The Lutheran Hour
-
"They Crucified Him"
- Download MP3 Reflections
-
Text: John 19:18
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Today, at the beginning of Holy Week, we look to the cross where death did its worst and the Son of God laid down His life. Standing in the shadow of the cross we also see the open and empty tomb of the Redeemer. Cross and grave allow us to say: Christ is risen, and because He is, we too are forgiven, free, and will live forever. God grant this Lord, unto us all. Amen.
It was years ago that a little boy decided he wanted to buy a dog. With a dollar in his pocket he went to the pound where a litter of pups were being cute and cuddly as only a bunch of puppies can be. When he went inside to make his purchase, one of the volunteers said the price of redemption was $25. The boy was young, but even so he knew there is a world of difference between $25 and the single, crumpled-up bill in his pocket. The boy left the pound heartbroken, as only a little boy who can’t afford a puppy can be heartbroken. Yes, he left dejected, but he also left determined. In the days which followed, the boy raked yards, ran errands, washed cars. He worked until he had amassed the needed $25.00. With cash in hand, the boy proudly returned to the pound, plunked down his money and was brought to the cage so he might make his choice. In less time than it takes to tell, the boy was surrounded, smothered, by puppies who jumped and licked and wagged their tails until their entire bodies were a-wigglin’ and a-wagglin’.
The pound’s manager came and the boy pointed to his selection, a scrawny, black pup in the corner alone. “I’d like that one, sir.” The pound manager picked up the dog and said, “Son, not this one. He’s crippled – has been that way since birth. He can’t run or play with you. He won’t ever be able to fetch a stick and do the things boys want to do with their pal. Why don’t you pick another?” The boy had his heart set and would not be moved. He wanted the lame pup. As he walked out of the cage, clutching his newest and bestest friend, the pound’s manager noticed the boy’s limp – a limp caused by the steel brace which ran down his leg and was attached to his shoe.
When I first heard that story, I thought: You know, if the boy had walked away and forgotten that crippled pup, nobody could have faulted him for doing so. After all, $25 is a lot of money for any pound pup and it’s too high for an animal which wasn’t up to standard. Similarly, who would dare criticize God’s Son if He had refused to pay the price necessary to redeem poor, crippled sinners such as us.
But anyone who expected that little boy to forget about his puppy would have been underestimating the love that was in that boy’s heart. And anyone who thinks Jesus would have walked away from offering His life as a ransom from sin, death, and devil doesn’t understand the tenderness the Christ has for the fallen, human race, the love God has for those of us who have been crippled by our disobedience. So you and I might know the peace of God, Jesus became one of us and did everything which was necessary so we might be adopted into God’s family of faith. To save our crippled souls, He became one of us and suffered the pains that we deserved. So we might have life eternal, Jesus died the death which should have been ours; so we might be saved, Jesus’ life was a long, lonely march to the cross.
Now you and I know that we are going to die someday. That’s the way we think about it, isn’t it – we’re going to die someday. But human nature being what it is, and living in denial as we do, we generally think someday is a long way away. We cling to the word, “someday” as if someday was never going to come. No matter how many warnings they get in drivers’ ed, no matter how many statistics are quoted to them, teens continue to drink and drive. They do so fully confident that the statistics they’ve heard don’t apply to them. They’ll die – someday.
But Jesus knew the day He was going to die. As the all-knowing, all-powerful Son of God, He knew He was going to die, and when He was going to die, and how He was going to die, and where He was going to die. When He was in the Jerusalem temple at the age of twelve, He told His worried parents that He had to be about His Father’s business. And part of the Father’s business, not all of that business but a necessary part of it, included His dying. Shortly after He had begun His active ministry, the Savior told an inquirer by the name of Nicodemus that even as Moses made a metal snake and put it on a pole so those who looked at it might be saved from the bite of poisonous snakes; so, too, He would be lifted up on a cross so anyone who looked upon Him as their Savior might be rescued from the poison of sin (see John 3:14).
Yes, Jesus knew He was going to die. Had not John the Baptist pointed to Him and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29)? The day those words were spoken, John’s listeners would have reminisced how, when God’s people were enslaved in Egypt, they had been commanded to sacrifice a lamb; they would have remembered how the lamb’s blood had caused the angel of death to pass over their ancestors; they would have recalled how, each year, they sacrificed a perfect lamb. But Jesus would have known all those lambs were slain as a foreshadowing of how He, the perfect sacrifice would die to free humanity from the spiritual slavery of sin, Satan, and death.
Yes, Jesus knew He was going to die. Jesus knew He was Isaiah’s man of sorrows who would be acquainted with grief. Jesus knew He was the One who would carry humanity’s sins; who would be smitten, afflicted, and wounded for our forgiveness. Jesus knew. Because Isaiah’s inspired, inerrant prophecy had said so. Jesus knew He would be crushed for our iniquities, chastised so we might have peace, and whipped so we might be healed.
Jesus knew before He died many injustices would be heaped upon Him. Even so, He remained as quiet as a Passover lamb destined to be slaughtered. On trial for His life, berated by bribed liars, He refused to defend Himself, plead His innocence, or protest the terrible unfairness of it all. In spite of the cruelty He suffered at the hands of those He had come to save, He did not shake His fist at heaven and demand to be treated justly; He did not call down curses upon those who were persecuting Him or use His Divine power to free Himself. What He did do was kneel in the Garden of Gethsemane and through bloody sweat, ask that the cup of suffering be taken from Him. But even that prayer was modified by His obedient addition, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as the heavenly Father wishes.”
Jesus knew He would die. Had not the prophecy said He would be cut off from the land of the living and His grave be made with the wicked? Even though He had never hurt anyone, even though He had never lied to anyone, even though He had done nothing but good to all who had been turned to Him, He would be taken to the cross. There upon that infamous and bloody piece of wood He would pay the price justice demanded. He would die so you, I, and all who believe on Him, would live forever.
Jesus knew He would die. And how did He react? Let me ask how would you react? You need not answer. We know what we would do. We would try to escape; we would try to run, to hide, to disappear. But Jesus did none of those things. Bravely, boldly, Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross which was waiting (see Luke 9:51). Knowing He was going to die, Jesus announced to His disciples, “the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed.” When Peter tried to rewrite Jesus’ future and talk Him out of His sacrificial death, Jesus reprimanded His disciple for putting his plan in front of God’s plan (see Mark 8:33).
Jesus knew He was going to die and in spite of the knowing, He put Himself in danger by going to a Jerusalem suburb and raising His friend Lazarus from the dead. Knowing He was going to die He upset His critics by entering Jerusalem and allowing Himself to be acclaimed as the Son of David who had come in the Lord’s Name. Jesus knew He was going to die. And lest anyone think Jesus was a pawn who was swept up in events beyond His control or understanding, know that during the last week of His life, Jesus turned to His disciples and clearly stated the fate which He had always known was His. He said, “after two days…the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified” (Matthew 26:2). Jesus knew He was going to die.
It has been more than 50 years since a Japanese diplomat talked about the success of his nation’s soldiers at the beginning of World War II. He said, “I have just been informed of a commander at Port Arthur who called for volunteers to cut the barbed wire which was stretched out before his troops. He said to his men, ‘You will never come back. You will not be allowed to carry a gun. You will take only a pair of (wire) cutters. (You will) run to the barricade, and, if you are lucky, (you will) cut one or two wires before you are shot dead. Another (soldier) will take your place and cut one or two wires more. But you will know that upon your dead bodies the armies of your emperor will march to victory.'” The diplomat continued, “Total regiments volunteered for these sure death groups.” These men were marked by love for their emperor. Nothing, not even death, stood in their way of accomplishing their commander’s mission.
The same, and more, can be said of the Savior’s loyalty to His Father’s plan to save us from hell. So you might be forgiven, Jesus was condemned; so you might live, Jesus died. He gave His all so we might be saved. Of course Jesus did far more than any soldier ever has for his country or commander. If Jesus had failed, there would have been no one who could take His place and cut the wires of damnation which separated humanity from heaven. Jesus, and only Jesus, could do the job. Jesus, and only Jesus, had to complete the work which had begun in a Bethlehem stable. Jesus knew He must die.
And so it came to pass. During a time of private prayer He was betrayed and arrested. In the hours which followed, He was repeatedly tried on ever-changing, trumped-up charges. Seldom has justice been so abused as during those trials which led Him ever closer to a criminal’s death on a skull-shaped hill called Calvary. Countless sermons have been preached, numerous books have been written about what happened there that day. The apostle John, describing that dark moment simply states, “There they crucified Him” (John 19:18). Against all logic; in contrast to what we would have done; God’s Son died for us upon a cross.
Forget the modern concept where capital punishment is designed to be as quick and painless as possible. Jesus died in a process calculated to produce the greatest suffering possible; He died a death which had been created to serve as a warning to all future lawbreakers. “There they crucified Him.”
Look to the cross of Christ. Hanging on those crossbeams you will see the ultimate expression of God’s grace. It is on the cross where you see the commitment of your Savior. It is on the cross when Jesus’ humiliation seems to be greatest, His fortune the lowest, when the world seems most out of control and humankind’s hatred is shown most clearly, that we can see how much we are loved. For us, on His cross Jesus gave up His spirit and laid down His life. That is what the Bible says (see John 10:15-18). Jesus’ life wasn’t taken from Him. The nails didn’t bleed Him to death; the elements didn’t sap life from Him and the Roman spear didn’t snuff out His last bit of life. Jesus lay down His life for you. Voluntarily, willingly, sacrificially, Jesus gave up His life so that… so…
I won’t try to explain. Let me allow a young widow to tell you. She wrote this to her pastor: “As I stared out the window last night, I saw the moon shining in the heavens. As my thoughts often do, they turned to my spouse and how the moon was shining upon his grave. I thought of the coldness of the evening and the harshness of the wind. And then I thought: no, that’s wrong. My spouse isn’t in that cemetery; and I knew he wasn’t. The next day our six-year-old son came home from school. He exploded into the house, leaving the door open, throwing his jacket on the floor and before I could order him to correct his violations of the house rules, he started babbling. He said, “Mama, the teacher said Daddy has seen Jesus! I thought he might be lonely, but Daddy can’t be lonely seeing Jesus, can he?” Pastor, I knew what my son said was true. You can’t be lonely when you have a crucified and ever living Christ.
So a woman whose husband had died might be comforted; so she might know he is not languishing in a cold cemetery; so she might be assured her loved one hasn’t breathed his last and then was assimilated into a black void; is why Jesus hung on a cross and why He bodily rose on the third day. So a fatherless boy might know his father is still living and has gone ahead of him in seeing the Savior, is why Jesus died and rose. So every one of us might know death is not the end of life, that is why Jesus died and three days later rose from His borrowed tomb.
Today, at the beginning of Holy Week, before the cross the Lord extends an invitation to put aside your criticism, your skepticism, your denial and doubt. Before the cross be assured that God loves you, will never desert you, will never forsake you, or leave you. At the cross… In 1882 George Matheson went to the eye doctor. He had been having some trouble with his vision so he went for a check up. The news he received wasn’t good. The doctor told George he would soon be blind. It was the overwhelming, devastating bad news, not his vision problems, which caused George to stumble as he went out of the doctor’s office. The only thing he felt he could hold on to was the love of his fiancée, a beautiful woman. George was confident his intended would understand. She didn’t. When George told her about his future, she said, “I will not marry a blind man.”
Like many before him; like many since, George reevaluated his position and where he was putting his faith. If those closest to him wouldn’t remain committed, he turned to someone who would: Jesus, the crucified and risen Christ. Confident of Christ’s commitment, George wrote a hymn. On this Sunday of Holy Week, standing before the cross on which the King of Glory died, I’d like to conclude this message by reading part of what a soon-to-be-blind man wrote. His hymn says:
O Love that wilt not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe, that in Thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be…. O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, and feel the promise is not vain that morn shall tearless be. O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee; I lay in dust life’s glory dead, and from the ground there blossoms red life that shall endless be.
George knew a crucified Christ and an ever-living Savior would not let him down. Even as I pray you know Jesus will never leave or forsake you. The message of a crucified Christ, a living Lord, is what I am privileged to share with you today. Know and believe: Christ’s empty cross and tomb will never let you down. Believe the victorious Redeemer who says, “Because I live you shall live also” (John 14:19). This you can believe, and to help in that belief I offer this pledge: The Lutheran Hour is ready to help. Please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 16, 2008
TOPIC: ResurrectionANNOUNCER: We’re back with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. As you know, Pastor, this is the beginning of Holy Week. Christians throughout the world will remember the suffering and death of our Lord; and next Sunday celebrate His resurrection.
KLAUS: It is the most holy of special seasons, a time with terrible lows and wonderful highs. We encourage our listeners to participate as much as possible this week in the life of their church.
ANNOUNCER: And if you don’t have a church, we invite you to call 1-800-876-9880 and we will help you find one in your area.
KLAUS: So, Mark, on this Palm Sunday, what do we have?
ANNOUNCER: Well, on this Palm Sunday, even though your sermon dealt quite a bit with Good Friday, we are going to be talking about the resurrection of our Lord on Easter Sunday.
KLAUS: Most appropriate.
ANNOUNCER: Our first question comes to us from an email. A listener wants to know why the various resurrection accounts in the Bible seem to be different.
KLAUS: Good question. I remember hearing the story of a missionary who gave a New Testament to an unbeliever. The man started reading and then he came back to the missionary and asked, “How come this Jesus lived, died, and rose; lived, died, and rose; lived, died, and rose; and then lived, died, and rose? Why did it happen four times?
ANNOUNCER: In other words, Matthew was telling one story, Mark another, Luke another, and John… and so forth.
KLAUS: Right. Now the answer to the listener’s question is not all that difficult. First, we should say that while there are differences between the resurrection accounts of the Gospel, there are, as far as I know, no contradictions.
ANNOUNCER: How could there be differences but not contradictions?
KLAUS: The best way I can explain would be to stage a car crash on a busy street corner. The driver inside the car may report seeing parts of that accident; the person waiting on the street corner may report different aspects of the accident; the person whose car was hit might share something else.
ANNOUNCER: So, in other words, they all experienced or witnessed the same accident, but they remembered and reported different details?
KLAUS: Yes, and even though they reported different details, that doesn’t mean those parts disagreed.
ANNOUNCER: And you’re saying that’s what happened here with the Gospel narratives in the Bible. The disciples all report different aspects of these events of Easter Sunday – parts which do not contradict.
KLAUS: Exactly. Mark, you said you had some other questions.
ANNOUNCER: Another question: Why were the disciples surprised by Christ’s resurrection?
KLAUS: Yes, you would think they would have remembered. After all, Jesus did tell them repeatedly He was going to rise from the dead.
ANNOUNCER: Right. In Matthew 27:63, it says even Jesus’ enemies remembered that He had foretold He would rise from the dead.
KLAUS: Another good question. I think there are a number of answers.
ANNOUNCER: Could it be they were just afraid?
KLAUS: Do you mean they weren’t acting in a very unpredictable way? Luke 22:45 says when Jesus asked the disciples to pray with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, they fell asleep.
ANNOUNCER: Right.
KLAUS: Do you remember why they fell asleep?
ANNOUNCER: Well, they had just come from having the Passover meal, and maybe they were just tired and fell asleep.
KLAUS: I agree, those things are part of it, but Luke says … let me read the passage: “And when He (Jesus) rose up from prayer, and came to His disciples, He found them sleeping for sorrow…”
They fell asleep because of the pressure, the sadness of the upcoming events Jesus had warned about. When people get in that state of mind, they don’t always act and think like they normally would.
ANNOUNCER: You said there might be other reasons why the disciples didn’t remember Jesus’ words about the resurrection?
KLAUS: And there is. I think the biggest one is this: the disciples didn’t believe Jesus would rise from the dead.
ANNOUNCER: Even though He said He would.
KLAUS: Yes, He did. Mark, you and I have attended a lot of funerals in the course of our ministry. Agreed?
ANNOUNCER: Agreed.
KLAUS: Now suppose one of those folks had said, “I’m coming back from the dead. I’m getting buried on Friday, and you can come back on Sunday and we can talk about death and resurrection.” Would you believe them?
ANNOUNCER: Probably not.
KLAUS: And I wouldn’t either. When somebody gets buried, they get buried. That is what Jesus did, though. He said, “I’m going to rise…” but the disciples didn’t know. They acted like we probably would.
ANNOUNCER: Even though they had seen all of His miracles, including the raising of Lazarus from the dead? Wouldn’t that have made a difference?
KLAUS: It did make a difference – to the High Priests. It was the raising of Lazarus from the dead which really got them organized to get rid of Jesus. They knew what had happened that day in Bethany. That’s why they asked for a guard to be placed on the Jesus’ tomb. They wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to happen again.
ANNOUNCER: But it did happen!
KLAUS: It did!
ANNOUNCER: Praise God! Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music selection for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by John Leavitt. Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“A Lamb Alone Bears Willingly” by Paul Gerhardt, arr. Richard Wienhorst. From Jesus Christ—the Light of the World by the Concordia Seminary Chorus (© 1995 Concordia Seminary Chorus) Concordia Publishing House/SESAC
“No Temple Now, No Gift of Price” by Timothy Dudley-Smith & Joseph Herl. © 1984 Hope Publishing and © 1998 Joseph Herl
“In the Shattered Bliss of Eden” by Stephen Starke & C.H.H. Parry, arr. Kevin Hildebrand. From Hymns for All Saints: Lent, Easter, Pentecost (© 2006 Concordia Publishing House)
“All Glory, Laud and Honor” arr. Michael Burkhardt. From Hymn Improvisations, vol. 1 by Michael Burkhardt (© 1993 MorningStar Music Publishers)