Now, if you have a Bible, you might want to turn back to Luke chapter 23 on page 1060,
! And we're going to think for a few moments about the reality that Jesus died as He has told us to show His own love to us.
So, we're going to think about love for a few minutes.
We recognize, I think, as people that we have a capacity to love.
It is something that is basic.
It is something that is universal.
It cuts across all times and all cultures.
As Christians, we very much believe that part of being made in the image of God is the ability to love,
because God is love, the Bible tells us.
I think we also recognize the centrality of love.
If we think about it at the cultural level, it's so important to our stories and our songs and our movies.
So many religious and ethical movements are built around love for a particular idea or a particular set of values.
And think about just how central love is for ourselves, to the desires deep down within us, to love and to be loved.
At the same time, I think it's fair to say that there is some confusion about love.
Sometimes it's one of those words we hear so often, but it can be hard to define.
Maybe partly because we've emptied it of meaning.
We apply it across the board.
So, you know, we might love our job or our car.
We might love our coffee or a nice cafe.
But we also love our family and we love our God.
So, what do we mean when we talk about love?
And when we have conversations and when we're moving around, we recognize that not everybody shares the same understanding of what love is.
For many people, to hear the word love is to think of a mere emotion.
It's just about a feeling.
It's about how I feel about someone or something.
We talk about falling in love and falling out of love.
And I'm sure I'm not the only person to recognize the problem that comes with that.
If the feeling goes, often so the relationship goes and the commitment goes.
And when we lose our sense of love as a verb, as an active thing,
then we have the pain of broken marriages and families, a lack of trust and security.
So, there's confusion about love.
But something that we can all agree on, I think,
and this would be true, I think, if we went into the streets of Edinburgh today
and to ask people what they thought about costly love,
it's recognized as a positive thing.
Take as an example, if we were to go to the Belfast Titanic Museum,
or if you know anything about the Titanic,
if you've listened to any of the podcasts, if you've read up on it,
then you will probably know something of the story of the engineers on the Titanic.
So, when it became apparent that the ship was going down,
they didn't leave their posts.
They continued for as long as possible to keep the engines running,
to keep the lights on,
to allow the people on the upper decks as much chance as possible
to escape and to find a life raft.
The engineers went down with the ship.
But you won't hear anyone saying of them,
well, what a waste, what a foolish action.
Rather, even over a century on, it's still regarded as a heroic act.
We understand that sacrifice is good,
that it's noble.
So, when Jesus says,
greater love has no one than this,
to lay down one's life for one's friends,
that resonates.
We agree with that.
And remarkably, with Jesus,
that's not just a nice philosophical idea.
That's an easy thing to say, perhaps.
Jesus says it,
and Jesus shows it.
Jesus practices what he preached.
So, we're going to think this evening about what Jesus says about love
and how he shows that love.
We're going to think about Good Friday,
and just for a few moments together,
to give thanks for the goodness of Jesus' love,
to recognize that it was a costly,
self-giving, sacrificing everything love
for his own people.
Or we could put it another way,
a love so powerful that it would turn enemies into friends.
And we're going to think about why we call this day Good Friday.
It is good for all who look upon the cross of Jesus
as the supreme demonstration
of Jesus' own love for us.
It is a good day with good news
for all who receive Jesus
and his saving death
as our supreme treasure.
So, what we're going to do,
just really briefly,
is we're going to take a look at the events
that we've heard Luke record,
and we're going to ask,
how do we experience that love for ourselves?
So that we might together recognize
with the Apostle Paul
that the message of Jesus' death
matters only when it becomes
personal testimony in our lives.
that all of us might say with Paul
in Galatians 2,
the Son of God loved me
and gave himself
for me.
So let's turn first of all to the events
and to ask ourselves,
how does Luke's record
help us to see Jesus' love?
So we're saying that his death on the cross
is the ultimate demonstration of his love,
but Luke has so helpfully recorded for us
the hours leading up to his death.
And some of those events,
they really serve to magnify
the love of Jesus
as we see
that his movement towards the cross
is deliberate.
That the love he is going to put on display
is costly and gracious
and life-transforming.
So if you have a Bible,
you can scan these verses with me.
In Luke chapter 22 and verse 39,
we were told
that Jesus went out as usual
to the Mount of Olives.
Now that's a significant truth
because Judas, the betrayer,
knows exactly where Jesus is going to be.
And so we're told
that Jesus will not avoid arrest,
but he goes
as was the plan.
Jesus is willing
to embrace the cross
to show us the love of God.
We move further
to verse 42
and we hear Jesus pray
and recognize Dr. Luke tells us
the agony that Jesus faces.
His face dropping sweats of blood
as he prays,
Father,
if you are willing,
take this cup from me,
yet not my will,
but yours be done.
Jesus faces up
to drinking the cup,
this image of the Father's wrath,
the wrath of God
against sin,
against sinners.
Jesus will stand
in the place of sinners
and will take that cup
and he knows
the horror and agony
he will experience
and yet he commits,
doesn't he,
to the Father's will.
And so we see
the love of Christ Jesus
that sees him
drink the cup
that you and I
ought to drink.
The story continues
as Jesus is arrested.
From verse 48 to 53,
we discover
that as Judas
and a host of men
armed come to him,
Jesus goes
with the betrayer.
Jesus doesn't fight arrest.
He could.
He could call down
legions of angels.
But as prophesied
in love,
Jesus walks silent
before his accusers.
And then in chapter 23,
as Jesus is walking
to the cross,
by now he has endured
the injustices
of false arrest
and false trial.
He has been abused.
He has been beaten.
He's experiencing
public mockery.
Mockery.
His body is weakening
due to blood loss
because of beatings.
And still,
he looks outside
of himself
to see those women.
Daughters of Jerusalem,
do not weep for me.
Weep for yourselves
and for your children.
Jesus understands
judgment that will come,
persecution that will face
his own followers.
And Jesus' love,
even walking to the cross,
is selfless,
concerned for the good
of others.
Verse 34,
Jesus is now
hanging,
nailed to the cross.
And as he is
taking to that place
of execution,
Jesus said,
Father,
forgive them,
for they do not know
what they are doing.
When the soldiers
treat him
as a common criminal,
as they gamble
at the foot of the cross
for his clothing,
Jesus prays
to seek their forgiveness
because he knows
they do not know
his true identity.
But in this prayer,
aren't we being brought
to see something
of the effect
that Jesus' love
produces
in his going
to the cross
to die?
There is in him
forgiveness.
And then in chapter 23,
and from verse 40 onwards,
we have that remarkable story
of the dying criminal
who recognizes
something unique
about Jesus.
Don't you fear God,
he says to the other criminals,
since you are under
the same sentence,
we are punished justly,
but this man
has done nothing wrong.
And not only that,
he turns to Jesus.
Jesus, remember me
when you come
into your kingdom.
He is dying
in apparent shame,
but this criminal
is able to see
the king
with eternal glory.
And in that moment,
Jesus' love
extends
grace
to the undeserving
who looks to him
with faith.
Jesus says,
today,
you will be with me
in paradise.
And even as Jesus dies,
we're reminded of his love,
his love for his father
and the father's love for him.
Jesus called out
with a loud voice,
Father,
into your hands,
I commit my spirit.
and we are reminded
of the eternal love of God
that established
this eternal plan
of salvation
that culminates
with Jesus,
the Son of God,
dying in our place,
offering us
an overflowing love
that we can be brought into.
So,
as Luke records
the historical events,
he is at the same time
shining a spotlight
on the cross
as the great demonstration
of Jesus'
self-giving love.
Well,
if those are the events,
we need to turn,
secondly,
to think about
our experience
of them,
or more particularly,
how can you and I
know
this love of Christ
for ourselves?
You and I,
we know the feeling
when we read
about those
titanic engineers,
or when we hear
the news reports
of a parent
who sacrifices
themselves
to save a child,
or we hear
of soldiers
acting with great
courage under fire
to protect soldiers
or civilians
at the cost
of their lives.
We admire them.
We honour them.
We recognise
their goodness.
But it's a story
that remains
outside of us.
It doesn't impact us
beyond that,
perhaps,
temporary emotional
response.
With a cross,
it's different,
and it needs to be
different.
The cross of Christ
is unique.
This supreme
demonstration of
Jesus'
self-giving love,
though it happened
in history
some 2,000 years ago,
it's a story
of the love of God
that can become
a vital part
of each of our stories,
and indeed,
it must become
a part of our story.
This love
that Jesus
puts on display
is a love
that must be received
personally.
It's not enough,
because lots of people
admire it from a distance,
but that's not enough.
We must embrace it
and enter
into it.
Let's just remind
ourselves
for a moment,
why does God say
we need this love?
Why does He put this love
on display
that Good Friday?
Let's make it personal.
It's because of my sin.
It's because of your sin.
That sin that separates me
from God.
That sin that robs
Christ Jesus
of His glory
and the worship
that He deserves.
As the hymn writer
put it,
it was my sin
that held Him there
until it was accomplished.
His dying breath
has brought me life.
I know
that it is finished.
It's my sin.
It's my guilt.
It's your guilt
that needs to be
atoned for.
It's the wrath of God
that must be satisfied
for my wrongdoing.
As the hymn writer
puts it,
Jesus paid it all.
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left
its crimson stain.
Christ washed me
white as snow.
We need this love
when we come to recognize
that without Jesus' death
on our behalf.
We have no righteousness
to claim.
We have no appeal
to God's justice.
Rather,
we stand in desperate need
of His mercy.
And as we recognize that,
we hear the good news for us
of God's love for us in Christ.
We hear Jesus say,
the Son of Man came
to give His life
as a ransom for many.
We hear Him say,
greater love has no one
than this,
that He lay down His life
for His friends.
Or we turn to
words of Paul
in Ephesians 5,
and we're reminded
that Christ loved the church
and gave Himself up
for her.
And that begs the question,
am I among the many?
Can I belong to the church?
Can I become
a friend of God?
The cross of Christ
is something that must
become profoundly personal
for each one of us.
And as we ask those questions,
the answer comes
in God's Word
again and again.
Believe in the Lord Jesus
and you will be saved.
The promise of John chapter 1,
to all who did receive Him,
who believe in His name,
He gave the right
to become children of God.
Romans 10, 13,
everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord
will be saved.
At the cross,
we are led to recognize
that Jesus paid
the highest price possible
to give you and I
the greatest gift possible
by demonstrating
His great love
so that we can enjoy
the glorious love of God
for ourselves.
To know that love,
we need to call on Him.
We need to believe in Him.
And when we do,
we become His friends.
We become one of the many.
We become part of the church.
And we can say,
the Son of God,
He loved me.
And He gave Himself
for me.
To help us think some more
about the wonder of the cross,
we're going to sing
our closing hymn,
which is when I survey
the wondrous cross.
And after we sing,
well maybe stay standing
and I'll close in prayer.
Let's pray.
Thank you.