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Amen.
Amen. He has borne our griefs. He has carried our sorrows.
He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement upon him brought us peace. By his wounds we are healed.
So here we are. This incredibly somber day. The day we see the Son of God, our Savior, nailed to a cross for us.
The day we remember him pierced. The day that we see him die. The day we see the lifeless body of the one who is life placed in a tomb.
That's today. And we could write volumes about what the death of Christ means.
And a lot of people have. But today I want us to focus in on a couple of specific things about Christ's death. He has borne our griefs.
He has borne our iniquities. First. First. First. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Think about that for a second.
Now Jesus is both man and God. And I'm not saying that to point out the obvious. What I mean to point out. Is that our God knows firsthand what grief and sorrow and pain are like.
Not only does he know what they are like. But he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows all the way to the tomb.
Now Anglican minister and theologian John Stott touching on this point once said. I could never myself believe in God. If it were not for the cross. What did he mean by that?
Well think about how we inevitably, reflexively react when something terrible happens in our lives or in the world around us.
People ask. How could a good and loving God let people suffer like this? Where was God when this happened? And no doubt people are asking these questions now.
Especially in the wake of a brutal terrorist attack in Belgium. Well, we might not always know why God lets us suffer.
But we do know this. Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, shares in our suffering. He is not removed from our grief.
Immune to our pain. Looking down on us from some lofty distance. No. He has borne our griefs.
Carried our sorrows. I once read of someone that replied when asked where God was when some terrible event had happened.
He is in the same place he was when his son was hanging on the cross. In our lives as Christians, we will suffer.
We will. But we look at the cross. And we remember. If we suffer, we shall also reign with him.
God's love. God's power. Stronger than our suffering. Stronger than our pain.
And God will have the last word. Not only has Jesus shared in our sorrows.
Taken them upon himself. He has also taken away the guilt of our sins by bearing our iniquities. Now the other day I ran across this quote from the late Roman Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen.
Who said, It is so hard to admit that one is a sinner. It is so hard to climb the hill of Calvary. And kneel beneath a cross and ask for pardon and forgiveness.
Certainly it is hard. But it's harder to hang there. Let that sink in for a second.
Securing pardon and forgiveness for sinners by living perfectly and dying that awful, hideous, excruciating death that we deserve in our place.
That's hard. That is harder than anything we could ever undertake or even imagine having to do. Today, we're reminded, sure, that we are sinners.
And it can be hard to admit that. But if Christ had not taken on the full weight of our iniquities on the cross for our sins, there would be no hope of the pardon that we ask for.
Because let's face it. We admit it. We are sinners. We're guilty. But today, even with the somber image of Christ before our eyes, especially because the somber image of Christ before our eyes on the cross, we are reminded the truth of the gospel.
We're reminded of what we read about Christ, the suffering servant of God, from Isaiah 53 a few minutes ago. Out of the anguish of the gospel, he shall see and be satisfied.
By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous. He shall bear their iniquities. As believers, we are accounted righteous.
He will bear their iniquities. As believers, we are accounted righteous. As believers, we are accounted righteous. Because Jesus is righteous.
Because Jesus is righteous and we are in him by faith. We don't have to bear the weight of our sins. Because Jesus has borne the weight of our iniquities.
Today, we remember Jesus Christ, our Lord and our God, already beaten and bloodied, then nailed to a cross, mocked and ridiculed as he was hanging there dying, pierced through the side with a spear, breathing his last, being closed up in the tomb.
And we remember, we remember that he has not only borne our grief, but also our iniquities.
And on this somber day, even on this somber day, we rejoice. We rejoice because we are reminded of the challenging but beautiful truth of the gospel.
John Newton, the author of the hymn Amazing Grace, wrote this towards the end of his life. My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior.
Could there be a better summary of what we remember and what we observe on Good Friday? We are great sinners.
We look at Christ on the cross and we realize that our sins put him there. But Christ is a great Savior, able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, seeing that he lives forever to make intercession for them.
A great Savior who loves us so much that he was willing to lay down his life for us. Seeing his suffering, we are inspired for our own Christian walk.
Everyone will suffer in this life. It's unavoidable. It's inescapable. But for believers, we have the assurance that God will bring good even out of our suffering.
Romans 8.28 tells us, We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Brothers and sisters, Brothers and sisters, The cross of Christ that we remember today guarantees it. So we say, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. Let's get out. up. he's in. for the help. lip. lip. if you're in. Thank you.