Himself
tells us that there will be a vast separation, where the Judge (Christ Himself)
will sort between the sheep (we followers of Christ) and the goats (the pagans
or non-followers of Christ.) Those who
know not Christ will be cast into “outer darkness”, where there will “weeping
and gnashing of teeth.” Beloved “outer
darkness” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth” doesn’t sound like fading away
into nothingness. In the words of one world religion, to “slip like a teardrop
into the simmering sea.” Rather, sadly, those who know not Christ will have an
active afterlife, just will the Redeemed, whom are blessed through Christ. The loss of bliss forever make me tremble.
This is why Good Friday must
be seen as the holiest day of the year for Christians. As a boy, I wondered, “Why is it “good” if
they killed Jesus today?” As an adult, I understand. It’s all for us. Good Friday is “good” for us.
Thus, the writer of the
Epistle to the Hebrews has it exactly right.
In today’s Epistle, he says, “for it is not possible that the blood of
bull and goats should take away sins.”
That is, the old system of sacrifices was incomplete. It couldn't do away with sins completely,
because every year (even every day), new sacrifices must be offered. However,
Jesus, quoting Hebrews, “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for
sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.”
The writer of Hebrews goes
on to say, “For by one offering, he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified.” Thus, there was one
sacrifice for all people, for all time.
Imagine the Reformer’s revulsion to the medieval idea of “making Christ”
on the altar, which meant the repeated re-sacrifice of Christ each time Mass
was offered, as well as bleeding hosts and other extra-natural phenomena. In light of this passage from Hebrews, it cannot
be true.
Also, in light of what we
know about Good Friday and the truly stupendous, universal consequences of what
Christ did, two questions arise. The
first is “why?” The other is, “how?”
First, why was it
necessary? We who are mature Christians
already know the answer. Our sins put
Jesus on that cross! Our sins so
offended the Father that only one Payment would suffice. That payment was the Son of God Himself. But,
the deeper question is why was man created to have the capacity to sin? Why did God create a being with the tendency
towards evil? Couldn’t an omniscient,
omnipotent God create a perfect Universe, without sin, without evil? The answer, of course, is “yes.” God’s Power is absolute. The point for us is that He didn’t. He created a universe filled with good. He
also allowed, for some divine and mysterious purpose, evil to corrupt a portion
of His Creation. Do not be fooled, however. It must be understood that good and
evil are never in equal proportion. Good
always outweighs evil by an infinite degree, even when all we see around us is
a sea of corruption and sin. Yet, on a
cosmic scale, Good wins.
My own guess at this mystery
parallels what the Church teaches us, that God gave us both intellect and
free will so that we could choose Him out of love, not by coercion or even by
preprogramming. After all, God could
have set us up that way. But He didn’t. He wants, to quote St. Peter, a “peculiar
people”, a “royal priesthood” of those who set Him above all other things. Now, none of us possesses that perfect love
yet. Some day, however, we will. In heaven, we will grow in grace and God’s
love and service. Since Gods’ love is
infinite, so will be our progress, our growth, and our eternal sanctification
in Him.
So Jesus suffered for
us. He suffered in every way
imaginable. His closest disciples
deserted him. One of them actually sold
him out for a little bag of silver. None
of them, save one, watched his die in agony. His own mother had to watch him
fight for every breath in a sea of pain.
Crucifixion was so brutal, so sadistic in every way Imagine first, the
flogging. Done with a flagellum,
it was designed to inflict the most pain and damage possible. It had sharp pieces of metal on each whip
end. The whipping was so extreme that even cruel Romans had set a legal limit
on the number of lashed that could be administered. That number was 39. Any more than that and the subject would
lapse into unconsciousness, or even death.
That relief was denied by bringing the criminal right up to that point
and then ceasing the punishment. His
back flesh and muscle would hang in ribbons.
Next, the unfortunate
criminal would be forced to carry his cross to the place of execution. In Jerusalem, it was not a short walk. Whether it was the entire cross or “merely” the
transept beam, it had to be excruciating, as the heavy wood was pressed by its
own weight against the shredded flesh of the whipped. In Jesus’ case, it was
even worse, because He Was wearing a crown of thorns so thoughtfully jammed
upon His head by the cruel, mocking soldiers. His blood loss was extreme. How He even managed to walk after his beating
is incredible. Yet, He did.
His journey to Golgotha was
not without incident. He fell to the
pavement three times, each time being goaded and whipped by the soldiers
walking with Him. During this long and
painful procession, he was followed by some women of the city, who wept and
wailed for him. Christ said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep
not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your childr0n.”[i] This was a prophetic word indicating the future siege and destruction of
the city in 60 a.d. How
terrible a time that would be!
Now, we come to the place of
execution. Jesus, still bleeding and weak, is stripped of his garments. The crucified were denied any garments to
complete their humiliation. Exposed, His mangled back is laid on the rough wood as future torments begin. The criminal’s hands or wrists were secured
by a large nail or spike that was driven through cartilage, nerves and flesh.
Probably the wrist was used, in the place to cause the most pain. Next, the feet were place one upon the other
and another large spike was driven through both. The angle was such that the
legs would constantly cramp and the muscles knot in endless agony.
Next, came the elevation and
struggle to breathe. The cross was
pulled to an upright position and the criminal hung there in pain and
isolation. Yet, the agony was only
beginning. Since the human body is not
designed to breathe well in this position, with arms stretched our and back
flat against a hard surface. Also, the
diaphragm does operate well. The
crucified must actually push up on their wounded feet and grab a breath before
sinking down again. It is a state of
near asphixiation. Each breath is a
struggle, accompanied by pain.
And so the torture
continues, hour after hour, until death occurs.
Consider also that Christ’s thirst would have been immense. We do not know whether he had any water prior to his scourging, but we can be certain
that none was given him during the long trek to Golgotha. One movie depicts a kind woman offering Jesus
a bowl of water that is abruptly kicked away by the brutal Roman guard. No doubt this is true.
Despite his agony, Jesus
somehow spoke from the Cross. He forgave
his torturers and betrayers. He commended his blessed mother to the care of St.
John, and He assures the repentant thief of eternal life in Paradise.
As he hangs upon the Cross,
Jesus saves the World. He becomes sin
for us. According to Matthew’s Gospel,
Jesus cries, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” (“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”). This is the cry of desolation, as Jesus,
blessed Jesus, is alone in a sea of pain, isolation and fear. He who had never known one moment of
separation from his Father, was alone.
It was all for us.
Finally, the final act is played. Jesus has accomplished
His mighty mission to save mankind. To
fulfill the prophecy, he says, “I thirst.”
A pot of sour wine is nearby, like vinegar. This is tiven to him to fulfill the words of the
psalmist: “They gave
me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”[ii] After this is done, Our Lord commended his
soul to God the Father and “gave up the ghost”.
He died.
It was customary for the Romans to hasten the death of
the crucified by inserting a spear behind their legs and pulling hard enough to
break them. This would cause death very
quickly as the subject could not achieve a breath. Otherwise, it could take many hours for the
condemned to die. Jesus was spare this
last indignity and to fulfill the prophecy that not one of His bones would be
broken. By the time the guards came to
him, he was physically dead. Thus ended
the greatest ordeal in history.
This brings us to the final
question: HOW. How could God do
this? How could God witness His Son’s
titanic sufferings? How could He permit
this to happen to His beloved, only and eternal Son? How many of us would be
willing to give our son up for the sins of mankind? For example, would I be willing to give up
Justin or Alex? I know I wouldn’t, I
couldn’t. I’m not capable of that kind
of love. Only God is.
So, here’s where the “why”
and the “how” come together. They come together to form a “nexus” of love: a
love so compelling, so encompassing, so complete that it will take us an
eternity to understand it. As one of my
favorite hymns, Hyferdol, puts it, “love divine, all loves excelling.” This is the love that Jesus Christ has for
us. This is that sacrifice that God demanded and permitted to show how much He
loves us. This is the love that conquers
all, even pain, death and hell. And, this is the love that underscores the
“good” in Good Friday. Praise be to God!
Amen.
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