5 Cs and a J - Sermon for the 4th Sunday of Easter - Jubilate

Fourth Sunday of Easter, Jubilate, April 21^st, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches, Custer and Hill City, SD
5 Cs and a J – John 16:16-22

Audio of this sermon, with the readings, may be accessed HERE.   

    Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth, so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Church, that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.   

     To err is human, to forgive divine; so says Shakespeare.  To err means to make a mistake, to mess something up.  Sinning is one category of error, the most important category.  So, we should know that word.  But why do we err?  Why do we so often do the wrong thing, or say things about Christ and salvation that are erroneous, untrue, or think thoughts completely opposed to God’s Word? 

   Consider the Collect of the Day for this Sunday, the summary prayer that collects the themes of the readings.  We prayed the Collect together as we entered into the Holy Space God creates through the speaking of His Word.  We asked God to return those in error concerning His Truth, that they be returned to the way of righteousness.  We prayed that those who have publicly entered into Christ’s Church be enabled to avoid all things contrary to their confession.  And that we follow Christ in a God-pleasing way.  These don’t seem like grand and glorious aspirations.  Today’s Collect is more of a prayer to be drug across the finish line of faith, a prayer for God to protect us from the ruin that is always nipping at our heels.  Which all too often is the prayer we need most. 

     Why do we err?  Why do we turn away from God and His Way?  Well, it is true to say, “Because we are sinners.”  But, is that all we can say?  Can we go a bit deeper, understand a bit more, about why we sin?  I think so.  In fact, I’ve come up with a little memory device that might help us understand and remember something about this life as sinner-saints.   Christians are sinners who have been declared to be saints, decared holy by God, through faith in Jesus Christ.  It’s a challenging life, and we can always use help in remembering the basics of the faith.  So, today, a memory aid for you, an acronym.  I’m sure you’re going to think it’s great! 

   The acronym is CCCCCJ.  5 Cs and a J.  O.K., that’s a lot of alliteration.  Hearing it spoken out loud, I have to admit, CCCCCJ may not be the best acronym ever.  But humor me; let’s see how it works. 

Confusing:  The first C is for Confusing.  The Word of God is good and true and powerful, and without error.  But we are not so wise, so God’s Word is confusing to us.  We often err in our understanding of the Word, like the disciples in our Gospel. 

   Jesus, speaking of His imminent crucifixion, burial and resurrection, tells His disciples:  "A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me."  The Eleven don’t get it.  Even though Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection many times, they can’t seem to understand that Jesus is again referring to it.  This “now you see me, then you won’t, then you will again” is easier for us to understand, since we know the whole story, from this side of the Resurrection.  However, this is hardly the end of statements in the Bible we find confusing. 

   We might even be confused by John’s sweet words this morning about being children of God.  We spend a big part of our childhood wishing we were grown-ups.  God through His Word certainly calls us to grow up, to be built up, to become mature in our faith.  And yet, we are also called to be child-like, trusting, submissive to our loving heavenly Father.   Which is it?  Are we to be child-like, or mature?  It’s confusing, as the Word of the Lord so often is to us.  But then, why wouldn’t the Word of the Creator, the Almighty, be beyond us mere humans? 

    Your Lord does not want you to remain confused.  But which is it?  Are we to be children, or mature? 

    Both.  As is often the case with spritual either-or questions, the answer is both.  Is God one, or is He three?  Both.  The One True God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Is Jesus a man, a flesh and blood human being, or is He God?  Both.  Is the Supper we eat at this altar bread and wine, or is it the Body and Blood of Christ?  Both.  These are mysteries, Godly truths that exceed our capacity to fully comprehend or explain them.  They are also true, precious to us, and to God.  For these mysterious truths are intimately connected to the Good News of our salvation. 

   God in His Word, which He promises is true, indeed, which must be true if we are to have hope, God’s Word declares all these mysteries to be true, and necessary.  God is One, the One Source of all, the Supreme Being, the Almighty Source of all things, all action, all existence.  If there were more than one god, they could not be supreme nor almighty.  God is One, or He is not God.  And yet, if God were not Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then the Father could not send the Son to be our Savior.  Nor could the Son give us the Holy Spirit to sustain our faith and guide us in the Way, while He prepares a place for us in heaven.  God is One in Three, and Three in One, and we rejoice.    

     The responsibility for human sin lies with us humans, and justice demands the debt be paid.  So the Savior must be able to suffer and pay, as a human.  And yet, no mere human could pay for his or her own sin, let alone for the sins of others.  The Savior, to pay the debt of all mankind, must also be infinite, that is, He must be God.  If Christ were not truly God and Man, susceptible to suffering and death, and yet also almighty and indestructible, we would have no hope of forgiveness.  And so we celebrate Christmas, the revelation that the Son of God has become a child, so that we might be redeemed, and be called children of God.           

    There is also a bit of mystery in being forever a child of God vs. becoming mature in our faith.  It is not nearly so deep as the Holy Trinity or the Two Natures in Christ, nor as the Lord Supper.  We can almost wrap our minds around the continual call to be children, joyfully dependent on our Father, while at the same time needing to grow up into Christ and be more and more wise, for ourselves, and for others.  Christian wisdom is founded on the truth that we are always children to God, always dependent, always learning, always growing, always maturing. 

      But back to the problem of confusion.  Our fallen minds are just as impacted by sin as our aging, aching bodies or our sinful desires.  Our reason cannot comprehend all that God has to say; His Word is confusing to us, on our own.  This is especially true when evil surrounds us, when death threatens us, or takes one we love, when we really want the good, but we keep seeing bad.  Always, but especially in times of trial, we must have the Holy Spirit’s help to rightly understand.  And, we know where to turn to hear His voice, and He has promised to help us. 

    Thankfully, our confusion does not disqualify us from the kingdom.  We will not reach perfect understanding in this life, but God will keep us in faith, by His Word.  He has promised.  At the same time, confusion is not to be accepted, nor used as an excuse to give up trying to grow in the Word.  In fact, the first and last step in seeking wisdom is always to hear and ponder and seek understanding in God’s Holy Word.   

Confrontation and Conviction:  The next two Cs are Confrontation and Conviction.  Sometimes we may plead confusion as an excuse to quit seeking God’s Truth, but in reality we have other reasons for rejecting a particular Word of God.  Some passages of Scripture and some articles of the faith are all too clear, but we simply don’t like them, because of the way they confront us in our sin.  We may proudly reject God’s permanent call to be His child.  We may deny the Word that says suffering is a gracious thing.  We may explain away or simply ignore the “Thou shalt nots” that we don’t like.  Every thought, word and deed that is contrary to God’s way of righteousness, every hint of selfishness, every perversion of a good gift into an evil excess, such as we do with sex and food and money and technology and personal freedom, every time we declare our independence from God, every time we sin, God’s Word confronts and convicts us.  And our sinful natures’ hate that. 

     Our sinful natures do not want to die.  Submitting to the truth of God’s Law, submitting our wills to His will, is to kill our sinful nature.  We as sinners naturally give in to the power of sin, and reject God and His Word.  With the Holy Spirit’s help, we as children of God are called to fight our sinful inclination.  This struggle with sin is a daily affair, which may even tempt us to give up trying.  But, because God wants you, His Word still comes.  The conviction that His Truth brings into our souls tempts us to run away, tempts us to defy and flee the God who seeks to be close to us.  But where can we hide from God? 

     Conviction, of course, brings guilt.  Many times the worst suffering for the Christian is dealing with the conviction that God’s Word brings, revealing sins we thought we had hidden, even from ourselves.  But no matter how we try to hide, God in love continues to confront us with His convicting Word, so that He can bring us to this morning’s final two Cs.

Conversion and Confession:  These are the last two Cs.  When we are guilty, when we are broken, when confusion and conviction bring us to our knees, when our struggle to understand God’s Word combines with the realization that we are guilty sinners, unworthy of God’s care, then, God in His amazing grace converts us, again.  When we are weary and heavy laden, when we realize that our way ends in ruin, God sends His Word again, His better Word, His converting Word.  God sends the Word of Jesus, risen from the dead, reaching out His arms to show us His nail scarred hands.  Jesus comes, saying “Peace to you.”  “Fear not, I have overcome your sin, your guilt, your death.”  “Fear not, you are forgiven.”  “Your sins, which were as red as scarlet, are covered over and made white as snow by my cleansing blood.”       

     And so, like newborn babes, we crave the pure spiritual milk of the Gospel.  Astounded by God’s forgiving love, our hearts cry out “Abba, Father.”  The knowledge of our sin makes us realize we deserve to be orphans, spiritually father-less, without hope for the future.  But the Father comes to us through Jesus, and with Thomas we confess, “My Lord and My God.” Like a woman who endures the pain of delivery and then rejoices that a child has been born into the world, we rejoice in Christ’s forgiving love, that gives us new birth, that converts us, and makes us confess His Holy Name. 

Joy:  The J is for Joy.  As in, what joy to confess that for the sake of His Son, the Father calls us His beloved children.   The Holy Spirit re-creates our hearts by this word of grace, by the Word of Jesus, crucified and resurrected.  God re-creates our hearts, turning us from confusion and sin and guilt, turning us to see our Savior, reaching out to us again, speaking words of blessing, gathering us to His table, reminding us that the promises He made to us in our Baptism last forever.  In joy we confess: God’s own child I gladly say it, for the Father has called me by the forgiveness and love of His Son. 

  The light of the Gospel shines on us, and our hearts are filled with joy.  Like Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, like Thomas, our doubts are dispelled by the voice of the Risen Christ.  Like a mother, overwhelmed with love and joy to be holding her newborn baby, we rejoice in the Gospel, knowing that we have been re-born, through God’s grace.  Like a guilty criminal, surprised to hear the judge announce his pardon, we are amazed at the blessing we’ve received.  Confessing Jesus’ victory for us, we go forth in joy. 

    This confession and the joy it brings is what we asked for in the Collect of the Day.  So, let’s pray it one more time: 

     Almighty God, You show those in error the light of Your truth, so that they may return to the way of righteousness. Grant faithfulness to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s Church, that they may avoid whatever is contrary to their confession and follow all such things as are pleasing to You; for in You and Your salvation You provide true joy for us, the joy that flows from Your peace, which is beyond understanding and which keeps our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting, Amen. 

 

Good Shepherding and Good Sheeping -- A Sermon for the 3rd Sunday of Easter, Good Shepherd Sunday

Third Sunday of Easter, April 14^th, Year of Our + Lord 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior’s Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, South Dakota
Good Shepherding and Good Sheeping: John 10:1-18

Sermon Audio available HERE. 

Christ is Risen!

   Who is your shepherd? Are you a wise sheep? Are you shepherding anyone?  Are you shepherding anything? 

   On this Good Shepherd Sunday, my first question seems excessively obvious.  Jesus, who laid down
His life, and has taken it up again, He is our Good Shepherd.  Christ is Risen, and He is our Shepherd.  Case closed.  No question.   

    But is He?  Are you following Jesus as a sheep follows a shepherd? Jesus focuses on hearing and following His voice.  The disciples struggled to understand what Jesus meant by declaring “I AM the door of the sheepfold.”  That is pretty hard to wrap your mind around.  So Jesus laid aside the mysterious “I AM the door” metaphor, and switched to a relationship they could better understand.  Sheep and Shepherd.  God had long talked about Israel as His flock, and He as their Shepherd.  Ancient Israel depended on shepherds and sheep for clothing, milk, and meat, not to mention writing material.  They get sheep and shepherds.  They can grasp that God’s people is the flock, and Jesus is the Shepherd.  

    And, when the Lord says His sheep listen for and hear His voice, it doesn’t take a Master of Divinity degree to understand that our Savior is pointing us to His Word.  Followers of Christ live in this world for as long as the Shepherd wills, and necessarily we interact with the culture and the economy; we hear many voices, many strange voices.  But the Word of Christ, recorded and preserved for us in Holy Scripture, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, is our authoritative voice, our primary and final tool for interpreting the world and our lives.  The Bible is to guide our choices and interaction with the broader world. 

    Can we say this is true for us?  Are we mostly guided by Christ and His Word in our day to day lives?  Or is the Word of God more like a weekly reminder, that is quickly drowned out by the cacophony of voices and kaleidoscope of images that bombard our senses, from early morn till late at night?  Are we truly hearing the voice of our Shepherd and following Him? 

    It doesn’t help that today following any shepherd is distinctly out of fashion.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it is out of fashion to admit that we are following someone.  “Chart your own path, be your own person, make your own way in the world.  Just do it, they say.”  But amen, amen I say to you, the truth is we are all following someone or something.  The world suggests we can and should all be self-directed, autonomous, free agents.  But this is silly.  This mantra is a really play for control, by manipulative people and powers who want you to follow them.  And we will follow someone, consciously or not, because we are creatures made to follow our Creator. 

    The declaration of independence from God that was our fall into sin means that we do not naturally follow God’s good shepherding.  But if you imagine you aren’t following something or someone, be careful.  Because this is not how we human beings are made to be.  We will follow the Lord, or we will follow someone else.  It may be a philosopher, or a social trend, or a popular leader.  But we all follow something or someone.  The key question is: Are we following a good shepherd, or are we following foolishly after folly?

    Bad shepherds abound, a dime a dozen.  Jesus says a good shepherd knows his sheep and cares for them.  He defends them from wolves, and is even willing to lay down his life for his sheep, regardless of how foolish they may be.  Bad shepherds fleece their flock, using and even devouring them, all the while making a great show of how much they care for the sheep.  But bad shepherds don’t love their sheep.  They abandon their followers, when danger draws near, or when they cease to be useful.  I’ll let you fill in the blank with the shepherd who has disappointed and perhaps deeply injured you.  Maybe a politician?  A boss?  A relative?  A pastor?   

    Shepherding isn’t just about Sunday morning.  All of life is a gift from God, however we may use or misuse it.  So, any bad shepherding or any foolish sheepishness has a relation to God and true religion, because God cares about His whole creation.  Good shepherds help us know God, and walk in His path.  Bad shepherds pervert all that God wants for His creatures. 

    We need to realize shepherding is a really broad term.  Shepherd and pastor are the same word.  But shepherding is not just a religious concern.  King David was a shepherd, charged with leading and caring for the nation of Israel, with slingshot and lyre, sword and Psalm.  Moses was certainly called by God, and served a priestly function.  He was also a shepherd, literally tending the flocks of his father-in-law.  And, Moses was a political leader, both before and after he stepped up to serve as the redeemer of Israel. 

    We used to commonly use ‘shepherding’ as a leadership verb, and in a positive way.  As in “this community leader will shepherd this worthy project to its completion, for the good of all.”   But today formal authorities are automatically suspect, and nobody is supposed to want to be a follower.  We are all supposed to be self-actualizing, in charge of our own lives, not following anyone or anything but our heart.   

    But, can we even claim to be shepherding our own lives?  For the Christian, the first thing to consider when asked this question concerns, as we said before, God’s Word.  Does His Truth occupy the center of our lives?  Do the principles of loving God and neighbor guide us, however imperfectly we fulfill them?  Do we take responsibility for the redeemed life God has given us?  Do we get out of bed with a Godly purpose in mind for our day?  Or do wake up thinking only of our goals?  Or perhaps we awake with a vacant stare, waiting to be told what’s important, waiting to be fed through a screen, waiting to be told what direction our thoughts and actions will have today. 

    Our Good Shepherd comes to us today to re-establish good shepherding, and good ‘sheeping,’ according to His definition.  At the heart of good shepherding and ‘sheeping’ is the Cross and Empty Tomb.  And we’ll come back to that. 

    But before we do, let focus a bit more on this:  the principles of shepherding that Jesus declares today are for more than eternal salvation; they are for all of life.  Now, don’t hear me wrong.  The Good Shepherd is most importantly and ultimately concerned with your eternal salvation, with greeting you in heaven.  God’s most important goal, and the most important priority, for yourself and your loved ones, is to arrive at that blessed moment, when your Good Shepherd will embrace you in His arms and wipe away all your tears, adding you to the forever joyful congregation of all the faithful departed.  Keep your eyes on that prize, by deepening and feeding your faith, daily. 

    And, at the same time, never forget that your eternal life began the day you were baptized.  Which should make some difference in how you live, now, today.  Even as we look forward to the joy of heaven, we are called to be wise sheep, and also to good shepherding, right now. 

    The same principles we can draw from our Good Shepherd going to the Cross and bursting from the Tomb should govern and guide every facet of our lives as Christians.  For the dynamics of God’s saving work for mankind also reveal who God is, within Himself.  That reality, preached by Jesus today, is God’s desired foundation, the principle of life, that He would have define every area of our lives.  To be known by Jesus and to know Him is to be drawn into the mystery of Godly shepherding, and Godly ‘sheeping.’  And here is where true security and love and joy are found. 

    The Way that Jesus saves us is not unique to His relationship to us.  It is also essential to the reality of who God is and how the Father and the Son relate to each other.  Think for a minute about how Jesus compares His relationship to us with His relationship to His Father.  ¹⁴ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

    We might expect Jesus to say something like, “just as the Father knows me and I know the Father, and we rejoice in our shared glory forever and ever.”  But that’s not what Jesus says.  He connects the mutual self-knowledge He shares with the Father with laying down His life, for us.  Right in the middle of Jesus’ mutual knowledge shared with His sheep, and also in the middle of Jesus’ eternal shared knowledge of His Father, is His self-sacrifice.  The Cross is essential not only to the relationship between Jesus and us, it is also essential to the relationship between God the Father and His only begotten Son.  The priority of rescuing the sheep and the willingness to endure the pain of the Cross, pain for both the Son and the Father, this terrible and wonderful act of justice and love, defines who God is.

    In case we miss the point, Jesus doubles down on this mystery, a few sentences later.  ¹⁷ For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.  Did you catch that?  Jesus says the reason the Father loves Him is because of His self-sacrifice.  Does this mean that the Father wouldn’t love the Son if He hadn’t gone to the Cross?  No.  The love shared between Father, Son and Holy Spirit is eternal, unchanging, it has always and will always be the same. 

    So, that the Father loves the Son because of His self-sacrifice means that the Son was always laying down His life, for us, and for His Father.  From eternity, the Cross was always in view.  Selfless sacrifice for the good of others, doing whatever it takes in order to have a beautiful flock of believers to bless forever in heaven, this has always defined who the Son is.  It is almost as if He is the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world.  (Revelation 13:8) Which He is. 

    How sure is God’s love for you?  How much does God want to have you and the rest of His flock with Him forever and ever?  So sure and so much that, even though God knew exactly how things would turn out, how we would wander, how earthly shepherds would time and again abuse others, how painful it would be to win us back from Satan, even though the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knew all this, before time began, they created us anyway.  God freely and lovingly chose to create us, for the joy of having us for His very own, even though this meant the Cross was always in view.        

    Sacrificial love is at the heart of God.  Within the Godhead, this sacrificial love is both freely given and entirely deserved, entirely earned.  Loving freely and also serving perfectly are both natural to who God is. 

    For us, whose sins required Jesus to lay down His life for us, God’s sacrificial love is undeserved.  And yet, God has freely loved us in precisely this way.  So also, as children of God, as sheep of His sheepfold, sacrificial love and the forgiveness it delivers should be at the heart of everything in our lives. 

    Each of us are given roles where we are followers, sheep to someone else’s shepherding.  As sheep to imperfect earthly shepherds, we know this will be a bumpy ride.  So, we are called to wise cross-bearing, always trusting that our eternal deliverance is already assured, by the Cross Jesus bore for us.  God grant us the wisdom to stay close to our true Good Shepherd, through His Word, through His feeding, so that we can both rightly discern good and bad earthly shepherding, and know best how to follow, or choose not to follow.   

    Each of us has also been given roles where we are to shepherd someone or something.  We are all given faith, and the charge to follow Jesus.  And we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, knowing that God is at work in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)  Christian living is holy and awesome, because the Holy, Holy, Holy LORD is with and at work in every believer. 

    God grant us wisdom to truly follow Jesus in the path He has set before us, to follow by hearing Him, and gathering to the places He has promised to be serve us.  To prioritize hanging out in His good pasture, that we may know Him and the power of His resurrection. 

    We all have many other roles, callings, as fathers and mothers, as children, brothers and sisters, as citizens, and as Christian friends and neighbors, to fellow Christians and to unbelievers.  In these relationships, we are given moments to follow, and moments, even whole lifetimes, to lead, to shepherd others.  God grant us wisdom to remember how Jesus shepherds us:  not with threats or force, not with anger, but with self-sacrifice and wisdom.  Our sacrifices for others do not save us, but we can sacrifice for others because we have been saved, by the self-sacrifice of Jesus.  And our Good Shepherd will be in the midst of all of it.  Indeed, this is the height of living, the most human we can be, when we give ourselves for others.    

 Christ is Risen! 

    The great Shepherd of the Flock of God has laid down His life, and taken it up again, for you!  Rejoice in His victory, which is your victory.  Marvel at His love.  Receive it every day, and so be filled to overflowing, made ready to share that love with others.  And the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds with Christ Jesus our Lord, unto life everlasting.  Amen.      

Behold the Man - Sermon for Good Friday, based on John 19:1-42.

Behold the Man                                                       
Good Friday 2024
Our Redeemer and Our Savior's 
Lutheran Churches
Custer and Hill City, SD
John 19:1-42

Sermon Audio available here:  

   Behold the Man.  This is what it's come down to: Pilate, the Roman governor, is trying to avoid a riot.  He's afraid to commit the injustice of executing Jesus, because of the crowds of Palm Sunday, the followers and friends of Jesus.  They might rebel if He executes Jesus.  Because they know, like Pilate, that Jesus is innocent.  At the same time Pilate fears angering the Jewish leaders, for he knows they could stage a riot just as well.  So, trying to walk the line between justice and appeasing Jesus' enemies, Pilate has Jesus scourged, that is whipped, and mocked, dressed in royal purple and crowned with thorns.  Hoping he had done enough, Pilate brings Jesus out for display:  Behold the Man.  Look at what I've done to Him, isn't this enough? 

   Behold the Man.  Like Balaam's donkey, (Numbers 22) and Caiaphas the high priest, (John 11:49-52), Pontius Pilate is an unlikely candidate to speak God’s Word, an unlikely prophet.  The governor’s proclamation is not just a few random words, filling in a blank in the story.  Nor are these false words, inserted in the Biblical text, only to be refuted.  No, these words of Pilate are profound.   They are true words. 

Behold the Man. 

   Jesus is the Man. He is the Archetype, the finest and best man, in every respect: in His miraculous birth, His sinless life, His humble service.  In His authoritative teaching, and perfect loyalty to God, in His faith and practice, Jesus is the Man.  And now He is the Man in suffering.  Loving His own to the very end, Jesus does more than simply wash their feet.  He begins to pour out His cleansing blood. 

   Jesus is the Man whom God accepts, the Man who fulfills all righteousness, who does the will of the Father, and keeps the Law.  He is the Beloved Son. 

   He is also the Man who suffers.  He stands in for all the rest of mankind, beaten, mocked, crowned in thorns, royal purple covering His blood-red body.   

   That this Jesus is the Man says something very bad about us.  About mankind.  This must be the Man because all the rest of us, men, women and children, do not live well.  We are not the finest and best.  Jesus stands there because of us, because we do not fulfill any righteousness, let alone all of it.  We do not do the will of the Father.  We do not keep the Law. 

   Many reject the Man Jesus precisely because of what His suffering says about us.  Who wants to be called a poor, miserable sinner?  We may protest: I’m a good person, aren’t I? 

   Well, we may be fine citizens, maybe even the best of people in the eyes of our neighbors.  But before God, whose standard is perfection, perfect holiness, inside and out, before God, we are lost in sin, and cannot free ourselves.  Whether personal righteousness has never really been our priority, or we have done our utmost to walk the walk, either way, none of us is the perfect man, or perfect woman.  Despite all our efforts at greatness and goodness, Jesus' suffering reveals that we are not worthy.  For if there were any other way to save us, God would have chosen it.  But there is no other way.  Jesus must suffer, for who we are. 

   This is a very difficult, a very harsh message.  And so, many reject it.  Some turn completely against Jesus, joining in the cries of the crowd to crucify Him, albeit in modern day language.  Listen to the poets and great minds of our age, who tell us to leave the superstitions of religion behind and embrace the brotherhood of man.  Jewish priests of the first century and modern intellectuals of the 21^st are joined in their desire to leave Jesus on the ash-heap of history.   

   Others try to keep Jesus, but only if they can change Him.  They focus on His teaching and healing and service to the poor, and ignore or downplay the suffering and cross, because of what His suffering and cross say about them.  About us.  Often we only want a Jesus who builds our self-esteem, and tells us how to live a little bit  better.  Not one who points out our inescapable sinfulness.   

   You and I could choose to reject the Man, standing beside Pilate, shamed and suffering.  But our choices do not change reality.  And the reality is this:  Jesus is the Man.  Jesus is the only Man who could reveal the depth of God's displeasure with our sin, and the only Man who could accept God's full punishment.  Every injustice you've ever suffered, and every injustice you've ever inflicted, multiplied by the billions of sinners who have gone before you, all of these sins have been answered for, paid for, suffered for, by the Man Jesus.  For He submitted not just to Pontius Pilate, but also to His own Father's righteous anger.

   And most amazingly, He did this willingly, for the joy set before Him.  For the promise of a heavenly congregation of redeemed sinners, Jesus is the Man.  In order to deliver to His Father a people, holy and righteous in His sight, Jesus meekly stands as the Man beside Pilate.  In order to prove the love and mercy of God, Jesus wears the purple robe.  In order to have you for His very own, Jesus accepts the crown of thorns. 

   It is only the great reversal of the Resurrection that makes it even possible for us to consider the utter darkness of Good Friday.  We live in hope because we know Jesus rose from the dead, showing us that His suffering was not for nothing.  Not at all.  In the light of the Resurrection we learn that His suffering was for everything, for the forgiveness of all sins, for the life of the world, and for the glory of His Father. 

   And so tonight we confess again that our sin made Him stand there.  We confess that we could never pay even a fraction of our debt.  We confess that the Man Jesus is our God.  We confess that there was never love like this.  Jesus, our Suffering King.  Behold the Man.  Amen.