April 21, 2025 • 23 mins
Pastor Ian Graham leads us to contemplate the cross of Jesus and why the one who demonstrates the power over the grave dies to heal the world.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I'm going to be leading us in a liturgy this
evening.
I will read some parts andafter I read there will be words
on the screen for all of you toread with me.
It all started with a weddingand ended with a funeral
Laughter like a vein of goldgushing with new wine.
(00:23):
How can the best be saved?
For now?
God we've come.
A father's aching plea for hisson.
The word was more than enoughto heal ailing flesh.
The whole household stands inawe.
God, we've come to see.
(00:46):
Do you want to be made?
Well, the reply, laden withconditions, but nonetheless, the
mat becomes lighter and feet,perpendicular, now stand
parallel.
God, we've come to see open oureyes.
(01:09):
A manna table spread in thewilderness, stale bread made
soft, light and airy, smokedfish, not from a can gathering
up all the fragments.
Nothing is wasted.
We would have tried to make himking too.
(01:30):
God we've come to see.
Open our eyes to the signs.
But he was making somethingelse.
He withdrew to the place whereit all began communion, darkness
, stormy seas and the formlessdeep bearing the form of god.
(01:53):
God, we've come to see open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new, made new.
New eyes formed from the dustof the earth sent to testify to
those so sure in their seeingthe light of the world
(02:13):
illuminating our eyes.
God, we've come to see Open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new and your greater things.
It all started with a weddingand ended with a funeral.
Lord, if you only would havebeen there.
(02:37):
God, we've come to see Open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new and to greater thingsthan these.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Throughout this season of Lent we've allowed
these seven signs to be ourguide and in John 11, we arrive
at the seventh sign and we findJesus at a funeral.
He comes to Bethany, outside ofJerusalem, the village home to
some of his dearest friends,martha, mary and the recently
(03:24):
deceased brother Lazarus.
The funeral scene would havebeen heavy, a strange sort of
frenzy, as the family's friendsand neighbors came to mourn
Lazarus.
And as Jesus arrives, martha,the host, comes out to receive
Jesus.
She says in John 11, verse 21,lord, if you had been here, my
(03:47):
brother would not have died.
But even now I know that Godwill give you whatever you ask
of him.
Martha at once both expressesher profound disappointment that
Jesus was seemingly not on timeand yet, at one and the same
breath, there's a glimmer offaith.
There seems to be limits towhat she expects Jesus to be
(04:09):
able to do after Lazarus hasalready passed.
But there is something there.
Even now, I know the Lord willgive you whatever you ask, and
it's her faith in Jesus and herfriendship with Jesus that leads
to one of the greatestrevelations in all of the
scriptures.
Jesus said to her your brotherwill rise again.
(04:33):
And Martha said I know, I'mconfident of that that at the
last day he will rise again.
But then Jesus says to her inJohn 11, 25, I am the
resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, eventhough they die, will live, and
(04:54):
everyone who lives and believesin me will never die.
Do you believe this?
Throughout, john, these sevensigns have all been demanding
the answer to this question.
Will we believe Him?
Here, martha expresses herbelief prior to anything that
Jesus has demonstrated, and shemakes one of the greatest
(05:17):
confessions in all of theScriptures John 11, verse 27,.
She said to Him yes, lord, Ibelieve that you are the Messiah
, the Son of God, the one cominginto the world.
When she had said this, shewent back and called her sister,
mary, and told her privatelythe teacher is here and he's
(05:37):
calling for you.
And when she heard it, she gotup quickly and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet come tothe village, but was still at
the place where Martha had methim.
The Jews who were with her inthe house consoling her saw Mary
get up quickly and go out.
They followed her because theythought that she was going to
the tomb to weep there.
But when Mary came where Jesuswas and saw him.
(06:00):
She knelt at his feet and saidto him Lord, if you would have
been here, my brother would nothave died.
Now Jesus goes to console Mary.
Mary expresses the samedisappointment Lord, where were
you?
But notice, there's no glimmerof hope, there's no part B to
(06:27):
her statement.
Where were you?
Just sorrow, just finality,just falling at the feet of the
Savior with nothing left.
Verse 33 tells us when Jesus sawher weeping and those who were
with her were also weeping, hewas greatly disturbed in spirit
(06:48):
and deeply moved.
The Greek word that wetranslate, deeply moved, is the
word embryomomai.
It is used with the snort of ahorse in war or a race and
describes outrage, anger andfury.
What is Jesus angry at?
Why is he so stirred upinternally?
(07:09):
Jesus said to those aroundwhere have you laid Lazarus?
They said to him Lord, come andsee.
And at that invitation Jesusdoes something so startling.
When we think about the majestyand the glory and the splendor
(07:30):
of God, we find simple wordsgiven to us of Jesus' response.
John 11.35 tells us in theshortest verse in all the
Scriptures, that Jesus began toweep.
Jesus surveying the whole sceneis now overcome and he weeps
(07:50):
when Jesus had heard thatLazarus was sick, he delayed two
days in coming to him.
We're told throughout the storythat Lazarus has been dead now
for four days.
So even if Jesus would haveleft immediately upon receiving
the news, he still would nothave arrived in time.
But he had told the disciples,upon hearing the news of
Lazarus's illness, that thisillness does not lead to death.
(08:13):
Rather, it is for God's glory,so that the Son of God may be
glorified through it.
He then tells the disciplesplainly, before they arrive at
Bethany, that Lazarus is notjust asleep, he is dead.
All of this tells us that Jesusknows what he's there in Bethany
to do.
He, all along, has had theintention that he is going to
(08:37):
Bethany, where Lazarus is dead,in order to raise the dead.
So why then?
Why, if Jesus knows exactlywhat he's about to do, why does
he waste his time weeping?
He weeps because his friendsare overcome with grief.
(08:59):
He weeps because of what sinand death have wrought upon the
goodness of the creation thatGod pronounced good.
He weeps because we were madeto eat from the tree of life
that is, his very life, but lifehas instead fed us a bread of
tears.
He weeps because he is theGod-man who has embraced the
whole of our life, the whole ofour nature.
(09:21):
He is not a heavenly magicianwaiting to unveil the prestige.
Watch this, watch the trick Ido.
Next, he is our high priest, andwe do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize withus in our weaknesses.
He is God with us.
And it would be a beautifulthing.
(09:41):
It would challenge every one ofour paradigms about glory and
God.
You think of how the ancientsdepicted God.
They projected their ambitionsupon Him strong Zeus hurling
lightning bolts, muscular,authoritative figures.
And here we have God weeping,overcome with emotion, and that
(10:02):
would be enough to shake ourparadigms about what God looks
like.
But he's not just God with us.
He enters into our pain and yetis not overcome by it.
Verse 38 tells us.
Then, when Jesus again came tothe tomb, he was again greatly
disturbed.
(10:22):
It was a cave and a stone waslying against it.
Again, jesus deeply moved inspirit, deeply upset, wrathful,
furious, not at the people thatare weeping, but at all that has
been done to the goodness ofGod's good world.
The wrath of God is not theemotional flights of the
(10:44):
Almighty.
God is not like us, vacillatingfrom joy to anger, to sorrow,
to boredom.
The wrath of God is God'saction against all that is wrong
.
So who is Jesus angry at here?
Who is he angry at?
As he arrives at the tomb, wesee the object of Jesus's anger,
(11:05):
we see what has deeply movedhim in spirit it is death itself
.
It is the site of that tomb AtBethany.
The author of life confrontsdeath and in staring at that
tomb hewn into the side of thathill, that heavy stone of
finality rolled over the opening, jesus sees a glimpse into the
(11:25):
future that awaits him and hedemonstrates his power over it
by the absolute sovereignty ofhis word.
Lazarus, come out.
Jesus looked upward verse 41,and said Father, I thank you for
having heard me.
I know that you always hear me,but I've said this for the sake
of the crowd standing here, sothat they may believe that you
(11:48):
sent me.
When he had said this, he criedwith a loud voice Lazarus, come
out.
And the dead man came out.
His hands and his feet werebound with strips of cloth and
his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them unbind himand let him go.
And this, we would suppose, isthe ultimate display of God's
(12:11):
glory, the climax of the signsthat point to the heavenly
reality.
What power could be greaterthan to call one back from the
grave?
Signs and glory.
A story like this in John 11would lead us to believe that
the events of Holy Week would bea route of glory, triumph,
(12:32):
jesus' unmatched power, layingwaste to all that would stand in
the way of God's purposes inthe world.
It's why the crowds welcome himon Palm Sunday, because they
believe that he is about toenact a revolution.
To enact a revolution.
So, then, if we read this storywith absolutely fresh eyes, we
(12:53):
would be surprised, as we arriveat this Good Friday, to see
this glorious one with the powerover the grave, lazarus, come
out to be arrested, tried by thereligious leaders and Pontius
Pilate to be beaten, tried bythe religious leaders and
Pontius Pilate to be beaten,mocked, cursed and ultimately
executed, crucified on aninstrument of Roman torture and
(13:17):
erasure.
Why, why doesn't he simply snaphis fingers and say death be
defeated, sin be forgiven?
He's demonstrated he has powerover the grave.
During Jesus's interrogationwith Pilate, jesus tells Pilate
(13:39):
my kingdom does not belong tothis world.
If my kingdom belonged to thisworld, my followers would be
fighting to keep me from beinghanded over to the Jewish
leaders.
But, as it is, my kingdom isnot from here.
Pilate asked him so you are aking.
Jesus answered him.
It's you who say I'm a king.
For this I was born and forthis I came into the world to
(14:01):
testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to thetruth listens to my voice.
And Pilate asked him what istruth?
Here is the contest between theultimate claim to power, that
being, the pretensions of Romewith its power of the sword, its
legions, its crucifixions, andthe power of Jesus standing
(14:23):
before Pilate, arrested on trialand yet unmoved by Pilate's
threats, pilate asks thequestion what is truth?
That Jesus will answer with thevery whole of his person on the
cross.
If truth were merely power, asPilate and his successors, like
Nietzsche, have claimed, thenyes, god should simply
(14:43):
demonstrate his unrivaled power.
But, as the cross of Jesusreveals to us, truth is God
himself Father, spirit and Son.
And the moment where we seeJesus' glory fully is looking at
the cross, the moment where itseems that he is the most broken
(15:05):
.
It is at the cross of theSavior that reveals the truth.
Ultimately, a church father,athanasius, wrote in a treatise
called On the Incarnation thatGod in the beginning decreed
that humanity will share in thedivine life, that we will be
invited to share in the life ofGod, and that the penalty for
(15:26):
all those who transgress theholy laws of God is death.
God does not merely forgivesins by snapping his fingers, by
pronouncement, because thatwould be a violation of God's
very word, his veryrighteousness.
This does not divide Godagainst himself, but it means
that every word that God speaksis holy and true.
(15:47):
It is spoken with integrity,there is follow-through.
Everything God says is fullytransparent.
He does, and humanity's guilt,unaccounted for, would mean a
violation of God's very person.
If his decree that sin shalllead to death would prove false,
repentance would not fullysatisfy the divine law and would
(16:09):
do nothing to heal our woundednature.
But just as God is infinitejustice, at one and the same
time he is infinite mercy andhis decree that humanity will
take place in the divine life isenmeshed in his holy law.
So what is God to do?
We see this in Jesus that Godtakes on flesh, the Word that
(16:35):
brought the world to life, takeson the whole of our nature and
takes the judgment upon Himself.
A harmonious giving of Father,spirit and Son.
David Bentley Hart says thatChrist takes up the human story
and tells it correctly.
By giving the correct answersthat God summons in His life and
death, he re-narrates humanityaccording to its true pattern of
(16:59):
loving obedience, humility andcharity, and thus showing all
human stories of righteousness,honor and justice to be tales of
violence, falsehood and death.
And in allowing all of humanityto be resituated through his
death, within the retelling oftheir story, christ restores
them to communion with the Godof infinite love who created us
(17:21):
for his pleasure.
John's gospel there are sevensigns, and as we behold the
cross of Jesus, we see all ofthose signs brought to full
attention Water turned to wineas the side of the Savior is
(17:42):
pierced and blood and water flow, we see that God has truly
saved the best for last.
God goes to the utmost to healHis children, just as the father
pleaded with Jesus for His son.
As Jesus carries the cross, hecarries us, he feeds us, as he
(18:02):
says that those who will inheriteternal life will feed on his
very life, the life given for usthat we will share in just a
moment.
His body broken for us, hisblood shed for us.
He triumphs over the chaos thatthreatens us.
He shines as the light of theworld and we see a glimmer on
this Good Friday that Jesus isindeed the resurrection and the
(18:26):
life and what we were powerlessto do, christ did for us in
taking on the whole of ournature, in offering his
self-obedience throughout hislife and his death back to God
through the power of the HolySpirit.
This does nothing to affectGod's attitude towards us.
His desire was always that allof humanity and that all of
(18:51):
creation should know him, shouldfind salvation, should find
eternal life.
There's a movie I watch oftenduring the season of Lent.
It's called A Hidden Life bythe director Terence Malick, and
in the story he describes thelife of an Austrian farmer who
was conscripted into Hitler'sarmy named Franz Jägerstey, and
(19:16):
Jägerstier increasinglyexperiences the conflicts of
trying to resist the pull intothe army and eventually is
arrested for refusing to serve.
Before Jägerstier's arrest heis talking to a local artist in
the church where he attends.
Jägerstier is the only maleleft in the village because all
(19:39):
of the eligible men have beenpulled into Hitler's army,
except for a few older men.
One of these older men is anartist and he paints icons for
the church, and we see aconversation between Franz and
this local artist, and theartist laments.
He says I paint a comfortableChrist, a Christ who's
(20:00):
completely sovereign and removedfrom the pains of this world,
or a Christ who is so gentlethat he's beyond harmless,
because people want acomfortable Christ.
But when we contemplate thecross, when we gather around
this story on this Good Friday,what we find is not comfort, we
(20:21):
find conflict, we find judgment,we find wrath.
But it is not God's wrathpoured out on us.
It is God taking that wrathupon himself Father, spirit and
Son to disarm all that spoils,all that ruins, all that wastes,
all that steals, kills anddestroys.
(20:43):
He has taken it all upon hisshoulders, which means the shame
that we walked in here with.
He has taken, which means thosethings that we keep in the
darkest recesses of our hearts.
He has taken the cross revealswhat humanity truly looks like
(21:05):
and in the face of our worst,god gives His best and restores
us to life with Him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer says thatGod comes into the midst of evil
and death to judge the evil inthe world and in us.
And while he judges us, heloves us, he purifies us, he
saves us and he comes to us withgifts of grace and love.
(21:28):
He makes us happy as onlychildren know.
He is and always will be nowwith us in our sin, in our
suffering and at our death.
We are no longer alone.
God is with us and we are nolonger homeless.
A piece of the eternal home hasbeen grafted into us, jesus,
(21:51):
jesus, jesus, with the power ofyour Spirit that you commended
into the hands of the Father onthat first Good Friday, be
present here, lord.
Would you proclaim theforgiveness that you offer to
(22:13):
each one of us?
God, would you help us toovercome the ways that we
cynically try to distanceourselves from even needing
forgiveness?
God, if we're honest, there ismuch that is broken within us,
god, but in that honesty, lord,we see you, we see your glory.
(22:34):
Would you show us your gloryhere tonight, the power of what
you've done in giving yourselffor us?
Would you undo the lies ofshame, the lies of the deceiver?
(22:59):
Lord, would you have your wayin this place?
Jesus, we pray these things inyour name and the power of your
gospel.
We pray in the name of theFather and the Spirit and the
Son.
We pray Amen.
I'm going to be leading us in a liturgy this
evening.
I will read some parts andafter I read there will be words
on the screen for all of you toread with me.
It all started with a weddingand ended with a funeral
Laughter like a vein of goldgushing with new wine.
(00:23):
How can the best be saved?
For now?
God we've come.
A father's aching plea for hisson.
The word was more than enoughto heal ailing flesh.
The whole household stands inawe.
God, we've come to see.
(00:46):
Do you want to be made?
Well, the reply, laden withconditions, but nonetheless, the
mat becomes lighter and feet,perpendicular, now stand
parallel.
God, we've come to see open oureyes.
(01:09):
A manna table spread in thewilderness, stale bread made
soft, light and airy, smokedfish, not from a can gathering
up all the fragments.
Nothing is wasted.
We would have tried to make himking too.
(01:30):
God we've come to see.
Open our eyes to the signs.
But he was making somethingelse.
He withdrew to the place whereit all began communion, darkness
, stormy seas and the formlessdeep bearing the form of god.
(01:53):
God, we've come to see open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new, made new.
New eyes formed from the dustof the earth sent to testify to
those so sure in their seeingthe light of the world
(02:13):
illuminating our eyes.
God, we've come to see Open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new and your greater things.
It all started with a weddingand ended with a funeral.
Lord, if you only would havebeen there.
(02:37):
God, we've come to see Open oureyes to the signs of the world
made new and to greater thingsthan these.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
Throughout this season of Lent we've allowed
these seven signs to be ourguide and in John 11, we arrive
at the seventh sign and we findJesus at a funeral.
He comes to Bethany, outside ofJerusalem, the village home to
some of his dearest friends,martha, mary and the recently
(03:24):
deceased brother Lazarus.
The funeral scene would havebeen heavy, a strange sort of
frenzy, as the family's friendsand neighbors came to mourn
Lazarus.
And as Jesus arrives, martha,the host, comes out to receive
Jesus.
She says in John 11, verse 21,lord, if you had been here, my
(03:47):
brother would not have died.
But even now I know that Godwill give you whatever you ask
of him.
Martha at once both expressesher profound disappointment that
Jesus was seemingly not on timeand yet, at one and the same
breath, there's a glimmer offaith.
There seems to be limits towhat she expects Jesus to be
(04:09):
able to do after Lazarus hasalready passed.
But there is something there.
Even now, I know the Lord willgive you whatever you ask, and
it's her faith in Jesus and herfriendship with Jesus that leads
to one of the greatestrevelations in all of the
scriptures.
Jesus said to her your brotherwill rise again.
(04:33):
And Martha said I know, I'mconfident of that that at the
last day he will rise again.
But then Jesus says to her inJohn 11, 25, I am the
resurrection and the life.
Those who believe in me, eventhough they die, will live, and
(04:54):
everyone who lives and believesin me will never die.
Do you believe this?
Throughout, john, these sevensigns have all been demanding
the answer to this question.
Will we believe Him?
Here, martha expresses herbelief prior to anything that
Jesus has demonstrated, and shemakes one of the greatest
(05:17):
confessions in all of theScriptures John 11, verse 27,.
She said to Him yes, lord, Ibelieve that you are the Messiah
, the Son of God, the one cominginto the world.
When she had said this, shewent back and called her sister,
mary, and told her privatelythe teacher is here and he's
(05:37):
calling for you.
And when she heard it, she gotup quickly and went to him.
Now Jesus had not yet come tothe village, but was still at
the place where Martha had methim.
The Jews who were with her inthe house consoling her saw Mary
get up quickly and go out.
They followed her because theythought that she was going to
the tomb to weep there.
But when Mary came where Jesuswas and saw him.
(06:00):
She knelt at his feet and saidto him Lord, if you would have
been here, my brother would nothave died.
Now Jesus goes to console Mary.
Mary expresses the samedisappointment Lord, where were
you?
But notice, there's no glimmerof hope, there's no part B to
(06:27):
her statement.
Where were you?
Just sorrow, just finality,just falling at the feet of the
Savior with nothing left.
Verse 33 tells us when Jesus sawher weeping and those who were
with her were also weeping, hewas greatly disturbed in spirit
(06:48):
and deeply moved.
The Greek word that wetranslate, deeply moved, is the
word embryomomai.
It is used with the snort of ahorse in war or a race and
describes outrage, anger andfury.
What is Jesus angry at?
Why is he so stirred upinternally?
(07:09):
Jesus said to those aroundwhere have you laid Lazarus?
They said to him Lord, come andsee.
And at that invitation Jesusdoes something so startling.
When we think about the majestyand the glory and the splendor
(07:30):
of God, we find simple wordsgiven to us of Jesus' response.
John 11.35 tells us in theshortest verse in all the
Scriptures, that Jesus began toweep.
Jesus surveying the whole sceneis now overcome and he weeps
(07:50):
when Jesus had heard thatLazarus was sick, he delayed two
days in coming to him.
We're told throughout the storythat Lazarus has been dead now
for four days.
So even if Jesus would haveleft immediately upon receiving
the news, he still would nothave arrived in time.
But he had told the disciples,upon hearing the news of
Lazarus's illness, that thisillness does not lead to death.
(08:13):
Rather, it is for God's glory,so that the Son of God may be
glorified through it.
He then tells the disciplesplainly, before they arrive at
Bethany, that Lazarus is notjust asleep, he is dead.
All of this tells us that Jesusknows what he's there in Bethany
to do.
He, all along, has had theintention that he is going to
(08:37):
Bethany, where Lazarus is dead,in order to raise the dead.
So why then?
Why, if Jesus knows exactlywhat he's about to do, why does
he waste his time weeping?
He weeps because his friendsare overcome with grief.
(08:59):
He weeps because of what sinand death have wrought upon the
goodness of the creation thatGod pronounced good.
He weeps because we were madeto eat from the tree of life
that is, his very life, but lifehas instead fed us a bread of
tears.
He weeps because he is theGod-man who has embraced the
whole of our life, the whole ofour nature.
(09:21):
He is not a heavenly magicianwaiting to unveil the prestige.
Watch this, watch the trick Ido.
Next, he is our high priest, andwe do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize withus in our weaknesses.
He is God with us.
And it would be a beautifulthing.
(09:41):
It would challenge every one ofour paradigms about glory and
God.
You think of how the ancientsdepicted God.
They projected their ambitionsupon Him strong Zeus hurling
lightning bolts, muscular,authoritative figures.
And here we have God weeping,overcome with emotion, and that
(10:02):
would be enough to shake ourparadigms about what God looks
like.
But he's not just God with us.
He enters into our pain and yetis not overcome by it.
Verse 38 tells us.
Then, when Jesus again came tothe tomb, he was again greatly
disturbed.
(10:22):
It was a cave and a stone waslying against it.
Again, jesus deeply moved inspirit, deeply upset, wrathful,
furious, not at the people thatare weeping, but at all that has
been done to the goodness ofGod's good world.
The wrath of God is not theemotional flights of the
(10:44):
Almighty.
God is not like us, vacillatingfrom joy to anger, to sorrow,
to boredom.
The wrath of God is God'saction against all that is wrong
.
So who is Jesus angry at here?
Who is he angry at?
As he arrives at the tomb, wesee the object of Jesus's anger,
(11:05):
we see what has deeply movedhim in spirit it is death itself
.
It is the site of that tomb AtBethany.
The author of life confrontsdeath and in staring at that
tomb hewn into the side of thathill, that heavy stone of
finality rolled over the opening, jesus sees a glimpse into the
(11:25):
future that awaits him and hedemonstrates his power over it
by the absolute sovereignty ofhis word.
Lazarus, come out.
Jesus looked upward verse 41,and said Father, I thank you for
having heard me.
I know that you always hear me,but I've said this for the sake
of the crowd standing here, sothat they may believe that you
(11:48):
sent me.
When he had said this, he criedwith a loud voice Lazarus, come
out.
And the dead man came out.
His hands and his feet werebound with strips of cloth and
his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them unbind himand let him go.
And this, we would suppose, isthe ultimate display of God's
(12:11):
glory, the climax of the signsthat point to the heavenly
reality.
What power could be greaterthan to call one back from the
grave?
Signs and glory.
A story like this in John 11would lead us to believe that
the events of Holy Week would bea route of glory, triumph,
(12:32):
jesus' unmatched power, layingwaste to all that would stand in
the way of God's purposes inthe world.
It's why the crowds welcome himon Palm Sunday, because they
believe that he is about toenact a revolution.
To enact a revolution.
So, then, if we read this storywith absolutely fresh eyes, we
(12:53):
would be surprised, as we arriveat this Good Friday, to see
this glorious one with the powerover the grave, lazarus, come
out to be arrested, tried by thereligious leaders and Pontius
Pilate to be beaten, tried bythe religious leaders and
Pontius Pilate to be beaten,mocked, cursed and ultimately
executed, crucified on aninstrument of Roman torture and
(13:17):
erasure.
Why, why doesn't he simply snaphis fingers and say death be
defeated, sin be forgiven?
He's demonstrated he has powerover the grave.
During Jesus's interrogationwith Pilate, jesus tells Pilate
(13:39):
my kingdom does not belong tothis world.
If my kingdom belonged to thisworld, my followers would be
fighting to keep me from beinghanded over to the Jewish
leaders.
But, as it is, my kingdom isnot from here.
Pilate asked him so you are aking.
Jesus answered him.
It's you who say I'm a king.
For this I was born and forthis I came into the world to
(14:01):
testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to thetruth listens to my voice.
And Pilate asked him what istruth?
Here is the contest between theultimate claim to power, that
being, the pretensions of Romewith its power of the sword, its
legions, its crucifixions, andthe power of Jesus standing
(14:23):
before Pilate, arrested on trialand yet unmoved by Pilate's
threats, pilate asks thequestion what is truth?
That Jesus will answer with thevery whole of his person on the
cross.
If truth were merely power, asPilate and his successors, like
Nietzsche, have claimed, thenyes, god should simply
(14:43):
demonstrate his unrivaled power.
But, as the cross of Jesusreveals to us, truth is God
himself Father, spirit and Son.
And the moment where we seeJesus' glory fully is looking at
the cross, the moment where itseems that he is the most broken
(15:05):
.
It is at the cross of theSavior that reveals the truth.
Ultimately, a church father,athanasius, wrote in a treatise
called On the Incarnation thatGod in the beginning decreed
that humanity will share in thedivine life, that we will be
invited to share in the life ofGod, and that the penalty for
(15:26):
all those who transgress theholy laws of God is death.
God does not merely forgivesins by snapping his fingers, by
pronouncement, because thatwould be a violation of God's
very word, his veryrighteousness.
This does not divide Godagainst himself, but it means
that every word that God speaksis holy and true.
(15:47):
It is spoken with integrity,there is follow-through.
Everything God says is fullytransparent.
He does, and humanity's guilt,unaccounted for, would mean a
violation of God's very person.
If his decree that sin shalllead to death would prove false,
repentance would not fullysatisfy the divine law and would
(16:09):
do nothing to heal our woundednature.
But just as God is infinitejustice, at one and the same
time he is infinite mercy andhis decree that humanity will
take place in the divine life isenmeshed in his holy law.
So what is God to do?
We see this in Jesus that Godtakes on flesh, the Word that
(16:35):
brought the world to life, takeson the whole of our nature and
takes the judgment upon Himself.
A harmonious giving of Father,spirit and Son.
David Bentley Hart says thatChrist takes up the human story
and tells it correctly.
By giving the correct answersthat God summons in His life and
death, he re-narrates humanityaccording to its true pattern of
(16:59):
loving obedience, humility andcharity, and thus showing all
human stories of righteousness,honor and justice to be tales of
violence, falsehood and death.
And in allowing all of humanityto be resituated through his
death, within the retelling oftheir story, christ restores
them to communion with the Godof infinite love who created us
(17:21):
for his pleasure.
John's gospel there are sevensigns, and as we behold the
cross of Jesus, we see all ofthose signs brought to full
attention Water turned to wineas the side of the Savior is
(17:42):
pierced and blood and water flow, we see that God has truly
saved the best for last.
God goes to the utmost to healHis children, just as the father
pleaded with Jesus for His son.
As Jesus carries the cross, hecarries us, he feeds us, as he
(18:02):
says that those who will inheriteternal life will feed on his
very life, the life given for usthat we will share in just a
moment.
His body broken for us, hisblood shed for us.
He triumphs over the chaos thatthreatens us.
He shines as the light of theworld and we see a glimmer on
this Good Friday that Jesus isindeed the resurrection and the
(18:26):
life and what we were powerlessto do, christ did for us in
taking on the whole of ournature, in offering his
self-obedience throughout hislife and his death back to God
through the power of the HolySpirit.
This does nothing to affectGod's attitude towards us.
His desire was always that allof humanity and that all of
(18:51):
creation should know him, shouldfind salvation, should find
eternal life.
There's a movie I watch oftenduring the season of Lent.
It's called A Hidden Life bythe director Terence Malick, and
in the story he describes thelife of an Austrian farmer who
was conscripted into Hitler'sarmy named Franz Jägerstey, and
(19:16):
Jägerstier increasinglyexperiences the conflicts of
trying to resist the pull intothe army and eventually is
arrested for refusing to serve.
Before Jägerstier's arrest heis talking to a local artist in
the church where he attends.
Jägerstier is the only maleleft in the village because all
(19:39):
of the eligible men have beenpulled into Hitler's army,
except for a few older men.
One of these older men is anartist and he paints icons for
the church, and we see aconversation between Franz and
this local artist, and theartist laments.
He says I paint a comfortableChrist, a Christ who's
(20:00):
completely sovereign and removedfrom the pains of this world,
or a Christ who is so gentlethat he's beyond harmless,
because people want acomfortable Christ.
But when we contemplate thecross, when we gather around
this story on this Good Friday,what we find is not comfort, we
(20:21):
find conflict, we find judgment,we find wrath.
But it is not God's wrathpoured out on us.
It is God taking that wrathupon himself Father, spirit and
Son to disarm all that spoils,all that ruins, all that wastes,
all that steals, kills anddestroys.
(20:43):
He has taken it all upon hisshoulders, which means the shame
that we walked in here with.
He has taken, which means thosethings that we keep in the
darkest recesses of our hearts.
He has taken the cross revealswhat humanity truly looks like
(21:05):
and in the face of our worst,god gives His best and restores
us to life with Him.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer says thatGod comes into the midst of evil
and death to judge the evil inthe world and in us.
And while he judges us, heloves us, he purifies us, he
saves us and he comes to us withgifts of grace and love.
(21:28):
He makes us happy as onlychildren know.
He is and always will be nowwith us in our sin, in our
suffering and at our death.
We are no longer alone.
God is with us and we are nolonger homeless.
A piece of the eternal home hasbeen grafted into us, jesus,
(21:51):
jesus, jesus, with the power ofyour Spirit that you commended
into the hands of the Father onthat first Good Friday, be
present here, lord.
Would you proclaim theforgiveness that you offer to
(22:13):
each one of us?
God, would you help us toovercome the ways that we
cynically try to distanceourselves from even needing
forgiveness?
God, if we're honest, there ismuch that is broken within us,
god, but in that honesty, lord,we see you, we see your glory.
(22:34):
Would you show us your gloryhere tonight, the power of what
you've done in giving yourselffor us?
Would you undo the lies ofshame, the lies of the deceiver?
(22:59):
Lord, would you have your wayin this place?
Jesus, we pray these things inyour name and the power of your
gospel.
We pray in the name of theFather and the Spirit and the
Son.
We pray Amen.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.