As we come to this time of Holy Week, we look back to see that we’ve traveled this Journey to Jerusalem together, seeking hope amid some of life’s most difficult challenges. Now we’re at the pinnacle of our journey – the intersection between suffering and hope. When we face the cross, we may find ourselves—our own lives—reflected in it. We need to take some time to think about that tonight—about what part we might’ve played in adding to the suffering of this day…
Well, as we begin our time in God’s word tonight, let’s take a moment for a refresher of the events of that first Good Friday. Listen now to the story…
At dawn’s first light, the high priests, with the religious leaders and scholars, arranged a conference with the entire Jewish Council. After tying Jesus securely, they took him out and presented him to Pilate.
2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the ‘King of the Jews’?” He answered, “If you say so.”
3 The high priests let loose a barrage of accusations.
4 Pilate asked again, “Aren’t you going to answer anything? That’s quite a list of accusations.”
5 Still, he said nothing. Pilate was impressed, really impressed.
6 It was a custom at the Feast to release a prisoner, anyone the people asked for.
7 There was one prisoner called Barabbas, locked up with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the uprising against Rome.
8 As the crowd came up and began to present its petition for him to release a prisoner,
9 Pilate anticipated them: “Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?”
10 Pilate knew by this time that it was through sheer spite that the high priests had turned Jesus over to him.
11 But the high priests by then had worked up the crowd to ask for the release of Barabbas.
12 Pilate came back, “So what do I do with this man you call King of the Jews?”
13 They yelled, “Nail him to a cross!”
14 Pilate objected, “But for what crime?” But they yelled all the louder, “Nail him to a cross!”
15 Pilate gave the crowd what it wanted, set Barabbas free and turned Jesus over for whipping and crucifixion.
16 The soldiers took Jesus into the palace (called Praetorium) and called together the entire brigade.
17 They dressed him up in purple and put a crown plaited from a thorn bush on his head.
18 Then they began their mockery: “Bravo, King of the Jews!”
19 They banged on his head with a club, spit on him, and knelt down in mock worship.
20 After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put his own clothes back on him. Then they marched out to nail him to the cross.
21 There was a man walking by, coming from work, Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. They made him carry Jesus’ cross.
22 The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning “Skull Hill.”
23 They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn’t take it.
24 And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them.
25 They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning.
26 The charge against him—THE KING OF THE JEWS—was printed on a poster.
27 Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left.
28
29 People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: “You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—
30 so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!”
31 The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: “He saved others—but he can’t save himself!
32 Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then!” Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery.
33 At noon the sky became extremely dark.
34 The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
35 Some of the bystanders who heard him said, “Listen, he’s calling for Elijah.”
36 Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down.”
37 But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath.
38 At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle.
39 When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, “This has to be the Son of God!” – Mark 15:1-39 (MSG)
Folks, often we set Judas apart from all of humanity, as if he did something that no other human being could ever do. But the truth is … we’ve all turned our backs on God from time to time, betraying God by placing our own agendas—our own desires in life—first. (At the very least, we all certainly have this potential…) If we meditate on the cross tonight, what might the cross reflect … regarding our lives? Let’s talk about that for a moment or two…
So, how have we turned our backs on God, just as Judas did … just as Peter did … just as the rest of the disciples … or Pilate … or the religious leaders of Jesus’ day? How have we put our own agendas in life … ahead of the cross (and what God was doing there)?
Last week, I’d mentioned that we have to know what a problem is … before we can fix it. Isn’t that right? And Jesus not only came as a solution to an eternal problem, but he was the one who came with the TRUTH—the truth about our human condition … and it was his speaking of that truth that finally sent him to the cross… Folks, here’s the problem—the human condition that the cross dealt with (and still deals with)—as I see it today…
THE PROBLEM IS … ALL TOO OFTEN, LIFE IS STILL ABOUT US! I’d like to call these the ‘but God’s’ of our lives… But God … I really NEED (you fill in the blank)…
My niece, Sally Pegram (Boscobel), is one of the brightest young people I know—always has been. She’s a high schooler at Boscobel High School currently. But when she was about 3 years old (at her sisters birthday party), she announced to the crowd gathered for that event that she NEEDED to open presents. (Her sister, Molly, was opening all of the presents that day and it just didn’t seem fair to her.)
After that, her parents always asked her “Now, Sally, do you really need that or do you just want that (whatever it was at the time)?” And Sally, being the bright young person she was, decided that she’d get more traction in any circumstance if she used the word NEED. “But, I NEED that…” she would say.
Folks, how is that any different than us … when we’re talking to God? When we’re relating to God, how often do we let God know that we NEED something … as if God doesn’t already know what we need … and what we want … and that there’s a difference? Remember, these are the ‘But God’s’ of our lives…
But God … I don’t care if you think this is an unhealthy relationship to be in or not; I really NEED this man (or this woman)! And then things fall apart for us and we wonder why…
But God … I know that I’ve been prideful in this situation, but I’m not the one that needs to apologize; they are!
But God … I know this is harmful for me … and I can stop any time I want to, but just this once … I NEED this…
But God … I know that we cannot serve two masters, as your word tells us, but I have to protect what’s mine; I can’t get away from loving my money (and my stuff)…
But God … I don’t really care what your desires are for my life or anyone else’s … as long as I get what I want!
Folks, we have turned our back on God in these very ways; Judas … and Peter … and the others … were not the only ones to do this; we are guilty, too…
Now, I know what some of you are thinking: “But Rom (instead of God), I hear what you’re saying … but it’s just HUMAN NATURE!” My answer’s going to be … “Yes, you’re right! It is human nature to want what we want!” But, there is a fact of this ol’ world that we need to keep before us. THIS IS A FALLEN WORLD! Theologically and biblically, when the first sin—deliberately going against God’s wishes—took place in the Garden of Eden by the first couple—Adam and Eve, this has come to be known as ‘The Fall.’ (We’ve fallen from God’s Grace!) So, even though we want to say our behavior is just … human nature, it’s now a part of our ‘fallen nature.’ And it’s this ‘fallen human nature’ that has separated us from God (eternally)…
There is an answer to our ‘fallen human nature,’ however. And the answer is found in … the cross! So, if THE PROBLEM IS … ALL TOO OFTEN, LIFE IS STILL ABOUT US, then…
THE SOLUTION IS … OUR LIVES BEING COMPLETED AT THE CROSS! It’s there that we learn that life is not really about us at all … but about the One who gave his life for us … and his agenda!
I want to take you back, for a brief moment or two, to the opening scripture of this Journey to Jerusalem series. Why? Because … it’s that scripture that reminds us that Jesus is in the ‘driver’s seat.’ And it’s there that we discover our true selves. Here it is (Mark 8:34-37, MSG)…
Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. 35 Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. 36 What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? 37 What could you ever trade your soul for?
Our true selves are revealed when we see our incompletion in the harsh reality of the cross … and embrace the love of God in Christ that completes us…
Folks, here’s the bottom line: It’s at the cross that we come face-to-face with the reality that we cannot complete ourselves. In other words…
We’re not as self-sufficient as the world tells us we are…
We’re not really able to ‘pull ourselves up by the bootstraps’ like we think we can…
God never created us to be ‘lone rangers’ at any point in our lives; we’re to be a part of a community of believers—followers of Christ—that make up his Body right here on earth, loving God and allowing God to support us, loving one another and allowing others to care for us and to be there for us, and then serving the world by teaching others the same truths…
One thing’s for sure: We cannot save ourselves from sin; we could not patch up the rift between God and humanity; there was only One who could do that for us … and that was Jesus—the perfect, sinless sacrifice—who took care of that business on the cross…
THE SOLUTION, FOLKS, IS … JESUS … and what he did for us on the cross. There was no other way! Remembering this truth … and living by this truth … needs to be central in all of our lives…
So, folks, for all that we might’ve done … turning our backs on Jesus from time-to-time, know this today: Because of what he did for us—giving his very life for us—as he went through a horrible death … WE ARE FORGIVEN. And, there’s no greater love than that…