OPENING COMMENTS
- Today is Good Friday – the day that those of us who follow the Christian Worship Calendar use to remember the suffering, crucifixion and death of our Saviour and Lord, Jesus Christ.
- Our theme for today is Jesus’ humble self–offering.
- In the sermon for today, which based on Isaiah 53, the prophet Isaiah describes Israel’s coming Messiah in terms of a servant who was willing to suffer and be rejected, like a lamb led to the slaughter.
- In our first message today, which includes a section from the letter to the Hebrews, we see that Jesus’ blood, which cleanses us, and which was willingly shed on behalf of all, ratifies the covenant in which we find the law written on human hearts.
OPENING SONG
OPENING PRAYER
FIRST MESSAGE
- Good Friday — Jesus’ Humble Self-Offering
- Voiceover by: Julie Frantz – Cincinnati, Ohio, US
From the transcript …
The weight of the moment is almost unbearable. A man stands in the garden, knowing that the soldiers are coming. He doesn’t run. He doesn’t resist. Instead, He steps forward. He allows Himself to be captured so that we might be free. The next day, He will stand silently as false accusations fly, willingly bearing guilt so that we might be declared innocent. He walks a road of suffering, carrying a cross meant for criminals, so that we might one day rejoice. And then, as nails pierce His hands and feet, He willingly gives Himself over to death so that we might live forever. (See John 10:18)
This is Good Friday. It is the day we remember Jesus’ humble self-offering — a profound act of love that changed everything. Jesus didn’t resist the Cross; He embraced it. He gave Himself completely, not out of weakness but out of divine love. Every step, every moment, was an intentional choice to fulfill God’s plan to save us.
On the Cross, we see the fullness of Jesus’ love. He endured pain and shame so that we could know freedom and hope. His willingness to suffer wasn’t forced upon Him; it was His choice, driven by His desire to reconcile us to God. Jesus chose to humble Himself, to bear the sins of the world, and to open the way for us to draw near to God with confidence.
Hebrews 10 reminds us of this: through Jesus’ sacrifice, a new covenant was established. His body became the curtain that opened the way into God’s presence. His blood became the cleansing that allows us to stand before God without fear or shame. This is the power of Good Friday — not just the suffering of Jesus, but the love and purpose behind it.
Good Friday also calls us to respond. Jesus’ humble self-offering invites us to approach God with confidence, to hold fast to the hope we have been given, and to encourage one another as we walk this journey of faith. It is a day to reflect on the depth of Jesus’ love and to recommit ourselves to live in the light of His sacrifice.
As we stand at the foot of the Cross today, let us remember that Jesus’ act of love was not the end of the story. It was the beginning of a New Covenant, a new relationship with God.
- He chose to be captured so that we might be free.
- He chose to be found guilty so that we might be declared innocent.
- He chose to suffer so that we might rejoice.
- And He chose to give His life so that we might live forever.
This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” and he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:16–25
On this Good Friday, may we remember, reflect, and respond to Jesus’ humble self-offering. His love has made a way for us to be free, to rejoice, and to live forever in the presence of God.
REFLECTIONS
Luke 22:31-71
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial
31 [c]And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Supplies for the Road
35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”
So they said, “Nothing.”
36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one. 37 For I say to you that this which is written must still be [d]accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”
38 So they said, “Lord, look, here are two swords.”
And He said to them, “It is enough.”
The Prayer in the Garden
39 Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him. 40 When He came to the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
41 And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” 43 [e]Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
45 When He rose up from prayer, and had come to His disciples, He found them sleeping from sorrow. 46 Then He said to them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”
Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane
47 And while He was still speaking, behold, a multitude; and he who was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them and drew near to Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When those around Him saw what was going to happen, they said to Him, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” 50 And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus answered and said, “Permit even this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests, captains of the temple, and the elders who had come to Him, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs? 53 When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
Peter Denies Jesus, and Weeps Bitterly
54 Having arrested Him, they led Him and brought Him into the high priest’s house. But Peter followed at a distance. 55 Now when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them. 56 And a certain servant girl, seeing him as he sat by the fire, looked intently at him and said, “This man was also with Him.”
57 But he denied [f]Him, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.”
58 And after a little while another saw him and said, “You also are of them.”
But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”
59 Then after about an hour had passed, another confidently affirmed, saying, “Surely this fellow also was with Him, for he is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are saying!”
Immediately, while he was still speaking, [g]the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said to him, “Before the rooster [h]crows, you will deny Me three times.” 62 So Peter went out and wept bitterly.
Jesus Mocked and Beaten
63 Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. 64 [i]And having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, “Prophesy! Who is the one who struck You?” 65 And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him.
Jesus Faces the Sanhedrin
66 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, 67 “If You are the Christ, tell us.”
But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will by no means believe. 68 And if I [j]also ask you, you will by no means answer [k]Me or let Me go. 69 Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
70 Then they all said, “Are You then the Son of God?”
So He said to them, “You rightly say that I am.”
71 And they said, “What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
Luke 23:1-56
Jesus Handed Over to Pontius Pilate
Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this fellow perverting [l]the nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”
3 Then Pilate asked Him, saying, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
He answered him and said, “It is as you say.”
4 So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.”
5 But they were the more fierce, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee to this place.”
Jesus Faces Herod
6 When Pilate heard [m]of Galilee, he asked if the Man were a Galilean. 7 And as soon as he knew that He belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. 8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad; for he had desired for a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things about Him, and he hoped to see some miracle done by Him. 9 Then he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. 10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused Him. 11 Then Herod, with his [n]men of war, treated Him with contempt and mocked Him, arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe, and sent Him back to Pilate. 12 That very day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for previously they had been at enmity with each other.
Taking the Place of Barabbas
13 Then Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, 14 said to them, “You have brought this Man to me, as one who misleads the people. And indeed, having examined Him in your presence, I have found no fault in this Man concerning those things of which you accuse Him; 15 no, neither did Herod, for [o]I sent you back to him; and indeed nothing deserving of death has been done by Him. 16 I will therefore chastise Him and release Him” 17 (for[p] it was necessary for him to release one to them at the feast).
18 And they all cried out at once, saying, “Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 who had been thrown into prison for a certain rebellion made in the city, and for murder.
20 Pilate, therefore, wishing to release Jesus, again called out to them. 21 But they shouted, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!”
22 Then he said to them the third time, “Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.”
23 But they were insistent, demanding with loud voices that He be crucified. And the voices of these men [q]and of the chief priests prevailed. 24 So Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they requested. 25 And he released [r]to them the one they requested, who for rebellion and murder had been thrown into prison; but he delivered Jesus to their will.
The King on a Cross
26 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.
27 And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. 28 But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ 31 For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”
32 There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. 33 And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 [s]Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”
36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
38 And an inscription also was [t]written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:
THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, [u]“If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said [v]to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
43 And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Editor’s note: Consider this alternative rendition of verse 43: And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” Do you discern the difference?
Jesus Dies on the Cross
44 Now it [w]was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was [x]darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in [y]two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Editor’s note: Would Jesus have committed His spirit to the Father if He really believed that the Father had forsaken Him?
- Let’s notice something about Psalm 22 …
-
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.[b]3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.[c]
4 In you, our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
13 Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.16 Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e] my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
20 Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.
26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him —
may your hearts live forever!27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord
and he rules over the nations.29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him —
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!
47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!” (Cf. Matthew 27:54, Mark 15:39).
48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb
50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who[z] himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
From Home Office …
SERMON Notes
He Read the Last Chapter
Isaiah 52:13–53:12 ESV
Are you one of those people who likes to read the last chapter of the book first to see how the story ends? For many of us, this would ruin a good story. But when we consider the events of Holy Week, we are blessed because we have read the end of the story — we already know what happened after the events we reflect on during the Good Friday service. This gives us hope, even though what our Lord endured to bring us that hope was excruciating and horrific.
We gather on this Good Friday to remember the ordeal of our Lord and Savior, as he was arrested, tried, and put to death by crucifixion. During this event, we watch his followers abandon him, his loved ones mourn him, and his accusers persecute, torment, and crucify him. During this whole process, Jesus was like a lamb going silently to the slaughter, allowing himself to be killed by those he came to save. At any moment, Jesus could have called on his Father for legions of angels and stopped it. But this was a significant moment of self–offering, and he was committed to completing what he had begun.
What happened to Jesus was not surprising to God. No, indeed, God had seen this occur long before any of it happened. How often had Jesus, as he was growing up, read, or heard the passage we will read today? Can you imagine what must have gone through his mind when he read these words, knowing who he was? As we go through Isaiah’s prophecy about the Suffering Servant Messiah, let’s reflect on what our Lord would go through to bring salvation and redemption to all of us.
The Messiah, who was exalted, would cleanse the nations through his suffering, and then be exalted again:
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind — so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Isaiah 52:13–15 ESV
In Philippians 2:5–11, the apostle Paul tells us that the Son of God began his mission here on earth when he was exalted in the heavens in glory. As the Son of God, he was high and lifted up, but when he took on human flesh, that glory which he shared with his Father was hidden and not seen by those he met here on earth. Except those three men who saw Jesus transfigured, the people of his day had no idea of his majesty and divine nature. In their eyes he was an average, everyday human being, who walked, talked, ate, and drank just as they did. What made this man so special?
The apostle Paul reminds us that before the foundation of the world, God planned for his Son to come and to bring many sons into glory. This was always God’s desire, that we share life with him in warm, loving fellowship. For this to happen though, the Son of God had to become one of us, die for us, and rise again, bringing reconciled humanity with him as he returned to the Father. And this beautiful plan God set in motion long before we existed came with a price the Son of God chose to pay — his suffering and death. Simply because God loved us with an everlasting love and desired to share eternity with us, the Word of God took on human flesh and allowed himself to be crucified, submitting himself to the will of sinful human beings.
The humble Messiah would be rejected by humanity:
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:1–3 ESV
There was no reason for any human being to value Jesus according to human ways of valuing people. In his culture, unmarried women did not give birth to babies, but his mother Mary was found to be pregnant before she ever married Joseph. And even though Joseph did marry his mother before he was born, Jesus grew up labeled as being the child of an unwed mother — a label which brought ridicule and shame upon him even as an adult. Mark included in his Gospel a the particularly derogatory question. Relating Jesus’ lineage to his mother, those in the synagogue asked, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3). This was a notably disparaging remark in that culture since typically, men were identified with reference to their father’s name.
According to the social niceties of his day and the religious traditions of his faith, Jesus was always hanging around with the “wrong” people. He spent time with and ate with prostitutes, tax collectors, and other sinners. He looked like an average kind of guy — nothing really stood out to make him a charismatic leader. If anything, most people in power and authority could only find fault with him. He was way too free with his behavior when it came to the traditions of his faith. And his claims of divine origin earned him the label of heretic. And when he faced the hardest, most demanding situation in his life — his arrest and his crucifixion, even his followers abandoned him and fled.
The Messiah would be rejected, tormented, and crucified:
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned — every one — to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:4–6 ESV
If there is one thing human beings are known for, it is for stubbornly insisting upon their own way. From the beginning, humans have sought to go their own way, like sheep who refuse to stay where they belong. We can mistakenly blame God for the death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion, but the reality is that human beings plotted his violent death, brought it about through injustice and political maneuvering, and executed it through the lies of religious leaders and the hands of Roman soldiers. Jesus knows intimately what it means to be betrayed by a friend, tormented, afflicted, and ridiculed by those who should have esteemed him.
And the most amazing thing of all is that God allowed all of this. In that moment of greatest distress, when his human flesh could not sense his Father’s presence, Jesus cried out the first stanza of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When we look at the end of that psalm, though, we see that Jesus still had hope — for he knew his heavenly Father well. He knew that, unlike the humans who betrayed him, his Father always remains faithful. Indeed, he is our covenant God, who never breaks faith with us. United with his Father in the Spirit, we discover that Jesus was not forsaken, but “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them” (2 Cor. 5:19 NASB). Even though, for a time, Jesus experienced the full weight of human sin and its consequences, the Father was not going to allow him to remain in this place of suffering and grief forever.
The innocent, humble Messiah would be silent in the face of injustice:
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Isaiah 53:7–9 ESV
As the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world, Jesus did not respond as any other human being might have responded in this time of suffering and death. Indeed, when we consider who Jesus is, fully God and fully human, we stand in awe and wonder at his ability to undergo such suffering without responding or retaliating or even rescuing himself. Indeed, it is remarkable that Jesus remained on the cross, in spite of having the immeasurable, unlimited powers of heaven at his disposal. He did not think of himself at all in that moment of suffering and death — he only thought of you, me, and every other person that ever lived and died. What he was doing in that moment was for the sake of others, not for his own sake as a human being.
And those who crucified him, and even most of those who sorrowfully gazed upon him as he hung on the cross, had no idea what was going on. He had tried to tell his disciples, and others, to warn them of what was going to happen. He tried to explain why it had to happen and how it would all end. But the truth was simply too much. And their vision was obscured by aspirations of a human kingdom that would overthrow the Roman government and bring about a relief of their immediate human suffering. Hidden within that human being hanging on the cross was the Son of God who came to rescue human beings from evil, sin, and death — and they had no idea what he was doing. Even as Joseph laid the dead Jesus in his own rich man’s tomb, they still had no grasp of the significance of what was occurring. But it did not matter — God was still going to finish what he had begun. Jesus Christ died, but that was not the end.
The Messiah would die but not in vain:
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53:10–12 ESV
Jesus, the Messiah, was laid in a tomb, having given his life for the sake of all humans who have ever lived, live today, or will live. He took upon himself all that humans could pour out in wrath, anger, hate, and abuse. He allowed himself to be tortured and crucified, without attempting to free himself in any way. He successfully accomplished the task he was sent to fulfill — to live our life and die our death so that we could be freed from evil, sin, and death.
Jesus made human beings right with God, forging within our human flesh the capacity to live in right relationship with God and one another. Jesus took our human face and turned it back to our Father, and turned our will back into obedience to God’s will and his ways. Because of all that Jesus did, God reconciled humanity to himself — and now we are all being called to be reconciled with God through repentance and faith. On Resurrection Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection, when Jesus rose from the dead. The good news is that God in the Messiah finished what he began, for Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man is Lord of all, and in him, all were included in right relationship with God in the Spirit.
As we began our message today, we saw how Jesus knew the end of the story before he began. When you look at the story of your life, consider the reality that God knows both its beginning and its end. And God knows everything about you, and all that you are going through right now. If you are struggling with difficulties or hardships or grief — Jesus understands what that is like and is even going through those things with you right now in the Spirit. There is nothing that he cannot share with you, for he has united himself with you in his life here on earth, his suffering, and his death.
Are there things in your life you are ashamed of or are embarrassed about? Are there things you have struggled with your whole life but never seem to get under control? Jesus understands our human frame and what it is like to be shamed and embarrassed by others. These human experiences we go through, he understands and has experienced. He was tempted in all the ways we are tempted, but without sin. This is the beauty of what Jesus offers us — his real presence in us and with us by his Spirit in a way that is a true sharing in our life, suffering, and pain. He offers us his strength, his wisdom, his faith, and all that we need for life and godliness. This is such comfort for us!
Consider for a moment all that Jesus has done for you and what it cost him to do it. Jesus told his disciples that if we are to follow him, we are to lay down our lives and pick up our own particular cross, whatever it might be. In the light of all of this, what are you willing to let go of so that you can follow Jesus more closely? What specific cross has Jesus asked you to carry? Let us pause for a moment in silent prayer while you commit yourself to letting go of what he is asking you to let go of and picking up the cross he has asked you to carry.
CLOSING SONG
CLOSING PRAYER
BENEDICTION
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. 2 Cor. 13:14 NASB
Amen.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- Why is it important to realize that God knows the end from the beginning when it comes to our lives?
- Since God allows us real freedom in making our choices, what is the benefit of knowing that Jesus has done all that is needed for our salvation and redemption?
- How does knowing that Jesus experienced a real human existence help us when we are struggling or grieving or having a difficult time?
- What about when we are happy and enjoying life?
- What are some ways in which we have been blind to Jesus’ real personhood as God in human flesh?
- What difference does this make in our relationship with Jesus or each other?