Good Friday, Year B
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Hebrews 10:1-25
John (18:1-40) 19:1-37
Psalm 22:1-21 or 22:1-11 or 40:1-14 or 69:1-23

Why do we call this “Good” Friday? Today we remember, we celebrate, the cruel and gruesome death of Jesus, one whom we proclaim as God. How could this possibly be good?!
Many of you have seen Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of Christ that was released last year. I am sure you remember the various protests and concerns. One was that it was so very gruesome; I confess that I was barely able to watch the scene where Jesus is flogged. The Gospels do not, in fact, dwell upon this aspect of Jesus’ passion. John simply records that “Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.” John’s readers knew all too well what it meant to be tortured and crucified by the Romans. Gibson’s audience, we thankfully, do not. His movie is a terrible reminder of just what Jesus suffered for us.
Centrality of the Crucifixion - But it is this very suffering and sacrifice with which so many Christians struggle. They echo the words of a friend of mine who is a rabbi complained about when Gibson’s movie was about to appear, “Why the crucifixion? Why not the Sermon on the Mount? It is not like the crucifixion is central to Christianity.” The sad truth is that many Christians and even clergy (present company excepted, of course!) do not understand why the crucifixion is indeed the crux of Christianity.
I believe we don’t understand this for two reasons.
Sin - In the first instance, I think that we no longer seem to understand the nature and character of sin. We live in a culture in which we are so sensitive to “not judge others” that we do not recognize that there remains the external truth about right and wrong; a truth that rests in God and his will for his people. When we disobey God, when we do something contrary to his will for us we are sinning. Sin is simply disobeying God. It is reality and there are consequences. “I’m OK You’re OK” is one of the most dangerous heresies ever to come along. God accepts us as we are, do not misunderstand me! We are, by our human nature sinful creatures, yet he desires for us to be made whole, to be healed from our sin.
Fundamentally, sin destroys relationships, most of all our relationship with God. Even when we don’t acknowledge it aloud we have all seen how cheating in a marriage, stealing, excesses of all kinds can destroy lives, careers, and families. What we must recognize is that it also destroys our relationship with God. The Good News is that even while we do not realize this, God has and so God spoke to Israel and provided them with a system of sacrifices that would enable us to repair our broken relationship.
Sacrifices – The second reason I do not believe we fully comprehend the importance of Jesus’ crucifixion is that I do not think we understand the nature and language of sacrifice. Sacrifice was the lingua franca of the ancient world. The Law that God gave to Israel on Mt. Sinai was predicated upon a sacrificial system because it was the language that Israel and all ancient people understood. Today, very reasonably, we have a difficult time accepting the slaughter of animals as an appropriate means of worshipping God. Many, if not most of us, would find it repugnant, but this does not remove the fact that this was the only language of relating to God (and gods) that the ancient world understood. In the same way that I am preaching this sermon in English rather than Aramaic, so that you can understand what I am saying, God “spoke” in terms of sacrifice to Israel.
We need to be clear that God does not need, and never has needed, sacrifices. The Lord is not like those Babylonians deities who began to starve because they had destroyed the humans who provided their sacrifices that they fed upon. God’s Law provided sacrifices for us because we need sacrifices. We need to demonstrate our love and obedience to God; to show our contrition, or sorrow over our disobedience, and most of all our desire to be in a good and right relationship with God.
There were all kinds of sacrifices prescribed in the Bible. Sacrifices were offered for offenses against other people, sacrifices of thanksgiving for God’s provision, and sacrifices for offenses against God. Under the old Law the most important sacrifice of all was Yom Kippur, which Tyndale first translated as the “Day of Atonement.” On this day, and only this day of the year, the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies, to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation. This Hebrew term, which literally means “the day of covering” because the High Priest would cover (sprinkle) the Ark of the Covenant with the blood of the bull and the goat, thus “covering” Israel’s sins, was translated by a word that Tyndale created: “atonement.” This new term explains what the sacrifice did, it made us “at one” with God. Thus each year the people of Israel, with the High Priest as their mediator, would repent of their sins and offer sacrifices to God.
Yet as the author of Hebrews reminds, the old system of sacrifice was put away by Christ’s own sacrifice.
8 When he said [above], “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
In this we begin to see cleary that sacrifice is, in fact, all about love. We see this love in Israel’s being obedient to God’s law by offering their sacrifices, but most importantly, in Christ’s love in offering himself as that final Yom Kippur sacrifice for us.
Yom Kippur or Passover? Now many of you may be wondering a bit about “Yom Kippur” and why we do not hear more about it in our services; after all, we usually associate Jesus’ sacrifice with Passover since it was a Passover meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples and Jesus was crucified on the day of preparation for the meal. In our Eucharistic prayer we usually declare, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us, therefore let us keep the feast.” I have often wondered about this myself since Jesus could certainly have come to Jerusalem for the festival of Yom Kippur and no doubt the same scenario could have played out at that time, creating a complete connection with his death and the atoning sacrifice of the Temple. Yet he did not. Why?
I believe that it is because of the unique nature of Passover. Last night we heard the story read again from Exodus, of how God commanded Israel that before the final plague was to come that would kill all first born males, Israel was to gather together as families and slaughter a lamb, placing its blood upon the doorposts so that the angel of death would pass over their house and not harm their children. The families would then eat that meal together before they finally departed Egypt, that land of their slavery.
Passover is the only festival given in the Bible that is to be celebrated in the home, without the need of the priests, and is celebrated by everyone. Men, women, and children all participate in the Passover meal and ritual. So too we all now participate in our worship; some of us lead and aid, but all of us minister before God.
Passover as the sacrifice that saved the first-born children from being killed and the flight out of slavery of course is an allegory for our deliverance from death and sin. Christ is the first-born of God, his only Son who has offered himself as the sacrifice for us.
Perhaps most striking of all is that Passover alone of all the sacrifices required in the Bible is not offered repeatedly, but instead is a feast that commemorates a singular historical event. When we celebrate the Eucharist and commemorate this Friday as Good we remember an historical event, a unique and singular occurrence that will never and need never again be repeated. “It is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
“It is finished” – Christ’s sacrifice is complete. Our sins have been bought and paid for, the debt is erased, the prison sentence waived. The sacrificial system is removed. All that remains is for us to look on him in faith. As Jesus said in our Gospel reading from a few weeks ago, “14 [T]he Son of man [must] be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” In a moment we will bring in the cross. Look on the cross and believe, and when we accept his sacrifice for our own, our sins are forgiven and new life begins, new life in Christ.
[God said] “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 … 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. Heb. 10.17-24.
Look on the cross and believe.
Amen.