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Good Friday. What makes this Good Friday good?
Is it candy? Certainly plenty of that to come.
Not that. Maybe it's people.
Maybe it's the focus.
But more than that, it's the cross of Christ.
This is good in the purest sense of the word.
Not an enjoyment sense, but a holiness.
The cross.
The vertical relationship between man and God,
which changes every relationship that we have here on earth.
If one is right, the other is affected.
So we have an opportunity to focus tonight.
So let's do that.
Let's look at Matthew chapter 27, verses 45 through 54.
Now from the sixth hour, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice saying,
Eli, Eli, lama sagbaktani?
That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
And some of the bystanders hearing it said,
This man is calling Elijah.
And one of them at once ran and took a sponge,
filled it with sour wine,
put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink.
But the other said,
Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice
and yielded up his spirit.
And behold,
the curtain of the temple was torn in two,
from top to bottom,
and the earth shook,
and the rocks were split.
The tombs also were opened,
and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming out of the tombs after his resurrection,
they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
When the centurion and those who were with him,
keeping watch over Jesus,
saw the earthquake and what took place,
they were filled with awe and said,
Truly, this was the Son of God.
darkness,
cries,
mocking,
waiting,
doubt,
innocence,
betrayal,
pain,
unimaginable pain,
fear,
hope,
death,
earthquakes,
open tombs,
peace,
this was a day like no other.
What would it have been like to be there?
To see the darkness
in the middle of the day?
To hear the cries of Jesus on the cross?
To hear those mocking one you loved,
or perhaps to be the one mocking
that you doubted?
To see the innocence,
to know he was innocent and he was betrayed,
and to see his pain and his screams.
He's looking up and screaming.
And to see fear and hope and then death.
The words of the centurion,
they,
in verse 54,
they,
and the people that were with him,
they sum it up,
what it would have been like.
Truly,
this was the Son of God,
he said.
Now,
this was a man who had the respect
and commanded so many.
We don't know if he really believed.
Some translations say,
a son of God,
but he was in shock.
Utter shock.
Imagine,
if you're there,
you see this,
you turn and you see the temple curtain torn,
this massive thick curtain
that no man could rip,
but it's torn straight down the middle.
And what used to separate you
from going into God,
where you had one go on your behalf,
you could now see straight through.
It would definitely mess with your mind.
Here's the truth.
We remember that Jesus said,
these things had to happen.
Right?
There's no life
if there's no payment for sin.
There's no payment for sin
if there's no bloodshed
and there's no forgiveness of sins,
past,
present,
and future,
unless the bloodshed
is of one greater than time itself.
And there is no one greater than time itself
except for the author of time.
Truly this was
the Son of God?
Is Jesus
just a was
to you today?
Or as Revelation says,
is he a was
and is
and is to come?
He was there.
He was here.
He did die.
And it was
so that we will be with him forever.
But for now,
if we were there,
silence.
The disciples,
we would see them scatter.
We would see the fear in their eyes.
We would see them weeping.
We would see them hiding.
We would see them trying to comfort.
We would see some hope.
And today,
in our silence,
in our hearts,
don't we scatter?
Don't we fear?
Don't we weep
if we admit it?
Don't we hide
and we comfort
and we're just clinging on
to find some hope?
Do we really understand
the meaning of this cross?
We have an opportunity
to focus on that.
One of my friends
texted me a few weeks ago
that they saw
that Hershey's was selling
a chocolate cross.
He said,
is this sacrilegious?
You know,
we can't sugarcoat this.
I'm not trying to knock Hershey's,
but do we really get
what's going on here?
Dan Doriani writes
that the cross
was originally an emblem
of pain,
shame,
criminality,
and death.
R.C. Sproul says
that the cross
is tragedy and victory
in the same moment.
It's scandal
and honor,
defeat and triumph,
shame and esteem.
The cross represents
the great suffering
of Christ
and the suffering
far transcends
physical pain.
It's more than
a human death.
It's an atonement.
Atonement.
What does that mean?
It's,
in Christian thought,
an atonement
is that act
by which God
and man
are brought together
in a personal relationship.
The term was originally
from an Anglo-Saxon word,
meaning making at one.
So, hence,
at one-ment.
So,
it presupposes
that there's a separation
that has occurred
between God
and man
and that human beings,
if we're to know God,
to have fellowship
with God,
there has to be
an atonement
to make us one,
an at-one-ment.
This was the most
torturous instrument
of death
and punishment
that existed.
Think electric chair.
Okay?
This was, though,
the only way
for the way.
And it was our sin
that nailed him there.
My sin,
your sin,
made God the Son
bleed and die.
Our sin
caused the death.
Our disobedience
split his side.
Our brokenness
crowned him
with thorns.
Our darkness
crucified the light,
the one who is life.
In him was the life.
And the life
was the light
of men,
but the light
shines in the darkness
and the darkness
has not overcome it.
Verse 45 says that,
tells us about
this darkness.
From the sixth hour
there was darkness
over all the land
until the ninth hour.
This was not
a normal darkness.
It wasn't like a storm.
This would have been
understood as
dark in daylight.
Imagine the sun
went out.
And this would have
meant that it was
dark from noon
until three o'clock.
The Jews and the Greeks
would have understood
this darkness
as an omen.
It was an omen
of judgment.
Jesus here
was enduring
God the Father's
judgment on sin.
His cries of anguish,
they were true
because he was
separated
from God the Father
in this moment
in outer darkness
so that we may be
welcomed into the
Father's arms
in eternal light.
Verse 46
says that,
Jesus cried out
with a loud voice
saying,
Eli, Eli,
lama sagwaktani.
That is my God,
my God,
why have you
forsaken me?
Why have you
forsaken me?
Forsaken.
What does that mean?
It means to abandon.
It means to leave.
It means to reject.
The innocent one
who has known
nothing but intimacy
with his Father
is for a moment
completely rejected.
And it's because of us.
God can't look upon sin
and smile.
A righteous judge
cannot not punish
or he is no longer righteous.
Yet Jesus chose
to do this
for us.
Dr. Doriani writes
that at the moment
when Jesus bore our sin,
the Father was distant
because he was too pure
to look upon sin.
So for those moments,
Jesus was forsaken,
abandoned,
rejected.
Yet the Father
did not forsake him
absolutely
or forever.
We know this.
He still loved his son.
He never forgot
his plan
to reconcile
our lost race
to himself.
As soon as Jesus
finished bearing our sin,
fellowship would be restored
perfectly
and forever.
After that cry,
my God,
why have you forsaken me?
Why me?
He had pain.
But after that moment
came the death,
that eerie
silence of death.
If you've ever been around it,
you know it
and you never forget it.
Christ's body
was lifeless
and still.
And in these moments,
when it seems
that God is gone,
he's very present.
He's overcoming death
and killing it
and allowing a relationship
to take place
between us
and him.
He's killing
and conquering death.
And in three days,
everybody will see.
But for now,
silence,
darkness,
grief.
But in the silence,
God is working.
In the darkness,
God is working.
In Jesus' cries,
God is working.
In Jesus' unimaginable pain,
God is working.
And in Jesus' death,
God is alive.
But why?
Why that death?
Again,
atonement.
Somebody had to take
the wrath of God.
Blood must be shed
to forgive the offense.
Light cannot exist
in darkness.
So he died.
So that your sins
can be forgiven.
So that you may know
the love of Christ.
That you may know
the love of God
through faith in Jesus Christ.
So that you can be certain
that in your darkness,
God is working.
And in your cries,
God is working.
And in your pain,
right now,
God is working.
And in your death,
if you have faith in Christ,
you may be alive
forever
with him.
But don't miss the good
in this Good Friday
because sometimes
in the darkness,
it's hard to see
the beauty,
isn't it?
One time I was driving
down 431
over the mountain
and on one side
of the mountain,
there was light
and sunlight
coming down.
It was beautiful.
I could see every detail
of the trees.
But on this side,
it was dark
and everything was blurry.
The same beauty existed,
but the darkness clouded it.
Well, in this darkness
is light.
In this darkness
is beauty.
Because the light
was conquering the darkness
and in the darkness,
God is shining.
And here's the beauty.
That you, sinner,
me, sinner,
are guilty of killing
the Son of God
with our sins.
Yet,
you are offered freedom
from the punishment
that you deserve.
Why?
Because it is finished.
To tell us die.
It is finished.
Every drop of blood
has paid
for every sin
that you can possibly commit
or conceive
or think about.
But,
only if you receive
that payment.
You do have to take it.
And that's called faith.
Verse 50,
you see that Jesus
cried out again
with a loud voice
that says
he yielded up
his spirit.
That means that he died.
He was still in control.
He had authority
to give up his spirit.
But you were worth it.
But what did that accomplish?
Two things.
Two big words.
Propitiation
and expiation.
That's what the atonement
accomplished.
The death of Christ,
as R.C. Sproul writes,
was both a propitiation
and an expiation.
Propitiation refers
to the turning away
of wrath
by an offering.
God's wrath
is now satisfied.
His justice
is met
by the sacrifice
and the blood
of Jesus Christ.
Expiation refers
to the covering
of sins.
By the atonement,
the at-one-ment,
our sins
are now removed
from us.
The atonement
satisfies both
the demands
of God the Father
and the needs
of Christ's people.
That such a double
transaction
can be achieved
by one person
and one event,
R.C. Sproul says,
is a matter
of eternal glory.
This was no
ordinary death.
This was a payment.
This was a mission.
And the mission
was accomplished.
Paid in full.
Completely successful.
It is finished,
as Dan Doriani writes,
means that God's
displeasure with us
is finished.
If you have faith,
acknowledging
your need
for forgiveness
and your inability
to achieve it
on your own,
if you believe
that He died for you,
and you have
certainty in the things
not seen,
the eternal things,
then He promises
to adopt you
into His family
as brothers,
as sisters,
as daughters,
as sons of the
Most High God,
Yahweh,
heirs of His kingdom.
Do you believe
this?
Do you believe
in Jesus Christ?
Maybe you're here
and you have
and you've forgotten
your way.
Maybe you're here
and you never have.
it's never too late
to turn to Christ
until we don't have
the opportunity anymore.
You know,
knowing someone
who knows about Jesus
is not the same thing
as knowing Jesus.
Reading a book
is not the same thing
as knowing the author.
I was with a man
this week,
a dear man,
and I asked him
when he came to know Jesus
and he said,
well,
later in life,
but he realized
that he was religious
for so long
that he had no relationship.
Are you religious?
America is very religious.
There's a difference
between religion
and a relationship
with the creator
of the universe.
For me,
I sat at 16 years old
not knowing anything
about Jesus
in a room of people
who prayed to him
for an hour
and I realized,
I have no idea
who you're talking to.
I started asking questions
and I've been different
ever since.
Do you believe
that if you just read
the medicine bottle
that tells how
it's going to cure you,
that it's the same
as taking the pill?
Well,
Christianity
is the difference,
the difference
between Christianity
and every other religion.
I've heard it said
it's the difference
between two words,
doing and done.
What are you doing
to try to make
that relationship
right with God
because Jesus
has already done it.
This is the only religion
that offers
true relationship
with God
on your behalf,
asking nothing of you
but to believe it.
that we may be
children of light
shining as stars
in this dark world.
Do you believe that?
Do you believe
that you can shine
the love and the redemption
and forgiveness of Jesus
everywhere you go?
That's why he died.
That you have a purpose
right now.
Whatever you do,
wherever you work,
he will use you
to change this world.
It can be a smile,
it can be a hug,
it can be a listening ear,
it can be a shoulder
to cry on
but he's using you.
I'll tell you what,
it's not a paycheck.
You don't have to work
for God's love.
This father loves you perfectly
and the only time
that he had that wrath
against you,
his son took it
for you.
If you've ever held
a baby in your hands
and think how beautiful it is,
that's what God thinks of you
if you have faith
in Jesus Christ
and it's all because
of what happened
on that cross.
You're free
to love
and to be loved.
And to hurt
and to be healed
and to hope.
After Jesus died,
three significant things
happened.
The curtain temple
was torn
from top to bottom.
This meant that now
we can approach
the throne of grace
with confidence
because there is one
who is both man
and God,
whose sacrifice
paid for the sins
of the people
temporarily
and eternally
forever.
And he reigns
in heaven
guaranteeing
that that is true.
And the temple
being torn
shows that you can
walk straight to God.
Now,
you don't need anybody
but the great high priest
Jesus Christ.
Then there was
an earthquake
because the foundation
of the entire cosmos
was shaken.
Sin has been forgiven
and now Jesus
is going to make
all things new.
All of them.
You ever thought
about that?
I want to visit
another planet
with Jesus one day.
I can.
You can.
He controls
everything.
And then the tombs
were opened.
People really walked
out of the grave.
Christians who had
fallen asleep
as they call it.
This was a
cataclysmic
event.
God is Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
and Jesus is God
and his death
offers us
cleansing
forever.
Relationship
with God.
He really is
who he said he was.
And he's not just a was.
He's the son of God.
Not a son
or a God.
He offers you
eternal life
and he paid
the death penalty
for your sins.
And he offers you
his perfect righteousness.
I don't want to
sugar coat this cross.
I don't want to
put chocolate on it.
On this cross,
this instrument of death
and destruction,
Jesus absorbed
the wrath of God
that you deserve,
that I deserve,
and he offers you
eternal life.
This is serious,
y'all.
It's serious.
Do you know Jesus
as your Savior?
Know him.
Does he know you?
If you don't,
remember the Passover?
There was the angel
of destruction
and it passed over
all of those
who had the blood
of the lamb
on their doorposts.
If you don't
know Jesus,
you're saying,
I don't want you
to pass over my sins.
I think I can do it better.
I think that
wasn't enough.
I'll take it from here.
And the wrath
that you will absorb
is in a place
called hell
that is a very real place.
I don't want anybody
to go there.
Jesus spent more time
talking about that
than any other place.
And I don't say that
to scare you.
I say that to let you know
that Jesus is the only way.
And I don't want you
to choose to pass over that.
The free gift
offered to you
because it would be
payable at your death.
Hell is also
what he took
on the cross
so that you don't have to.
Did you know that
John Calvin,
the great theologian,
he struggled
with the Apostles'
Creed phrase,
he descended into hell.
Not the accuracy of it,
but where it was placed
in the actual creed.
Rather than
the traditional order
which says,
who suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
dead,
and buried,
he descended into hell.
Calvin wanted it
to be reordered
to say,
who suffered under
Pontius Pilate,
was crucified,
descended into hell,
dead,
and buried.
Why?
Because Jesus received
the punishment of hell
while he was on the cross.
The punishment
that he saves us from.
But he saves us
for something great,
to renew the world
until he renews
the entire cosmos.
On the cross
in the silence,
God was reconciling
sinners to himself
as he absorbed
the wrath of God,
suffered the hell
that we deserve,
and now offers us
the eternal life
that only he could hurt.
But now death is dead.
Love has won.
Christ has conquered.
Is Jesus just a was,
as the centurion
and those looking on said,
or is he your Savior
who was,
and is,
and is to come.
There's no more payment
necessary because it is finished.
And if you let Jesus
pay the debt,
you are free.
Free to have a relationship
with God.
Free to have purpose
and meaning in life
like no other.
And free to live forever.
How do you accept that gift?
You simply ask,
help me,
Lord.
ask him to give you that gift.
I love you.
You're not alone.
You have a purpose.
You have a place
to belong
in God's people.
Don't wait to ask.
It's never too late.
Let me pray for us.
Father,
you're real.
And people in here
need you
in so many different ways.
I don't know where they are,
but I know they hurt
because they're human.
And Lord Jesus,
I pray
that if anyone in here
does not know you,
that they would simply
right now
ask,
come into my life.
thank you for dying for me.
Give me the purpose
and meaning
I'm looking for
in everything besides you.
And if they're here
and they've known you
for a lifetime,
give them the fervor
that only you can give
of the Holy Spirit.
Remind them
of who you've called them to be
and fill them,
Lord Jesus,
with the power
that we will hear about
on Sunday.
We love you
and we lift these things to you
only in the name
of the atoning one himself,
Jesus Christ,
who we believe.
Thank you for paying our debt.
It is in his name
that I walk straight
into the Holy of Holies
and say,
I love you, Dad.
Amen.
For more information,
visit us online
at southwood.org.
Thank you.
Amen.