4/15/22

4/15/22 Good Friday



Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Psalm: Psalm 31:1-24

Epistle: Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9

Gospel: Luke 22:47-71; 23:1-56



Sermon Text: Luke 22-23 and/or Isaiah 53

Sermon Title: “Into Your Hands”



Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, well acquainted with grief … He was despised and we esteemed Him not. Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities … by His stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray … the Lord has laid upon Him, the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He opened not His mouth”. “He will make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear (all) their iniquities”. (Isaiah 53:3-7, 11)

These words from the prophet Isaiah spoke clearly of the Christ, centuries before His bloody work of redemption on the cross. Jesus also spoke/prayed the Word of God from the cross; His Word. We heard of Jesus’ work in Psalm 22 last evening. Jesus from the cross said; “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken Me” and David prophesied, “they have pierced My hands and feet” and “they divide My garments among them and for My clothing they cast lots”. (Psalm 22:1a, 16-17) What happened on this day was spoken of centuries earlier in “the Law of Moses, by the prophets, and (in) the psalms”. (Luke 24:44b) Jesus said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer”. (Luke 24:46a)

And after being falsely accused, arrested, mocked and beaten by the authorities, Pontius Pilate “handed Him over to them to be crucified” (John 19:16). Christ Jesus did suffer for you on the cross, taking the guilt and punishment of all the sins of all the people who have lived or ever will live upon Himself, dying in excruciating agony on the cross; for you and for me and for all.

“For our sake (the perfect sinless Son of God) was made sin”. (2nd Corinthians 5:21b) Jesus felt the guilt and sin of all people as His very own guilt and sin; temporarily forsaken by the Father; this kind of suffering is impossible for us to understand. For the crucifixion of Christ (the innocent Son of God) demonstrates the full magnitude of human sinfulness in its most extreme form. We should have suffered as Christ suffered; that is what our sins merited; for “the wages of sin is death”; (Romans 6:23a) both temporal and eternal death.

But, by His death, Jesus has redeemed us from all sin, death, and the power of the devil; “making peace (with God) by the blood of His cross”. (Colossians 1:20b) As John the Baptist declared; “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. (John 1:29) (Also, roughly, the words of our paraments) “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness”. (1st Peter 2:24a) Through His perfect life, and sacrificial death; Christ has freed us from our slavery to sin and, “if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed”. (John 8:36)

By His suffering and death, Jesus has rescued you from death as the Apostle Paul wrote “Our Savior Jesus Christ … abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel”. (2nd Timothy 1:10) Through faith in Him, (the Gospel) we receive forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God”. (Ephesians 2:8) Therefore, we need not fear death; “Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting”. (1st Corinthians 15:55)

Christ has also redeemed us from the power of the devil. “Through (His) death, He destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is the devil”. (Hebrews 2:14b) “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil”. (1st John 3:8) Just as He promised in Genesis 3, God has sent His Son into the world, to crush the head of the serpent, Satan, the devil, who temped Adam and Eve to sin, thus bringing death into the world. Since that time, all who have been born, are born with “original sin”; are guilty before God and “children of wrath”; on our way to hell; but “God so loved the world” (John 3:16a). “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. (1st Timothy 1:15)

Christ Jesus did all of this for you and for me, that through faith in Him, we might not die eternally, but rather live with Him, “in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness”. “And being made perfect … He is the (only) source of eternal salvation”. (Hebrews 5:9b) As the Apostle Peter declares, “you were ransomed from the futile ways, inherited by your forefathers, not with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ”. (1st Peter 1:18-19a)

Again, Christ Jesus did this for all people; for the Scriptures declare “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world”. (1st John 2:2) “In Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself … He died for all”. (2nd Corinthians 5:19a, 15) “God, our Savior, desires all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth”. (1st Timothy 2:4) “The Lord is patient … wanting all to reach repentance”. (2nd Peter 3:9) Jesus even died for those who reject Him, as Peter speaks of those who “deny the Master who bought them”. (2nd Peter 2:1a)

All people included the Jews who falsely accused Him, the Romans who carried out the death sentence, and all who mocked and ridiculed Him on the cross; “Jesus said, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34a) Then there is the thief on the cross who trusted in Christ in his last hour and Jesus said, “today, you will be with Me in paradise”. (Luke 23:43b)

All the people for whom Christ died, includes even our enemies; for we too were once enemies of Christ as Paul declared, “it was while we were enemies (of God) that we were reconciled to Him by the death of His Son”. (Romans 5:10a) Therefore, as Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer, we forgive our neighbor’s trespasses, as we have been forgiven.



As He died, Jesus “cried out with a loud voice and said; Father, into You hands I commit My Spirit. And having said this, He breathed His last”. (Luke 23:46) These words of Jesus are from Psalm 31:5. They are included in our Compline (end of day) Service in our hymnal and also in pastor’s companion under the heading “Commendation of the Dying”. Many Christians have found comfort in their own dying, by hearing Jesus’ dying words.

When we go through “the valley of the shadow of death”, (Psalm 23:4a) we can have the confidence of Christ; though not perfectly as we are still weak sinners. We can even have the same words of Jesus on our lips; “Father into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46) because He has rescued us from sin, death, and devil. So, St. Stephen was also able to say as he was being stoned, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. (Acts 7:59b) Martin Luther also wrote something similar in the familiar words of his morning and evening prayers; “Into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul and all things”.

We know that all we are and have are in His gracious hands; especially our life. Nothing happens to us in this life without His permission. We know that at any time, He may call us home; to leave this earthly existence; maybe even today. Thinking about our death in this way may cause some of us to be anxious or fearful, but it should not; for the day of our own death is the beginning of eternal life with Christ our Savior and Redeemer.

Christ has conquered death and removed its sting, by His atoning death on the cross. So, even though death is our enemy and is frightening for many; for the Christian it is but the entry into paradise. Though we are grieved at the gigantic price that the guilt of our sin required Christ to pay; we rejoice this day in knowing that He willingly paid it for all; for us and our salvation.

Lord Jesus;

May Your life and death supply;

Grace to live and grace to die;

Grace to reach our home on high;

Hear us, holy Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God …



















Popular posts from this blog

december 17 2023

  December 17 th 2023 Old Testament: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Psalm: Psalm 126 Epistle: 1 st Thessalonians 5:16-24 Gospel: John 1:6-8, 19-28 Sermon Text: John 1 Sermon Title: “The Voice” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. How many of you have watched a talent show called the “Voice”? It has been around for at least 10 years, but I have seen it only a handful of times on video/you tube. It is a singing competition described in one ad as “the search for the country’s best undiscovered talent”. The series employs a panel of four (rotating) coaches; who are famous singers and musicians from many different styles of music. These coaches critique their performances and try to guide them through the competition of that particular season, but as the ad says, “only one artist will be crowned the Voice” for that year. So, how is “the Voice” for a particular year determined? Not necessarily by t...
Read more

december 10 2023

December 10 th 2023 Old Testament: Isaiah 40:1-11 “The Word of our God will stand forever” Psalm: Psalm 85 “Turn not back to folly” Epistle: 2 nd Peter 3:8-14 “Wishing … all to reach repentance” Gospel: Mark 1:1-8 “A baptism of repentance” Sermon Text: Isaiah 40:8 and 2 nd Peter 3:8-14 Sermon Title: “The Word will Stand Forever” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. So, after just hearing the Scripture readings for this morning, what stands out in your hearing? Or, how would you state the theme of the readings? I believe it can be summed up in one word; repentance. In the Gospel reading John the Baptist proclaimed “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”. (Mark 1:4b) As they came for baptism they were, “confessing their sins”; (Mark 1:5b) which is part of repentance. In the Epistle reading, the Apostle Peter taught that God is “patient … not wishing any to perish, but al...
Read more

november 23 2023

Thanksgiving 2023 November 23 rd Old Testament: Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Psalm: Psalm 56:1-13 vs 8 Epistle: Philippians 4:4-13 Gospel: Luke 17:11-19, 21:25-28, 34-36 Sermon Text: Luke 17:11-19 and Luke 21 Sermon Title: “Thankful for the Coming of the Lord” Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. As you know by now, we are in the final days of the Church Year. We have been hearing about the return of Christ in glory, to judge the living and the dead, and that will be the theme for at least one more Sunday. We have heard many of the warnings in Holy Scripture about the need to be ready for that day by receiving His gifts in Word and Sacrament. For example, last Sunday, we heard about the dangers of apathy, of taking God’s Word for granted. Through the prophet Zephaniah, the Lord declared, “I will punish the ones who are complacent, who say in their hearts, the Lord will not do good, nor will He do ill”....
Read more