Posts Tagged ‘Good Friday’
The Cross Is Not The Focal Point
Many people will look upon the cross with wonder and ponder its meaning. Very few people, however, will look to the cross as to what happened upon it and why.
Isaiah the Prophet said this about the future:
Isa 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isa 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth
Then, many years later, Jesus said this about Himself:
Joh 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Joh 10:12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.
Joh 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Joh 10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
Joh 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, andone shepherd.
Joh 10:17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.
Joh 10:18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
Later on Jesus said this:
Joh 10:24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.
Joh 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
Joh 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Joh 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Joh 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any manpluck them out of my hand.
Joh 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck themout of my Father’s hand.
The cross, itself, is not the focal point of all of this. What is the focal point is what Jesus did upon the cross, to die in our place for our sins, and to secure forgiveness for all of His sheep, and to save us from facing the wrath of God that is to come on Judgement Day.
Jesus laid down His life of His own accord so that all whom God gave to Him will receive forgiveness for sins, be given eternal life, and to insure that we shall never perish nor be taken from the love of the Father.
It is for us to look unto Jesus and be saved. For all who call upon the name of Jesus, confess that He is Lord,and believe that, after His death and burial, He was raised from the dead, will be saved, called and justified.
Many will see the cross and not see Jesus, but all who are of the sheepfold of Jesus will not only see Him but will also follow Him when He calls them to come with Him.
How about you? Do you just see the cross or do you see Jesus and hear Him calling you to come with Him? For Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Sunday Is Coming!
This Homily was first given by me during a Lenten Service in February of 1983. It is based on 1 Corinthians 15: 12 – 29
(This inspirational sermon has been updated for this post)
The Risen Christ, Our Hope
12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (NKJV)
Several months ago, we celebrated the birth of Jesus. It was a joyous occasion, and we spent a great deal of time, energy and, of course, money in preparing for it. But, what if Jesus were dead and still in the grave? What then?
A few months later it is Friday, a day that Christians call “Good Friday”. To the Apostles, however, and the other followers of Jesus, this day was anything but good. In fact it started out rather badly and went down hill from there. It could very well have been the reason that Christmas never happened.
First, one of His own disciples betrayed Him. Then, as He was taken prisoner, the rest of them deserted Him and fled into the darkness of the night, fearful for their own lives. And one of His closest friends – Peter – would deny Him three times, and Jesus heard him.
In the hours that followed, Jesus was humiliated, degraded, and badly beaten. He was mocked, whipped and spat upon. He had a crown of thorns fiercely forced upon his head and his beard was pulled out by hand.
After the soldiers had fun with Him, Jesus was tried, convicted and sentenced to death; to die in horrible torture, having been nailed to a wooden cross and left to die. Finally, before that day was over, Jesus was placed in a tomb that wasn’t even His.
On that day the Apostles saw all of their hopes and dreams washed away by the death of their closest friend. Yes, that day was a Friday, but for them it wasn’t good. For it was a day of total defeat for their cause of believing that Jesus was the Messiah. They had nothing to look forward to, and they hid in fear that they, too, would be arrested and taken away.
However, there was one thing that they didn’t know and if they had known this day would not have been a day of defeat, but a day of beginnings and a day of anticipation. Yes, it was Friday, but Sunday was coming! And as Psalm 118: 24 says, “This is the day which the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”
For, although Jesus died on the cross for sins, He was raised from the dead for our justification. As it says in Scripture, “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” You see, it is His resurrection that gives His birth meaning, and it is His resurrection that makes Friday good.
Our faith in forgiveness for our sins and the promise of eternal life in Heaven is based on the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead, and is still alive today.
Because of this truth, this factual turn of events, everything that Jesus said and did before His death is just as important as what happened after, and we should know them, study them and believe them.
This is a time when we should make a self-examination of our own faith and find out how it compares to God’s Holy Word, and where a change is needed in our faith, or in our way of living, we should accept the challenge to make that change, and do so with God’s help; with the Holy Spirit working in us to will and to do of His good pleasure.
Our prayer today should be that each and every one of us will make such an examination and that our faith in Jesus will not only be increased but be strengthened as well. And with this faith we can proclaim along with the Apostle Peter, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in Heaven for you.
Yes, today is Friday… But Sunday Is Coming!
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