The triumph of the cross
Commentary
Imagine this scenario: a small religious group in America catches the headlines with their novel beliefs. They claim that their leader is divine. But that same leader is convicted of a crime, and sentenced to be executed in the electric chair. He dies, but the leader's ignoble death does nothing to deter the faithful followers. They now claim that his disgraceful death is a further reflection of his divine nature. Most of us, hearing this scenario, would probably say to ourselves, "How weird!" "These days you can find somebody gullible enough to believe anything!"
Yet, our imaginary scenario is comparable to the situation of the early Christians. Their master -- the one they believed was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel -- was tried and convicted, and then sentenced to a most disgraceful and demeaning death. Is it any wonder that people in the first century right down to our own day laugh at the claims made by Christians about Jesus Christ!
The world has always been fascinated by the events that led to Jesus' agonizing death on Good Friday. The New Testament itself contains a number of different interpretations of the meaning of the death of Jesus, all intended among other things to demonstrate that its deeper meaning contradicts its scandalous appearance. For centuries, Christ's followers have insisted that his death was a redemptive sacrifice for the sins of the world.
But all three of our readings for this day point us to an even deeper understanding of Jesus' death on the cross. For the author of Hebrews and especially for John, the ignominious means of death becomes Jesus' exaltation as the world's king. Ironically, in putting Jesus to death, his executioners have enthroned him! What was intended as a means to disgrace Jesus becomes his coronation. These writers see in the cross the love of God being enacted in its purest form. For them, the king of love is not humiliated at Calvary, but instead, his death is the enthronement of all he stands for.
This note of victory sounds even in the familiar servant song of Isaiah. The emphasis is on the vulnerability of the servant, and that vulnerability to God, to self, and to others is what leads to victory. Isaiah is suggesting that divine and human values are so far apart, we humans cannot recognize the divine. Suffering love that goes as far as a cross is a love which is divine.
The author of Hebrews gives us a dramatic picture of how Christ's death reveals the extent of God's love for sinful humanity, and opens the way to a new relationship with the living God. John dares us to see in the events that led to Calvary, and in the agony of the cross itself the expression of what love is all about. He sees Pilate unknowingly proclaiming Christ's coronation when he places the placard on the cross, and he forces us to examine our understanding both of God's love and our own.
OUTLINE I
Living the vulnerability of Jesus
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
A. vv. 52:13-15: It is a small wonder that many people who encountered Jesus' words and deeds failed to recognize him as the Messiah. The long-awaited Messiah they had in mind was more like a warrior-king than a lamb led to the slaughter. The vulnerability of the servant stand in marked contrast to our own culture where security and invulnerability are deeply embedded values. Triple locks, safe havens in the suburbs, bigger police forces, and longer prison terms are all symptoms of our profound insecurity. But the servant's experience suggests that in God's kingdom, we become our fullest selves when we move from a fearful self-protection to openness and caring for others. The journey into vulnerability which Jesus embodies has three dimensions. First is vulnerability before God. It means believing in God's providential love for us, and God's real presence in the world. It is believing in God's love even when our lives are weighed down by suffering.
B. vv. 53:1-3: Secondly there is vulnerability before ourselves. This vulnerability of self-acceptance moves us beyond trust in God's providential love to the conviction that God loves us as we are, that we accept our brokenness and truly believe that we are forgiven.
C. vv. 53:4-12: The third dimension of our journey into vulnerability is vulnerability before others. It begins with our openness to others, but it is best illustrated by our willingness to forgive those who hurt us. Jesus, stripped and stretched out on a cross is completely vulnerable as he prays for God to forgive his executioners.
OUTLINE II
What's good about Good Friday?
Hebrews 10:16-25
A. vv. 16-20: Good Friday was a horrible day. What could possibly be good about an innocent man's dying a senseless and painful death? The author of Hebrews dares us to believe that Jesus' death is in fact the final triumph of Jesus. Nothing can stop Jesus from one day reigning supremely over this world. It is the love of God which must conquer in the end. The writer of Hebrews gives us three practical reasons why Good Friday should be called good. First, Jesus in his death has become the living way into the presence of God. All of Jesus' life revealed God, but it is on the cross that the love of God is really and finally revealed. As the tearing of the veil of the temple opened the way to God, so the tearing of Christ's flesh revealed the greatness of God's love.
B. vv. 21-22a: Secondly, Jesus becomes our high priest. A priest is one who builds a bridge between God and human beings. Jesus not only shows us the way to God, but introduces us to the very presence of God. Because of Jesus' death, there is nothing that can ever separate us from the love of God.
C. vv. 22a-25: Thirdly, Jesus is the one person who can cleanse our lives of sin. Unlike the many outward washings and sprinklings done by priests in the Old Testament, Jesus removes the real pollution of sin from us.
OUTLINE III
The scandal of crucifixion
John 18:1--19:42
A. 18:1--19:42: The cross -- a sign of triumph? To a spectator on Calvary's hill, the cross must have signified anything but triumph. If anything, it was a spectacle of defeat. Yet, John insists that the scandal of our Lord's crucifixion is the gospel! He dares us to believe that in willingly going to his death, Jesus is in fact triumphing over the principalities and powers of this world.
(a) There is victory over evil. Evil did its worst on Good Friday. We see it in the guile that twisted the evidence against Jesus, in the hypocrisy that professed to put this man away for the security of the nation, and in the cruel hands that thrust the Cross on bleeding shoulders. Evil shot its bolt on Calvary. It may persist, but it persists as a defeated enemy.
(b) There is victory over suffering. Jesus on the cross represents the suffering of all humanity. We come to know God in the midst of pain and tears as nowhere else. Suffering did its worst on Calvary, but the victory that Christ won in that struggle becomes ours by faith.
(c) There is victory over death. Death also did its worst on Calvary -- not beautiful death at the end of a long life, but ugly death that revolts the mind and heart. Raw, sordid, brutal death seemed to triumph that day, but its victory was short-lived. When God raised Christ to newness of life, death lost its terror. In the cross, God triumphed over evil, suffering and death, and in this sign, we too shall conquer.
Yet, our imaginary scenario is comparable to the situation of the early Christians. Their master -- the one they believed was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel -- was tried and convicted, and then sentenced to a most disgraceful and demeaning death. Is it any wonder that people in the first century right down to our own day laugh at the claims made by Christians about Jesus Christ!
The world has always been fascinated by the events that led to Jesus' agonizing death on Good Friday. The New Testament itself contains a number of different interpretations of the meaning of the death of Jesus, all intended among other things to demonstrate that its deeper meaning contradicts its scandalous appearance. For centuries, Christ's followers have insisted that his death was a redemptive sacrifice for the sins of the world.
But all three of our readings for this day point us to an even deeper understanding of Jesus' death on the cross. For the author of Hebrews and especially for John, the ignominious means of death becomes Jesus' exaltation as the world's king. Ironically, in putting Jesus to death, his executioners have enthroned him! What was intended as a means to disgrace Jesus becomes his coronation. These writers see in the cross the love of God being enacted in its purest form. For them, the king of love is not humiliated at Calvary, but instead, his death is the enthronement of all he stands for.
This note of victory sounds even in the familiar servant song of Isaiah. The emphasis is on the vulnerability of the servant, and that vulnerability to God, to self, and to others is what leads to victory. Isaiah is suggesting that divine and human values are so far apart, we humans cannot recognize the divine. Suffering love that goes as far as a cross is a love which is divine.
The author of Hebrews gives us a dramatic picture of how Christ's death reveals the extent of God's love for sinful humanity, and opens the way to a new relationship with the living God. John dares us to see in the events that led to Calvary, and in the agony of the cross itself the expression of what love is all about. He sees Pilate unknowingly proclaiming Christ's coronation when he places the placard on the cross, and he forces us to examine our understanding both of God's love and our own.
OUTLINE I
Living the vulnerability of Jesus
Isaiah 52:13--53:12
A. vv. 52:13-15: It is a small wonder that many people who encountered Jesus' words and deeds failed to recognize him as the Messiah. The long-awaited Messiah they had in mind was more like a warrior-king than a lamb led to the slaughter. The vulnerability of the servant stand in marked contrast to our own culture where security and invulnerability are deeply embedded values. Triple locks, safe havens in the suburbs, bigger police forces, and longer prison terms are all symptoms of our profound insecurity. But the servant's experience suggests that in God's kingdom, we become our fullest selves when we move from a fearful self-protection to openness and caring for others. The journey into vulnerability which Jesus embodies has three dimensions. First is vulnerability before God. It means believing in God's providential love for us, and God's real presence in the world. It is believing in God's love even when our lives are weighed down by suffering.
B. vv. 53:1-3: Secondly there is vulnerability before ourselves. This vulnerability of self-acceptance moves us beyond trust in God's providential love to the conviction that God loves us as we are, that we accept our brokenness and truly believe that we are forgiven.
C. vv. 53:4-12: The third dimension of our journey into vulnerability is vulnerability before others. It begins with our openness to others, but it is best illustrated by our willingness to forgive those who hurt us. Jesus, stripped and stretched out on a cross is completely vulnerable as he prays for God to forgive his executioners.
OUTLINE II
What's good about Good Friday?
Hebrews 10:16-25
A. vv. 16-20: Good Friday was a horrible day. What could possibly be good about an innocent man's dying a senseless and painful death? The author of Hebrews dares us to believe that Jesus' death is in fact the final triumph of Jesus. Nothing can stop Jesus from one day reigning supremely over this world. It is the love of God which must conquer in the end. The writer of Hebrews gives us three practical reasons why Good Friday should be called good. First, Jesus in his death has become the living way into the presence of God. All of Jesus' life revealed God, but it is on the cross that the love of God is really and finally revealed. As the tearing of the veil of the temple opened the way to God, so the tearing of Christ's flesh revealed the greatness of God's love.
B. vv. 21-22a: Secondly, Jesus becomes our high priest. A priest is one who builds a bridge between God and human beings. Jesus not only shows us the way to God, but introduces us to the very presence of God. Because of Jesus' death, there is nothing that can ever separate us from the love of God.
C. vv. 22a-25: Thirdly, Jesus is the one person who can cleanse our lives of sin. Unlike the many outward washings and sprinklings done by priests in the Old Testament, Jesus removes the real pollution of sin from us.
OUTLINE III
The scandal of crucifixion
John 18:1--19:42
A. 18:1--19:42: The cross -- a sign of triumph? To a spectator on Calvary's hill, the cross must have signified anything but triumph. If anything, it was a spectacle of defeat. Yet, John insists that the scandal of our Lord's crucifixion is the gospel! He dares us to believe that in willingly going to his death, Jesus is in fact triumphing over the principalities and powers of this world.
(a) There is victory over evil. Evil did its worst on Good Friday. We see it in the guile that twisted the evidence against Jesus, in the hypocrisy that professed to put this man away for the security of the nation, and in the cruel hands that thrust the Cross on bleeding shoulders. Evil shot its bolt on Calvary. It may persist, but it persists as a defeated enemy.
(b) There is victory over suffering. Jesus on the cross represents the suffering of all humanity. We come to know God in the midst of pain and tears as nowhere else. Suffering did its worst on Calvary, but the victory that Christ won in that struggle becomes ours by faith.
(c) There is victory over death. Death also did its worst on Calvary -- not beautiful death at the end of a long life, but ugly death that revolts the mind and heart. Raw, sordid, brutal death seemed to triumph that day, but its victory was short-lived. When God raised Christ to newness of life, death lost its terror. In the cross, God triumphed over evil, suffering and death, and in this sign, we too shall conquer.
