APR 3 2015 | Good Friday Message

Sea Change Church · "Good Friday Message" · Dr. James Smith III · April 3, 2015
Automated transcript. Not reviewed for accuracy.

All right. Hallelujah. Two, three, four, two, two, three, four. Love's redeemed. Jesus stood before the governor and the governor asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Yes, it is as you say, Jesus replied. When he was accused by the chief priest and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?

But Jesus made no reply. Not even a single charge to the great amazement of the governor. Now it was the governor's custom at the feast to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time, he had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, Which one do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Christ?

For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to them. While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent to him this message, Don't have anything to do with this innocent man, for I've suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him. But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.

Which of the two do you want me to release to you? Asked the governor. Barabbas! They answered. What shall I do then with Jesus who is called the Christ? Pilate asked. They answered, Crucify him! Why? What crime has he committed? Asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, Crucify him! When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.

I am innocent of this man's blood, and it is your responsibility. All the people answered, Let his blood be upon us and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified. Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him.

They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. And then they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. Hail, King of the Jews! They spit on him and took the staff and struck him on his head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off his robe and put on his own clothes, and they led him away to crucify him.

And as they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. There they offered Jesus a wine drink mixed with gall. But after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes and cast lots.

And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head, they placed a written charge against him. This is Jesus, King of the Jews. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. Those who passed by hurled insults, shaking their heads, saying, You, who is going to destroy the temple and build it up in three days, save yourself.

Come down from that cross, if you are the Son of God. In the same way, the chief priests and teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. He saved others, they said, but he can't save himself. He's the King of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now. And if he wants him, for he has said, I am the Son of God.

In the same way, the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, darkness came all over the land. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried in a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama baksani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? When some of those standing by heard this, they said, He's calling Elijah. Immediately, one of them ran to get a sponge and filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered Jesus a drink.

The rest said, Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes over to save him. And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up a spirit. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.

They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake, and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, Surely this was the Son of God! Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of his needs.

Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. As the evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.

He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance of the tomb, and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting opposite the tomb. Our church has been here for almost a hundred years, and we may have set a record this evening for most verses read in the scripture reading. Kai, thank you, my brother. Thank you. That's a 50-verse scripture reading.

And I want to say very personally this evening that, yes, we knew what we were doing. I kept trying to cut it. I kept crying to say, can you do this in like five verses, or 20, or 30, and all I got back from the Lord was, just let my word speak. So I trust that already this evening, in the music, in the welcome, in the reading of the word, that God's at work in our lives, in our awareness, to say why this is a good Friday.

because it reflects the depth of the goodness of Almighty God. The goodness of God the Father to not quit on us when Adam and Eve and all those who have their spiritual DNA, like you and I, broke what was a sweetheart deal. Broke the heart of God. But God the Father didn't quit. He had a plan. And Jesus, the eternal Son, in his obedience, in him pouring out himself, entering the incarnation, perfectly divine, and yet perfectly human, so he could be our substitute on the cross, in the Holy Spirit of God.

Jesus, at the end of his words, saying, into your hands, I commend my spirit. what words they are. So, 50 verses. And may I say, too, along the way, that young or old, tall or short, we're all welcome here this evening. And God's going to utilize this fellowship to encourage and strengthen our hearts as we come to this table. It was in the year 2004 that I had an opportunity, along with several friends, to be invited to go up to Rick Warren's church to Saddleback for a screening of the movie The Passion of the Christs.

It hadn't been released yet. Eventually, we ended up in our church, the church I was serving in at that time, securing about 1,000 tickets, and as an evangelistic outreach. We made those available to people, and people came to Christ through that. Sitting up at Saddleback Church with friends and watching this powerful movie, and then their producer, Mel Gibson, walked in and just stood throughout the movie.

I don't think he looked around once. But focused on the screen, focused on the story of Christ, many of us will remember that movie. And the fact that at first, Mel didn't want to put English subtitles in, but to let the Aramaic and the Hebrew and the Greek speak the story and people just be impacted by this amazing 2,000-year-old scene of The Passion of the Christ.

Eventually, subtitles went in. I'm glad they did. But I saw the passion on the screen, and I saw the passion of Mel Gibson. It's unforgettable. The passion of the Christs, I want to say here, illustrates what historically are two meanings of passion. Meaning number one, and it's largely a modern meaning, but it's passion as motivation. You'll see this in your notes.

What cranks you up? What gets you going? What turns you on? What stirs you? What gets you up in the morning? Passion as deep zeal and enthusiasm is one meaning. So if we said this evening to someone next to us, what's your passion? In some sense, we might be saying, what excites you? What motivates you? What's out in front of you that keeps you on the move in a particular direction?

But the ancient meaning of passion, the Latin word passio, meant a willingness to suffer for that first passion. It meant, essentially, that whatever it is you profess a deep commitment to, whether it's your children or your job, the kingdom of God, getting over to, you know, Dunkin' Donuts in time. You know, people who are passionate about that, or Krispy Kreme, excuse me.

You know, whatever it is that stirs you in that way. For some people, their passion is money. What are you willing to sacrifice for that? For a marriage? For a future? For being truly a disciple of Christ? And very simply this evening, I want to suggest that in looking at these two meanings of passion, in both, Christ is honored when we think of Good Friday. In both, in the scene that's been read by Kai, we see these passions of Jesus himself.

And if we were to say to him, what are you so passionate about, Jesus? His response might be, number one, about seeing the lives of those who are lost for eternity, rescued, and brought back through the sacrifice that I can give. And number two, I am passionate enough about that to undergo the depth of suffering that no human being has ever experienced otherwise. Now, some of you know that my default mode in movie tastes is the princess bride.

And you know that when he professed true love, right? He wound up on a rack in the basement of a castle and then, you know, Humperdinck and his friends said, because he has loved truly he's my rival, no one will suffer like this man. I want to say very simply, Wesley, who was the person who was going through that suffering from the one who rivaled him loving the princess.

Not even close. No one has suffered like Jesus has. So with that, let's honor him this evening very simply. It is the passion of the Christ. His passion for us as beloved of his to provide a way where there wasn't any way for us to come into a right relationship with God to be forgiven his body, his blood offered on the cross once and for all as the book of Hebrews says as our atoning sacrifice.

One of the illustrations of that, of what it means to live a passionate life in the right way. And aren't we tempted by extremes to live lives without passion, to just get up and walk around, to go through the motions, to say it costs me too much to care. So just numb me up a little bit, Lord, so I don't feel the possibility that these may be lost, so I don't feel the depth of human need around me.

Numb me up a little bit. That's a popular option. And for others, it's passion, but it's passion over the top that burns down other people, that victimizes instead of sacrificing. Somewhere in the midst, Jesus himself shows us what it means to righteously care that deeply and offer that profoundly for the needs of those that he loves. Seven last words have been part of the church's life.

And as we come to the table this evening, in this shortened meditation, I want to refer you to the notes that one gospel has all seven of these last words. The gospel of Matthew that was just read in 50 verses, there was one of the words. Right? But I want to invite our attention to that this evening, because in the words of Jesus, we may find words that are words of honesty, of healing, of grace and truth, words that are words of renewal for us.

And we join Jesus in this moment. And they touch all four of the classic areas of life, mental, physical, spiritual, and social. It's a whole person sacrifice, and a whole person expression of Jesus in a public way through these words. Father, forgive them. they don't know what they're doing. Father, forgive them. That word of Jesus from the cross, which I've suggested is social, is relational.

May I simply say this evening, if there's somebody that you haven't forgiven yet, what a wonderful time to do that. You know the old English word forgive, means to send away. And we have a choice when we're offended. We either send away the person, or we send away the offense. What a wonderful moment to imitate Christ and his life of deep passion by sending away offenses. I don't know if you hear confession at this hour, but I want to tell you, there is one person that I have the hardest time, one only, I have the hardest time forgiving.

I have to go back again and again when I find old stuff crawling back up. Anybody know what I'm talking about here? Old grudges, old things, I got burned by this guy. He's not the only one, but he's the one that just, as they say, sticks in your craw, get caught between your spiritual teeth, right? Can't clear it. Well, I've told that before here, have I not? A lesson from a Christian dentist who said the profound lesson of his trade was that it wasn't enough to brush, you had to floss your life.

Isn't that right? Things get stuck between your teeth, and a happy, clean smile, you know, that doesn't do it completely. so I need to go back and keep flossing in this area, and this word speaks to me today. Father, forgive this guy. His name is John. He's not in the congregation. Thanks so much. But his name is, don't go looking for name tags, all right? Is it I? You know, no, don't do that, all right?

Right? His name is John. You can pray for me that that forgiveness will be reaffirmed. Jesus said to those who were treating him like beasts, Father, forgive them because they really, they're missing a few cards in their deck. They don't get the big picture. Spiritually, they're in deep ER trouble. Father, forgive them. A second word. to the thief next to him. And the person said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Jesus doesn't do a background check. Jesus doesn't card him at the moment. Jesus doesn't say as if, right? Jesus says, with his desire for the kingdom and a desire to be the Savior's own, today, you will be with me in paradise. I want to say very simply to every one of us who knows Jesus Christ. as our Savior and Lord. If you die today, you'll be with him in paradise. You will be with him in heavenly places.

What an assurance that is. Because you just don't know. I'm looking at Dr. Dave out here, and I don't want to use your name in vain too often. But isn't it the case that in medical practice, there are people we look at, and there's no way they're going to live, but they do. And there's no way they should have died, but they do. So who knows? As it says in Romans 14, whether we live, we live unto the Lord.

Whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, what? We are the Lord's. We're his. We are safe. And to that man at the cross, today, your future is secure. what a wonderful word. Let's drink that deeply in. There is life, and there is a beginning here of eternal life, a taste of heaven, a taste of the eternal. This day in paradise, and as we assure others of God's purpose in their life, that they are safe in the master's hand.

That's relationship. That's passion. He says in the depth of his anguish to his mother, and to the apostle John, Mom, behold your son. I'm checking out. I'm not going to be around. I am passing the baton to someone who will be around to be your caregiver. Treat him as your son. Love him as you've loved me. I'm not going to be jealous. And to John, behold your mother. This dear woman who gave me birth, the virgin birth, this woman who said, be it unto me according to God's word.

And I'll say once again, in that birth that Mary gave, God didn't do anything to her, he did something through her. There's no victimization in this. And she says, let it be according to your word. John, behold your mother. And from that moment forth, the apostle treated her as mom. Jesus thinks so deeply of earthly relationships that in his agony he provides for the care of mom. What a marvelous example for those of us who are caregivers, isn't it?

What a wonderful example. The depth of Jesus' love, seeing the weakness, the need, the glitches, all these different things. And the depth of Jesus' compassion in caring for those that are placed in our care. through whatever combination of factors. Sometimes it's family, sometimes it's friends, sometimes it's the stranger that God leads into our path. Amazing example. We call these the social area of life.

There is the mental area of life, too. And I've just listed one there in Psalm 22. And that's one that is echoed in the Gospels. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I want to say very simply this evening that there are moments in our lives, and maybe this is a season where there's a profound challenge and difficulty and burden. Maybe even as Philip Yancey, a wonderful writer, wrote a book called Disappointment with God.

There is that moment in which we might say, along with Psalm 22 and the psalmist there, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? You've bailed on me. What's the passage after Psalm 22? Next chapter is called what? 23. Very good. Thank you. Thank you. All right. That's the no-fault quiz for the evening. All right. And Psalm 23 begins with what? The Lord is my shepherd. I've said this before.

I want to massage in the lesson. Often the road to Psalm 23 is through Psalm 22. Isn't that right? Often it takes, my God, why have you forsaken me, to move us in a direction where in the revelation of God's care, of God's provision, of God's pathway, we can come to say, the Lord is my shepherd. But the depth of his suffering, that the very eternal son would feel so acutely the burden of sin placed on his back, literally and spiritually, that it felt like separation.

It felt like a broken relationship. God is big enough to take those sassy words from us. And to carry us through. So that we can discover new depths of his plan. And that includes maybe resilience, includes other times resurrection, but God provides. Jesus could say physically, I thirst for any of us who wonder how it is that we have a certain physical condition going on. and physicality is part of what dictates the movements of our life.

Jesus knows. I thirst. Exhausted, drained, perhaps dehydrated, there he is and the end physically is approaching. And that's why he calls it what it is with the next of his words. it's finished. I want to tell you this evening, I don't know what the it is exactly. He could be speaking significantly of his physical life. It's all over. Just pack it in. love. But at least as likely he is saying the plan, the atonement, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world as I pass on and laid in a grave, it's finished.

It's finished. finished. Now we can quibble and say, well, actually, Jesus, it's not quite finished. Let me correct you. Easter hasn't happened yet. No, the triumph of love, the triumph of love is at the cross. The triumph of God's power is revealed at Easter. That's not an either or, but in terms of where the spotlight rests, what a wonderful sense of the triumph of love. And Jesus can say it is finished, and finally, when it all is said and done, Father, into your hands.

I commend my spirit. You're in good hands with, I didn't hear anyone say Allstate. Several of you were thinking of that. You're in good hands with the Lord. Into your hands I place my treasures. Into your hands I place my burdens and joys. Into your hands I place my spiritual gifts that you've given me so that as you call me to a vocation which makes sense out of my gifts. My gifts aren't just a burden, they're a blessing to myself and others.

Into your hands I commend it all and I commend my very spirit. The seven last words of Christ. This is a shortened message, but the implications of what Jesus did are eternal. and the words that he spoke may I say personally have popped up at the most unique moments of my life and in choosing by grace solidarity with him, standing with him, sometimes suffering with him. there has been such a rich, rich blessing and reward.

We are called to identify with our Lord, to walk in imitation of our Lord, and to offer his invitation to still others. And that means, as Pastor Adam has said, it might be a good idea to invite some people to worship for Easter Sunday. That might be a good idea. Let's see what the Lord has in these areas. This is the passion of the Christ, to care this deeply, as it says in Hebrews chapter 12, for the joy set before him.

He endured the cross, despised the shame, and ultimately was seated at the right hand of the Father. He did this for us. How good it is that we can hear the invitation of Jesus to the table, this evening. So let's offer a prayer, and simply say that on the night in which he was betrayed, when Jesus took bread, in this case, gluten-free bread, he had matzah, gluten-free matzah, from Israel, imported.

Okay, so, do I have to do something, Pastor Adam? give it a blessing. Shalom, shavarim, shalom, shavarim, shalom, shalom, lehitra, oh, lehitra, oh, shalom, shalom. All right? All right. When he had taken, when he had taken the bread, and he gave thanks, and Lord, we give thanks for daily bread always, he broke it and said, take this, my body broken for you, and do this in remembering me.

And then he took the cup as well, saying, this cup is the new cup in my blood, shed for many, for the forgiveness of sins. And as often as we eat this bread and drink this cup, we do proclaim the Lord's death until he come. As we say so often, for some of us, this is a time of celebration and thanksgiving, that's what Eucharist means, thanksgiving. Let's thank him for those words, for that passion.

For others of us, it means there is room at the table for us. We are no longer strangers, there's genuine communion together, koinonia. And for others still, we celebrate the fact that this doesn't make us a Baptist, Presbyterian, or anything else other than a follower of Jesus. And that's where we take our stand. All of us are invited, if you declare Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, to come and read the elements.

If you've never made that decision, the distance between where you are and this table can be the space in which you say for the first time, I don't know everything, my face not perfect, but there's no one else like Jesus, and I want to follow him. there's space between where you are and this table. You can be born into the kingdom of God. And that's an invitation this evening.

All right? Pastor Adam, will you come? And let's simply, as we, in prayer, prepare to receive the elements, say, Lord, how we thank you for your passion for us, caring for us so deeply, that there was a fierce joy set before you as you went to the cross. You never liked the cross, you despised it, but there was a joy, and that was new life for us. Thank you, Jesus, and for the passion of the Christ that is before us, as we envision the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died.

Thank you for that. We bow, work among us as we examine ourselves by your word and spirit, and then eat of this bread, drink of this cup. We pray it to your glory, and for our good in your holy name. Amen. Let's taste and see that the Lord is good. In which he was betrayed, Jesus took the bread and said, take and eat this my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. and then he took the cup and said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Drink all of it. And let's just be still before the Lord for a moment here. Love it. I love it. I just, I, I, I'm so pleased. It's such a blessing to get to be the pastor of this church. I walk around, I pinch myself and the building's great. La Jolla's great. I like panicking. I like walking up and getting a coffee in the middle of the day. More than that, I love you. We have a great, what a great group of people.

I'm blessed that you guys accepted our family into this congregation. And thank you. I'm going to pray a blessing. And then I'm going to ask this tomorrow that you just, just spend some extra time in the word and praying for this Sunday. My, my, uh, prayer is that 25 people will come to know Christ on Sunday. We had 31 people raise their hands last year and, we got some baptisms coming up.

I want to see people come to know the father, right? To understand what joy means. So I want to pray a blessing on you right now though, that you'll be in touch with him right now. So Lord Jesus, we thank you God for this congregation, for just people bring your blessing upon us now for the next, uh, 48 hours, Lord Jesus. I pray you bless us with a, with a profound understanding of your goodness, with a profound, profound understanding of your delight in us.

For God's so delighted in each one of us that he sent his only son, that who would ever believe in him might be saved, Lord God. And so God, show us your delight. And I pray God the blessing of delight on each one of these people, that they can delight in their day, that they can delight in the goodness of God with all the things going on around us in the news. The news has no delight, but Jesus, you have delight in us.

God, and we delight in you. And when these things happen, you say, look up for your day of redemption is near. So give us a new perspective. Bless us, God, with peace, where we hurt, heal our wounds, God, where we're broken, God, mend us, God, and where we cry, wipe our tears, and bring laughter, God. If you need laughter, God, would you bless these people with laughter?

Would you bring them joy and bring them their sorrows into dancing? So God, we bless you. We bless this congregation. There's this little street on the corner, and we pray for the little church on the corner, God, and we pray for those that are coming on Sunday, God, that their hearts would be ready, Lord Jesus, to receive the goodness of a relationship with God. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Thanks for coming out on Good Friday. We love you, and we will see you here Sunday morning.