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A sermon is a manner of oral communication and therefore words and sentence structure/order would be added, altered, or deleted at the moment of delivery. + In Nomine Jesu + The Rev. Evan Gaertner The cross of Christ is our glory. We give praise today that poured out on Jesus was the wrath of God that we deserved. Isaiah wrote of about the work of this suffering servant, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” Good Friday is a day where I am reminded that as much as I would like to turn away from the wounds of Christ and just look upon an empty cross, I must give praise for this gift of sacrifice. Peter wrote to the early Christians that were facing persecution to stand firm, for they stood upon the rock of Christ. Peter wrote about Jesus, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Peter is confident that no matter what wounds the world may try to bring upon us Christ has healed us. The wounds of sin have been given to another. The image of Jesus hanging upon the cross is an ever-present reminder of the sacrifice that was made for us. We have a just God and the cross is a painfully powerful reminder that our God is just. The staggering cost of sin and the full weight of His judgment against sin were not set aside. Jesus redeemed us. Even as we were lost and justly deserving of the punishment of death. As Luther explains about the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed, “who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with his holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death” Why do Christians lift high the cross? The ancient Roman cross is like a modern day electric chair or hangman’s noose. It is supposed to be a symbol of shame, guilt, and powerlessness. The cross was meant by the Romans to show to everyone else what the worst of society deserve. The cross was not meant by the Romans to be a point of pride or a symbol of strength. A person died on the cross because they became too weak to breath. But by the power of Christ we are more than conquerors. Christ has conquered sin, death, and the devil on the cross. On Good Friday we gather together powerful. The entire season of Lent we have gathered because we are powerless against sin. We started with ashes, reminding ourselves that we are nothing but dust and we shall return to dust. But last night on Holy Thursday we heard that Jesus, “having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (Jn 13:1) Powerless and entirely deserving of the cross, Jesus took our sin and shame upon himself so that we might be made his own. We are powerful today because we have been given the cross to lift up. We are powerful today because by faith in Christ the world is powerless against us. I may want to turn away from the bloody body of Jesus. But I must rejoice that by his stripes I have been healed. You may say you prefer the empty cross but I don’t want you to take away the cost of that cross from my eyes. I must gaze upon the nailed filled hand. I must witness the spear into the side with the water and blood that poured out. Because it is by this blood that I have been made whole. You can stand firm in this world today because you know when you look at the cross that you have been redeemed.
Soli Deo Gloria |
