The Lutheran Hour
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"Crucified"
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Text: John 19:18a
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today we remember the cross of Christ and the Savior’s great sacrifice. We remember, and we rejoice that the ancient Roman symbol of death has become God’s symbol of life.
Have you ever thought how you would like to die? How’s that for a sermon starter? Probably a little morbid for most. Here, let me soften it up a bit. I’ll ask the question a different way. Have you ever thought about how you wouldn’t like to die? I have. No, I don’t think about it a lot; it’s not an obsession. But I have thought about it. For example, from what I’ve been told, freezing to death isn’t so bad; you just sort of fall asleep. Nor would I mind dying unexpectedly in the middle of the night. To put in a full day doing something I liked to do, going to bed and simply not waking up. That’s just about as good as it can get when the grim reaper comes knocking. On the other hand, if I’m given my druthers, and I probably won’t be; I’d prefer not to leave this world in a fire; or after a long, drawn out and painful fight against cancer; or after Alzheimer’s has whittled my memory away.
Death isn’t a topic that most of us want to think about or dwell upon. Well, you can relax; today, at the beginning of what the church calls “Holy Week,” we’re not going to concentrate on your demise. Instead, I’ll be talking about the death of someone else: the death of your Savior, Jesus Christ.
Two thousand years ago, the Apostle John, an eyewitness of the Savior’s crucifixion, talked about what he had seen. In the nineteenth chapter of his narrative of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, John wrote: “…They crucified Him.” Simply, sadly, sorrowfully John recorded the death of God’s holy Son, humanity’s Savior. “…They crucified Him. ” With those words John tells how, on a small, skull-shaped hill found outside the city walls of Jerusalem, a Roman death squad nailed the world’s Redeemer to a cross. “…They crucified Him. ” Those are the words about which we speak today; those are God’s words which tell of our Savior’s undeserved sacrifice; which speak of our one and only hope for forgiveness and eternal life.
Some of you who cannot, this day, honestly say, “Jesus is my Savior,” may well think that Christianity’s remembrance of Jesus’ death is something both curious and creepy; our respect for His cross something grizzly and gruesome. As evidence of our strangeness, you might point to things like a public sale which took place on May 12, 1993. On that date, at a Paris auction house, two slivers of olive wood were put up for sale. A certificate of authenticity, which had been signed way back in 1855, verified those two slivers had come from the true cross of Christ. Even without E-bay, people bid. It was a feeding frenzy. The first offer was $1,800. In the next minute-and-a-half, the time before the gavel struck and the auctioneer said, “Sold,” the offering price skyrocketed to over $18,000 dollars.
Some of you, confused by Christ’s cross, might wonder why the cross, a particularly gruesome instrument of public torture and death has been able to find such unique respect in the hearts of Jesus’ followers. After all, even the Romans who elevated crucifixion to an art form believed it was a terrible way to die. The Roman statesman Cicero called crucifixion a “most cruel and disgusting penalty” (Verrem 2:5.165). The Roman judge, Julius Paulus, listed many ways a criminal might be put to death: there was death by burning; death by beheading; death by being thrown to wild beasts. But at the top of Paulus’ list of terrible ways to die was crucifixion.
Emperor Nero’s teacher, the historian Seneca, suggested that if you were condemned to be crucified, suicide might be a better alternative. He wrote, “Can anyone be found who would prefer wasting away in pain dying limb by limb, or letting out his life drop by drop, rather than expiring once for all? Can any man be found willing to be fastened to the accursed tree, long sickly, already deformed, swelling with ugly wounds on shoulders and chest, and drawing the breath of life amid long drawn-out agony?” (Dialogue 3:2.2). Over the centuries, inventive humankind may have developed more painful ways to die, but none more demoralizing to body, mind, and soul than crucifixion. In agreement, the Bible says: “Cursed is every man who hangs upon the tree.”
Are you among the many today who are confused by Christ’s cross? Do you wonder why it is so respected; why it is held in such honor? Do you wonder why Jesus’ people adorn their homes with a cross, but would cringe at the idea of hanging a picture of an electric chair in the same honored location?
Are you confused that we would think one man’s death to be so very important, that our lives would revolve around an event which took place in an inconsequential province of the Roman empire almost 2,000 years ago? “After all,” you wonder, “wasn’t Jesus’ cross only one of countless crosses on which the enemies of Rome met painful, slow, public death; a death from which there was neither reprieve nor opportunity for escape?” Indeed, historians tell us that every ancient Roman city of any size had a forest of uprights which saw regular use in the crucifixion of criminals. After the slave’s rebellion of Spartacus was suppressed, more than 6,000 crosses lined the Appian Way from Rome to Capua. When Jesus was about six years old, the Imperial City celebrated the crushing of a Galilean revolt by crucifying 2,000 rebels. Their crosses were put up alongside the roads near Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. In 70 AD, during the worst days of the siege of Jerusalem, those who had tried to escape that city were captured and crucified – as many as 500 crucifixions took place every night.
You may wonder what makes Jesus’ cross, Jesus’ death, Jesus’ crucifixion so unique that the entire Christian world, this week, remembers His suffering, His sacrifice, His cross, and His crucifixion. What makes Jesus’ murder so special? After all, have we not, in our own age, seen concentration camps which exterminated millions? Still, none of those deaths have had the same impact upon the world as did the Christ’s cross on Calvary; none of those men, women, and children who died in these places, while respected, loved, mourned, and missed, have been worshipped and venerated as has been the Lamb of God.
Maybe you are so confused by Christ’s cross that you think the apostle John would have done better if he had forgotten, and not chronicled, Christ’s passion; maybe you think John should have confined himself to speaking about Jesus’ sympathy and sensitivity not His suffering and sacrifice. Maybe you believe Christ’s church should concentrate on telling of His caring and compassion not His crucifixion upon Calvary’s crest. Maybe you agree that the Bible is right when it says the preaching of the cross is foolishness.” Are you shocked? Well, it’s true; the Bible really does say the “preaching of the cross is foolishness.”
But I must make a confession. Those words are taken out of context. To leave it like that would not only be a contradiction of the Bible’s intent, it would also be eternally dangerous for you. In that passage, which is taken from the first chapter of 1 Corinthians, the Lord’s Word continues. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” That’s right, the cross is foolishness, but only if you are dying in unbelief; only if you do not understand, or refuse to see what God was trying to accomplish upon Jesus’ cross. My friends, every year we all hear reports of parents who, for whatever reason, refuse to allow their dying child to receive some necessary medicine, or undergo a lifesaving surgery. To those parents, the medicine, the surgery, seem like foolishness. They don’t believe in it; they don’t understand it; they don’t want it; and they reject it. It can be a fatal mistake.
Please, do not make a similar mistake in matters spiritual. If you are confused by Christ’s cross, it may be because you, like those parents, do not understand what God was trying to accomplish. You are not seeing the value of the healing medicine which God is giving. You do not understand, or you are rejecting the one hope that you have. If that is the case then see, perhaps for the first time, but I pray not for the last time, that on the cross God was repairing that which you cannot restore; on the cross God’s Son was building a bridge over sin’s gulf which had separated us from Him. On the cross, the Savior shows that no matter what you have done, no matter how bad you have been, no matter how long you have lived in your transgression, He still loves you and is willing to do all that is necessary to save you.
On the cross, as Jesus hung, and bled, and died, the Father was saying, “I want you reconciled, restored, redeemed. I want My wandering children back. I want you in My family; I want you in my heavenly home for eternity. On the cross, in that scene of human violence, God picked up the payment for our heavenly peace. On the cross, in that place of earthly suffering, God offered spiritual healing. On the cross, in that place of physical death, God showed us the pathway to Spiritual Life. On the cross, God’s sinless Son shed His blood as the price which had to be paid to buy us back from sin, Satan, death. On the cross, Jesus’ precious blood becomes the Father’s heaven-sent cure for all the illnesses which tear at your soul, your mind, your peace, your hope, your heaven. The question is, will you, like those parents who refuse medicine to their children, refuse the cure that God wishes to give to you?
If you are confused by the cross, you should know, when Jesus died, there were two groups of people who stood at the cross. The first believed in Him. They had heard His message of repentance, forgiveness, and grace; they had seen His miracles which restored those who were ill in body and soul. This group put their hope in Him. But there was also another group at the cross. This group was as far removed from the first as is humanly possible. There were the soldiers who were gambling for Christ’s clothing; there were the men who had hated the Savior’s message and spurned His call to pardon and peace. Laughing, rejoicing at what they were seeing, they hurled insults, and saw the cross as an end to Christ’s competition for the hearts of people. If you had interrupted them and proposed that Jesus’ cross was God’s plan of hope, they would not have understood. They would have thought you disturbed, deranged, unbalanced, and unstable. They would not have understood because they were, like the parents I mentioned earlier, rejecting God’s medicine for spiritual healing.
Today, two groups still stand before Jesus’ cross. The first, by the Spirit’s power, kneels in repentant humility, and prays, “Lord be merciful to me a sinner.” These souls, having seen their Savior die in their stead, knowing He has paid the price to ransom them from sin, and Satan, and death, recognizing the cross as the power of God, are forgiven, free, and have an eternal future. But the second group is also there, rejecting the cross, ignoring it, despising, scoffing at it, considering it foolishness. Saint Paul was right: “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
I’ve been saying there were two groups before the cross. You should know there were three. The third group was a small one, made up of only two men. They shared nothing other than their physical proximity. One of these men was a Roman centurion, the other a crucified and dying thief. At the end of the day one would be alive, the other would be dead. One had a future; the other, well he had none, at least not in this world. One would walk back to his barracks; the dead body of the other would be discarded. One of the men represented power, the other, total helplessness. Still, these two men became joined in this: as they took a good, close look at the dying Savior, they were transformed. In the six hours during which they watched God’s Son die, both of these men were changed.
From the Savior, the dying thief received the promise of heaven; and the centurion was given the knowledge that Jesus was the Son of God. That was his confession. After Jesus had breathed His last, the centurion rightly confessed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Are you confused by the cross? These men weren’t. They knew that the Savior’s crucifixion on a skull-shaped hill outside of Jerusalem’s walls was unique. It was made that way not because of the cross. The cross was made of the same timber as all of the others. It was different not because of the cross, but because of who hung upon it: Jesus, the Son of God, your Savior.
And how can you be sure Jesus is the Son of God? Not because He died; all of us will do that. You can be sure Jesus is the Son of God not because of His dying, but because of His living. That’s right. The crucified Christ lives. Today it’s fashionable to say that Jesus never died upon His cross. Authors and skeptics gleefully endorse the heresy that Jesus merely fainted and then revived in the cool, damp, borrowed tomb into which He had been placed. My friends, as much as I am able, I have searched through the ancient records. Never once have I ever found an example, any example of someone being crucified and not dying. I’ve read of an emperor who wanted to find out what it felt like to be crucified and had someone taken down from the cross so he could ask him. That is why the thousands who were crucified also were the thousands who died.
But, in all of history, Jesus is unique in that He rose from the dead. Three days after He was buried, Jesus was seen alive. And then He was seen again, and then again, and then again. And not just seen: He also ate with the people to whom He showed Himself. He told them to touch His wounds. He breathed on them. He was real. The crucified Christ was, and remains, alive. And because He is alive, and real, and well, our faith in Him as our Redeemer is also alive, and real, and well. Because Jesus is alive, and real, and well, your life and your death can, and will be different.
Which takes me back to the question, “How would you like to die?” I pray that your answer is, “I want to die in Jesus, and wake with Him in heaven.” That is the proper answer to the question. It’s the only answer that makes sense; the only answer which will take you through whatever is before you. It is God’s answer; and if you know how you want to die, you also know how you want to live. The cross makes a difference. How? I only have time for one example. A few months ago I found out one of my friends had died. Alzheimer’s. I remember going to see him. The vast majority of the time he didn’t know his family. He certainly didn’t know me. I had come too late in his life for his memory of me to stay. But he did know Jesus. After our conversations which asked the same questions again and again, I always asked him if he would like to pray the Lord’s Prayer with me. He always did. The memory of those words, given to him as a little child, remained almost until his end. Together we prayed, and the atmosphere of his little room changed. Jesus was there, and my friend was at peace. He was at peace when I recited the words of the 23rd Psalm. You may remember them: “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” A living Lord Jesus took my friend through the valley. And now, as David said it, as Christians in every age have said it, because of the resurrected Lord, my friend is dwelling in the house of the Lord forever. Are you confused by the cross? Be confused no longer. The cross of Christ means God has bought our life, our forgiveness, our future, our eternity. I know. My friend and many others have shown me this is so.
Years ago, a group of missionaries had an audience with Mahatma Gandhi to explain their work in India. As the meeting was ending, Gandhi asked them to sing one of their favorite Christian hymns. They asked, “Which hymn would you like?” Gandhi replied, “Sing the hymn that best expresses what you believe. ” This is the hymn they sang: “When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.” Good choice, for it tells what we believe. On the cross, God’s Son, our Savior, died for us. And because He did, His wondrous cross is God’s symbol of life and not death. And if you are still confused by the cross – call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for April 9, 2006
TOPIC: What Happens When We Die?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: Hi, Mark.
ANNOUNCER: Today’s topic is rather extensive. A lot of questions, but they all have to do with the soul, the body, and what happens when we die. For example, does the soul leave the body at the moment of death? Do we go immediately to heaven? What about when Jesus said that some dead person was just “sleeping.” Is that what happens? How do you know if you’re going to heaven? And the last question: If we’re present with the Lord already after death, how do the dead in Christ rise first? Aren’t we already with the Lord in heaven?
KLAUS: And we’re supposed to cover that in one session? Good luck. Let’s deal with first things first. How do you know if you’re going to heaven? An individual can be absolutely confident that he or she is going to be in heaven if they, with repentant hearts, believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. By the Holy Spirit’s power and God the Father’s grace, we are called by the Gospel, and that Good News adopts us, forgiven of sin, into God’s family of faith.
ANNOUNCER: OK. One down and, let’s see, only 195 more to go. What happens when we die? Do we go to heaven, or do we fall asleep?
KLAUS: Lutherans believe that when we die, the souls of believers enter immediately into the joy of heaven. We base that belief, at least in part, on Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.” In Philippians, Paul says he has a desire to “depart and be with Christ.”
It is true that Jesus sometimes refers to an individual who’s dead as being asleep. In truth, for the Savior, who had power over death and grave, that is what death is, “a sleep.” Still, the preponderance of Scriptural evidence says that after we die we are immediately with the Savior. As one more piece of evidence, here are Paul’s words to the church at Philippi: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21) Now, the important part of that is: From heaven, our souls wait for Jesus to resurrect and transform our bodies.
ANNOUNCER: OK. We’re about halfway through, and we’re doing just fine. Only one more question to deal with: What is the timetable for the events of Judgment Day?
KLAUS: OK, let me do the best I can here. When we die, our souls separate from our bodies. We’re judged at that moment and the result of that judgment will be: The souls of believers go immediately to heaven, the souls of unbelievers sent immediately to hell. At that moment, the saved begin to enjoy the eternity of bliss with the Lord; the lost begin the suffering of everlasting punishment.
Whether hell or heaven, all those who are dead will await that unknown hour when the Savior shall return as the Divine Judge of both the living and the dead.
What happens next is going to happen quickly. There’s not going to be any time for anybody in Australia to call somebody in New York and say, “Jesus is here; repent, believe, right now!” Nope, in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will be raised; the saved to be rejoined with their glorified bodies, the damned to be reunited with a body condemned to eternal separation from God.
ANNOUNCER: And as you said, things are moving quickly at that point.
KLAUS: They are, and it isn’t over. Then Jesus will separate the elect from the damned and publicly pronounce the Father’s eternal verdict. For some, the verdict will be life – for others it will be death.
ANNOUNCER: But is that really necessary? After all, those who were dead have already been judged.
KLAUS: Some might think it strange, but there is a precedent for it that most of our listeners might know. After a jury reaches a guilty verdict, the judge will often wait for a period of time before he brings them in to announce it. The person is guilty, but the verdict needs to be read publicly, and the sentence may even be given later on – publicly. That is what God does. At the time of death we’re judged, and on judgment day the verdict is made public.
ANNOUNCER: Anything else you might want to add?
KLAUS: Yeah. Now is the time for our listeners to hear what the Lord is saying to them. Not everyone’s going to be around to hear us next Sunday. The Bible says in Hebrews 9 “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly awaiting for Him” (verses 27-28).
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Isaac Watts and Edward Miller. From Praise to the Lord! by the Schola Cantorum of St. Peter’s (© 1988 The Order of St. Benedict, Inc.)
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” by Healey Willan, ed. Henry Gerike. From Agnus Dei by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 1996 Concordia Seminary Chorus) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“Hilf, Gott, dass mir’s gelinge ” by J.S. Bach. From Orgelbüchlein & More Works by J.S. Bach by Robert Clark and John David Peterson (© 1997 Calcante Recordings, Ltd.)