Sermon Illustrations for Good Friday (2021)
Illustration
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
Sometimes a movie or book begins with the ending to show us the protagonist achieved something worthwhile. It then goes back to the beginning to show us how it was done. Take the movie A League of Her Own, about the women’s baseball league that was instituted during World War II. The movie opens with an older woman returning to the scene of past glories, having lived a full life and achieved many things. Then we see her as a young woman decades earlier as a country girl who milks cows and plays baseball.
This Good Friday passage is part of the suffering servant saga. We begin at the ending. “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high.” Then back we go to the earlier scenes of suffering to show us how glory was achieved.
There’s no way around suffering. There’s no way around crucifixion. But Jesus seems to be aware of this promise and proclaims it on the cross when he recites the first verse of Psalm 22 – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” This psalm moves beyond the pain and humiliation to an assertion that the psalmist ultimately be vindicated. In this passage we are getting the vindication before the cross.
Some people don’t want to know the ending of the book or movie in advance, but some stories depend on us knowing how things will turn out. There’s no way around the cross. There’s no ending possible but the empty tomb, the resurrection, and eternal life.
Frank R.
* * *
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
Theologian N.T. Wright tells the story of the National Gallery in London, in 2000, putting on a millennial exhibition entitled “Seeing Salvation.” The fact the exhibition happened was especially noteworthy considering that European countries tend to be far more “secularized” than the United States. The exhibit consisted mostly of artists’ depictions of Jesus’s crucifixion. Many critics sneered. “All those old paintings about someone being tortured to death! Why did we need to look at rooms full of such stuff?” The general public ignored the critics, though, and turned up in droves to see works of art, which, like the crucifixion itself, seem to carry a power beyond theory and beyond suspicion.
The Guardian reported, “’Seeing Salvation’ is the most startling statistic from the survey. The exhibition of images of Christ, at the National Gallery, was not only by far the most popular exhibition in Britain, with more than 5,000 visitors a day, it was the fourth most popular in the world.”
As much as the exhibit “Seeing Salvation” masterfully presented the crucifixion, no artist can capture the picture as Isaiah prophesied it. The suffering servant gave his life that we might live. To read these words, that’s seeing salvation.
Bill T.
* * *
Hebrews 10:16-25
“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching” (NRSV).
Hope is sometimes tenuous. We reach out for it, we seek it, but it can allude us. The author of Hebrews reminds us that if our hope is anchored in God, it does not waver. From where does your hope come? Do you hope in that which is worldly and which you have influence over? Do you hope in the works and acts of others? Do you hope in an idealized outcome dependent on the efforts of human beings? Or do you hope in the knowledge that no matter what happens, God is with you, that you are never alone? My hope is in the Lord. Breathing in that hope, that grace, that love, and certainty of God’s presence is how I make it through the day, through the challenges of life, through the pain and the joy that faces me each day. My friends, cling to that anchor of hope.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Hebrews 10:16-25
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth offered some thoughtful reflections on the meaning of this lesson for Good Friday. He wrote:
His [Christ’s] bloodshed in obedience speaks against us and for us to-day as it did on the day of Golgotha. He receives for us to-day as on Easter Day the grace of God which we have not deserved. For this reason the judgment of God fulfilled by Him, the sacrifice offered by Him, is effective for Him. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p.315)
While explaining this lesson, Martin Luther offers helpful comments on why or how all this matters for us:
For this reason we have no excuse for delaying since He [Christ] certainly cannot do more for us than He is doing. For while others can teach and exhort to cross over, Christ alone is not only the Companion but also the One Who leads the way, not only the Leader but also the Helper... For he who relies on Christ through faith is carried on the shoulders of Christ, and He will cross over successfully with the bride. (Luther’s Works, Vol.29, p.226)
Good Friday is good because it reminds us that we are always living with a companion, a spouse, who is with us and will bring us to where we need to go.
Mark E.
* * *
John 18:1--19:42
The name Louis Slotin is not well-known, but what he did in 1946 was incredible. The Atomic Heritage Foundation tells his story. Slotin worked at Los Alamos after the end of World War II. On May 21, 1946, he was in the process of conducting a criticality experiment to teach his colleague and eventual replacement, Alvin C. Graves, how they were done. The experiment involved slowly bringing together two beryllium-coated half spheres around a plutonium core, without allowing the two halves to touch. Slotin was using a screwdriver to keep the two spheres separated. As he slowly brought the two halves together, the screwdriver suddenly slipped, and a bright blue flash filled the room. Slotin at once threw his body in front of the sphere, to shield his fellow scientists, and yanked the two half-spheres apart. In the process, he received almost 1000 rads of radiation, far over the lethal dose. He died nine days later, after suffering the effects of radiation poisoning. His death led to increased safety standards in nuclear laboratories, as well as commendations for his heroic sacrifice to save the other scientists.
Giving his life to save other scientists; that’s Slotin’s story. Giving his life to save all humanity; that’s Jesus’ story. A story of sacrifice, love, compassion and caring. “Greater love has no man than this, that he give his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Bill T.
Sometimes a movie or book begins with the ending to show us the protagonist achieved something worthwhile. It then goes back to the beginning to show us how it was done. Take the movie A League of Her Own, about the women’s baseball league that was instituted during World War II. The movie opens with an older woman returning to the scene of past glories, having lived a full life and achieved many things. Then we see her as a young woman decades earlier as a country girl who milks cows and plays baseball.
This Good Friday passage is part of the suffering servant saga. We begin at the ending. “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up and shall be very high.” Then back we go to the earlier scenes of suffering to show us how glory was achieved.
There’s no way around suffering. There’s no way around crucifixion. But Jesus seems to be aware of this promise and proclaims it on the cross when he recites the first verse of Psalm 22 – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” This psalm moves beyond the pain and humiliation to an assertion that the psalmist ultimately be vindicated. In this passage we are getting the vindication before the cross.
Some people don’t want to know the ending of the book or movie in advance, but some stories depend on us knowing how things will turn out. There’s no way around the cross. There’s no ending possible but the empty tomb, the resurrection, and eternal life.
Frank R.
* * *
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
Theologian N.T. Wright tells the story of the National Gallery in London, in 2000, putting on a millennial exhibition entitled “Seeing Salvation.” The fact the exhibition happened was especially noteworthy considering that European countries tend to be far more “secularized” than the United States. The exhibit consisted mostly of artists’ depictions of Jesus’s crucifixion. Many critics sneered. “All those old paintings about someone being tortured to death! Why did we need to look at rooms full of such stuff?” The general public ignored the critics, though, and turned up in droves to see works of art, which, like the crucifixion itself, seem to carry a power beyond theory and beyond suspicion.
The Guardian reported, “’Seeing Salvation’ is the most startling statistic from the survey. The exhibition of images of Christ, at the National Gallery, was not only by far the most popular exhibition in Britain, with more than 5,000 visitors a day, it was the fourth most popular in the world.”
As much as the exhibit “Seeing Salvation” masterfully presented the crucifixion, no artist can capture the picture as Isaiah prophesied it. The suffering servant gave his life that we might live. To read these words, that’s seeing salvation.
Bill T.
* * *
Hebrews 10:16-25
“Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching” (NRSV).
Hope is sometimes tenuous. We reach out for it, we seek it, but it can allude us. The author of Hebrews reminds us that if our hope is anchored in God, it does not waver. From where does your hope come? Do you hope in that which is worldly and which you have influence over? Do you hope in the works and acts of others? Do you hope in an idealized outcome dependent on the efforts of human beings? Or do you hope in the knowledge that no matter what happens, God is with you, that you are never alone? My hope is in the Lord. Breathing in that hope, that grace, that love, and certainty of God’s presence is how I make it through the day, through the challenges of life, through the pain and the joy that faces me each day. My friends, cling to that anchor of hope.
Bonnie B.
* * *
Hebrews 10:16-25
Famed modern theologian Karl Barth offered some thoughtful reflections on the meaning of this lesson for Good Friday. He wrote:
His [Christ’s] bloodshed in obedience speaks against us and for us to-day as it did on the day of Golgotha. He receives for us to-day as on Easter Day the grace of God which we have not deserved. For this reason the judgment of God fulfilled by Him, the sacrifice offered by Him, is effective for Him. (Church Dogmatics, Vol.IV/1, p.315)
While explaining this lesson, Martin Luther offers helpful comments on why or how all this matters for us:
For this reason we have no excuse for delaying since He [Christ] certainly cannot do more for us than He is doing. For while others can teach and exhort to cross over, Christ alone is not only the Companion but also the One Who leads the way, not only the Leader but also the Helper... For he who relies on Christ through faith is carried on the shoulders of Christ, and He will cross over successfully with the bride. (Luther’s Works, Vol.29, p.226)
Good Friday is good because it reminds us that we are always living with a companion, a spouse, who is with us and will bring us to where we need to go.
Mark E.
* * *
John 18:1--19:42
The name Louis Slotin is not well-known, but what he did in 1946 was incredible. The Atomic Heritage Foundation tells his story. Slotin worked at Los Alamos after the end of World War II. On May 21, 1946, he was in the process of conducting a criticality experiment to teach his colleague and eventual replacement, Alvin C. Graves, how they were done. The experiment involved slowly bringing together two beryllium-coated half spheres around a plutonium core, without allowing the two halves to touch. Slotin was using a screwdriver to keep the two spheres separated. As he slowly brought the two halves together, the screwdriver suddenly slipped, and a bright blue flash filled the room. Slotin at once threw his body in front of the sphere, to shield his fellow scientists, and yanked the two half-spheres apart. In the process, he received almost 1000 rads of radiation, far over the lethal dose. He died nine days later, after suffering the effects of radiation poisoning. His death led to increased safety standards in nuclear laboratories, as well as commendations for his heroic sacrifice to save the other scientists.
Giving his life to save other scientists; that’s Slotin’s story. Giving his life to save all humanity; that’s Jesus’ story. A story of sacrifice, love, compassion and caring. “Greater love has no man than this, that he give his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
Bill T.
