Even to your Old Age

 Today’s text from the prophet Isaiah is a beautiful promise of God’s grace, of His nurture, patience, and His incomprehensible love for you – and for me. Wretched, poor, naked, and blind as we all are because of our daily – even hourly sins – yet He loves us still. And though this text was directed to His Chosen people, so also is His promise applicable to ALL who are God’s children through their faith in Jesus.

 

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.” Isaiah 46:3-4)

 

The context of this passage in Isaiah is the impending brutal and bloody Babylonian invasion of Israel and the deportation of virtually its entire population from their homes. Of particular note, the Babylonian invasion followed the prophesied Assyrian invasion of Israel several generations earlier.

 

Why the invasions? Briefly, because of Israel’s persistent rebellion against God which manifested itself in their multiple and multilayered idolatries, murders, political machinations, rampant sexual immoralities – all comparable to the sins that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah – and, by the way, sins not too dissimilar to those slowly overwhelming America.

 

The northern kingdom of Israel was the first to fall under God’s wrath. And it’s not like God hadn’t warned them of His impending judgement. He did, through His prophets such as Amos, Hosea, and Micah; But no one paid heed.

 

The southern kingdom of Judah was no better. And so, the Chronicler wrote: “The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; 16 but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore, He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans [Babylonians] who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. (2 Chronicles 36:15-17)

 

Before we get much further into today’s message, I must caution us all. There’s an important lesson for everyone who has ears to hear and a heart to receive the Word of the Lord. That lesson is this: God’s patience is not limitless. As He warned Israel, He also warns us. As He warned the priests and other leaders of ancient Israel, today He warns pastors and priest and religious leaders. As He tells us through Amos: “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:5

 

As a nation, as a Church, are we listening to God’s warning through His godly pastors and teachers who preach God’s word and cry out to us: “Repent and obey the gospel. Turn from this perverse and godless culture and their deviant opinions of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Obey the eternal and uncompromising word of God as recorded for us between the covers of the Bible.”

And let me be clear about this: If your pastor does NOT routinely call you to repentance and a holy lifestyle, then you need to find a different pastor.

 

Now back to our text in Isaiah: “Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, you who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb.”

 

As I’ve said, the context of this expression of God’s passionate love for His own – the context is His warning to His rebellious and defiant Chosen People of the sure disaster facing them. BUT, all the while, God was also urging them back to Himself. At this time in history, most in Israel would have remembered God’s promise decades earlier through the prophet Hosea 14:1-5a --

 

“Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us.”  [And God responded:] “I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily.”

 

I find it very encouraging on a personal level that despite Israel’s continuing treachery, God’s covenant with them remained firm. Listen to Jeremiah, who wrote just before the Babylonian exile: “Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night . . . 36 “If this fixed order departs from before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before Me forever.” Thus says the Lord, “If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out below, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 31:35-37 

This promise in Jeremiah, coupled with the text in Isaiah that we’re looking at, has great relevance to each of us in this sanctuary who serves the Lord Jesus Christ. How is that true? Let’s make application of the principles embedded in God’s eternal word to every Christian here and around the world.

 

God says to you – insert your name here – God says to YOU: “You who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.”

It didn’t matter how far Israel had strayed; God was still wooing them back to Himself. In the same way, it doesn’t matter how far the Christian has strayed; God continues to woo us back to Himself. Listen again His plea through Hosea: “Return . . . to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity and receive us.” 

 

Christian! God’s covenant with you remains intact. All you and I need to do is believe Him when He tells us He will always, always receive the penitent back to Himself. Always.

 

But that’s the operative word, isn’t it? Penitent – being honestly sorry for our sins, turning from those sins, and asking God’s forgiveness.

 

Many of you know the promise in 1 John: “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

And this one in Psalm 145:18 “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.” And this one in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord . . . is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

 

Back again to the Isaiah text: “Listen to Me . . . Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you!

 

If we believe that God loves every person on this planet, whether a Christian and not – if we believe, as the Psalmist tells us, that God Himself personally “Formed [our] inward parts; [He] wove [us] in [our] mother’s womb, (Psalm 139:13) – and if we believe the apostle John when he wrote, “God so loved the WORLD that He gave,” and not as some prefer to render it, “God so loved the ELECT’ that He gave . . .” – if we believe the Bible in context with the entire Bible, then we will also believe that God not only intimately involved Himself in our lives from the moment of our birth until this very moment, but that God was also intimately involved in our formation from our conception in the womb.

 

And – and this is also important – His intimacy with us continues through our lives. “Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you!

 

Even to our old age. That means God – our Immanuel, our God-With-Us is the great unchanging One. As He encompassed us while we were in our mother’s womb, so also He surrounded us when we were toddlers, pre-teens, teens, adults – even now to our old age and graying hair. God has carried us, and continues to carry us, in our weakness and in our declining health – even if we do not sense His ever-abiding presence.

 

Many of you remember the ‘Footprints’ poem. I repeat it now to emphasize the unchangeable truth of His often invisible and even unfelt support.

 

One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord, across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, one belonging to me and one to my Lord.

 

After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

 

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. "Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You'd walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

 

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and I never left you. Never, ever. During your trials and tests, when you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I was carrying you."

 

Listen, please. That poem is not some fanciful idea of the poet. It is deeply rooted through the entirety of God’s word, of His promises. May God help us to learn the lesson better than some of us – including myself – have learned the lesson in the past. ‘We walk by faith, not by sight.’  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

 

God continues through Isaiah: “I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.”

 

Notice the repeated promise: I will carry you, I will bear you, I will deliver you. For as long as you live. This text connects by context of the entire Bible with passages like Malachi 3:6, where God says, “I do not change,” and with Hebrews 13:8 which assures us, “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, today, forever.”

 

God underscores for us from one end of His Book to the other of His lifelong care and covenant faithfulness to every penitent child of God.

 

Peter is only one of dozens of examples of men and women in Biblical and Church history who fall badly but are lovingly and patiently restored by Christ. You remember what he did after Jesus was arrested. He denied his Lord three times, even placing himself under a curse. But then we read that

vignette in John 21 which poignantly illustrates that point of restoration.

 

Before I get there, let me first say this: The New Testament writers used two words for “love” – phileo and agape. Phileo (fil-EH-oh) carries the idea of close fraternal affection. The special friendship of David and Jonathan is an example of phileo love.

 

Agape love is often used to describe God's unconditional, merciful, and enduring love for you and me. One of the definitions of Agape is “to prize the object of that love above all other things.”

 

Now, back to John 21. Peter and the others were fishing when they saw the Lord on the shore. Peter threw himself into the water and swam to the beach as the others followed in the boat. Jesus had already prepared breakfast for them and when they finished eating, Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love [agape: Do you prize Me above all other things?”] Me more than these?” 

 

[Peter] said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love [phileo] You.”

 

 [Jesus] said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 

 

[Jesus] He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you [agape] Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love [phileo] You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love [phileo] Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love [phileo] Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love [phileo] You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep. (John 21:15-17)

 

A modern version of the conversation might sound something like this:
“Peter, do you love me with all your heart?”

“Lord, I have great affection for you.”
“Feed My lambs.”
“Peter, do you really love me?”
“Lord, I think you are wonderful.”
“Tend My sheep.”
“Peter, do you have great affection for me?”
“Lord, you know I do.”
“Feed My sheep.”

Two things catch my attention in this exchange between the Lord and Peter. First, Peter clearly felt miserable about his thrice denial of Christ. Miserable, and self-condemned. But then I noticed how the Savior tried to help Peter move beyond his guilt. When Peter wouldn't say – couldn’t say – he loved Jesus, the Lord came down to his level: “Okay, my friend. Do you have affection for me?”

How like Christ to be so gentle to our wounded spirits.

The second thing I noticed here – and this is equally important – after each agape/phileo exchange the Lord’s charge to Peter was essentially the same: “Feed My sheep.”

In other words, “Peter, I know you feel guilty, but your repentance restored our relationship. Your sorrow and guilt are unnecessary. Don’t let them keep you from your task to tend My flock."

How like the merciful Christ to call us out of our sorrow. How like Him to renew our relationship – vessels of clay that we are – and set us about the work He’s given us to do.

This exchange between the Lord and Peter, as well as the message of Isaiah 46 speaks volumes to me – and I hope to you, as well – of God’s continuing love and patience with us. Listen to Isaiah in chapter 40:11 – “Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.”

 

In closing, I say it once more for emphasis: God says to every one of His children, both here in this sanctuary, and around the world: “Listen to Me . . . you who have been borne by Me from birth and have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you.” Isaiah 46:3-4)

 

God loves you. God ‘agapes’ you. He has not – nor will He ever – abandon His own. Scripture promises every penitent child of God that “The God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

 

Be encouraged. Be steadfast. Always abound in your work for the Lord, knowing that your labor is never in vain in the Lord.

He is Risen, Indeed!

Easter Sunday is the lynch pin of Christianity. Without it there IS NO Christianity. Christmas is just a nice story but without any eternal significance. Nothing preached or taught or believed about God, sin, righteousness makes any sense. Without Christianity, there remains no hope of sins’ forgiveness, We are all condemned by God for our sins and inescapably on our way to an eternal torment.

But – That’s not the way it is. How do we know? That’s an easy question for those who know and who trust God’s word to be His infallible, inerrant, and divinely inspired promise of redemption for those who want His redemption. For example, listen to God speak to us through the apostle Paul’s letter to those in Corinth:

Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . ..” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) 

 

What scriptures are Paul referring to?  Well, for one, he refers to the books of Moses in the Pentateuch, specifically the required animal sacrifice. He also refers to the Old Testament prophets and the psalms.

In other words, the promise of the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah, His death and resurrection is not fabricated by the New Testament apostles. It was something God had promised millennia earlier and can be found by anyone with an open heart by reading the scriptures.

 

As Amos told his audience several centuries before Jesus was born: “Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets.” Amos 3:7 

Why was it secret? Why is it still secret to some?  God tells us why. For example, here is 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 - “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”

 

In other words, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Don’t be among those who harden their hearts against truth. God warns against that from one end of the Book to the other.

 

And so, Paul continues his message in 1 Corinthians 15 at verse five:

“[Jesus] appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.

 

Paul tells them – and us in 2026 – that 500 people saw the risen Christ at one time. I imagine such a sighting was like the many times Jesus taught the crowds along the shore or along a hillside. The resurrection of Jesus was not done in the dark. His post-resurrection appearances did not occur in a corner.

The blindness of those who chose in that first century, and who choose to reject reality in this century, is not unusual. There is none so blind as he who will not see. And also, To him that believes, no proof is necessary. To him that disbelieves, no proof is sufficient. Luke makes that point in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. When the Rich Man in hell begged Father Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers because they’d believe the gospel if someone came back from the dead, Abraham responded, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ (Luke 16:29). Abraham then added, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:31)

Back to Paul’s letter: (verse 12)  Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  The point? There will always be naysayers, false teachers, liars, scoundrels, workers of evil who will try to turn our faith on its head.

For example, theologian Ed Parish Sanders wrote: “That Jesus’ followers (and later Paul) had resurrection experiences is, in my judgment, a fact.” However, Sanders concludes: “We cannot explain it historically. The Resurrection itself is a matter of faith.”

 

Really? They had resurrection EXPERIENCES, but the historicity of the resurrection is a matter of ‘faith’(?) Would he say something equally as ridiculous about George Washington?

 

Another theologian, Dale Allison, who wrote: “I do not know what happened… but I am confident that something extraordinary did happen.” And yet, Allison will not fully affirm the resurrection took place but chooses to only concede that such an event remains a serious historical possibility.

 

Surely, none so blind as those who choose not to see.

St Paul continues now in verse 13 of chapter 15: But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is vain . . . ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied.”

 

If there is no resurrection of the dead, we will never see our loved ones ever again. Death is ALWAYS victorious. Death always has a brutal sting because we are all without hope. If Christ is not raised, then what is the point of life? Woe to those even who were born. If there is no resurrection, then why even fall in love because in the end death robs forever the loved one from our arms and we live the rest of our days without any hope to ever see them again. 

 

If Christ has not been raised, and if those who love Jesus will not be raised, then Macbeth was right when he cried: “Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

 

What a terrible way to live. What a terrible way many of those out there in the dining room live.

 

BUT – the Holy Spirit moved Paul to continue in verse 20: But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.  . . . .  Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

 

In other words, be careful who we listen to, what we read, and who our friends are. Satan has scattered his servants – like those I cited a few minutes ago – he has scattered his servants into some seminaries and church pulpits and Sunday School classes across the globe and even across this town.  

 

But make no mistake about this: “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.” (Isaiah 59:19, NKJV)

 

God established the Church as the ‘pillar and support of the truth’ (1 Timothy 3:15). He established the Church to protect His people from deception, and He gave us His Scriptures to guide us away from that deception. But if we avoid attending a Bible-believing, Bible-preaching, Bible-obeying church, and if we give scant attention to reading and studying God’s word – we ought not to expect immunity from Satan’s tactics.

 

And so Peter warned: (1 Peter 5:8-9a) “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith.”

 

Now back to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where we continue at verse 51: “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

Death, where is your victory? I said earlier, if there is no resurrection of the dead, we will never see our loved ones ever again. Death is ALWAYS victorious, always has a brutal sting if Christ is not raised.

 

BUT! Scripture AND history assure us that not only has Christ risen from the grave, but ALL who in this life put their obedient faith in Christ will ALSO be raised from the grave and be forever with the Lord.

No wonder the apostle closes this chapter: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Christ’s resurrection assures us that our work for Him is never useless. Our work for Him – whatever it may be – is never without eternal value. So? Keep at it, Christian. Keep at it.

 

Now then, as I close today’s message, I feel it necessary to briefly address some of the more popular lies told by those who reject Christ’s physical and historical resurrection from the grave. I found this information online at: https://harvest.org/know-god-article/countering-common-arguments-against-the-resurrection/  AND  https://christianindex.org/stories/top-10-theories-for-the-empty-tomb,5148  

 

Let me also say that those we meet who scoff at the idea of Christ’s resurrection are usually those who’ve never taken half a minute to investigate the Biblical AND the secular historical records. They’re content to simply parrot the frivolous proposals of others. The three views I’m about to address have been around since Jesus left that tomb. Let’s briefly look at each in turn:

The “swoon” theory opines that Jesus didn’t die but went into a coma (“swoon”) from the severe pain and trauma of the crucifixion. Then, in the cool environment of the tomb, He revived.

 

For the “swoon” theory to work, Jesus would have had to survive massive loss of blood through the scourging, the nail wounds, and the spear thrust. In addition, in this impossibly weakened condition He would have had to endure 40 hours without food or drink, manage to unwrap Himself from His grave clothes, roll away the massive stone closing the tomb—and then convince the guards and everyone else who saw Him that He’d risen from the dead.

 

And let’s not overlook this point: the Romans were experts at execution. They were so certain that Jesus was dead, they didn’t bother to break His legs. When they thrust the spear into Jesus’ side and blood and water immediately spilled from His chest, they had final proof of His death. The blood and water meant the spear had pierced Jesus’ heart.

 

To the rational and HONEST mind, this theory requires more faith than to simply believe in His resurrection

 

Another ludicrous but popular idea is the “stolen body” theory. This theory dates back to that first Resurrection Sunday when, according to Scripture, the religious leaders bribed the guards to keep secret what they’d witnessed and instead spread the story that the disciples stole Jesus’ body. (see Matthew 28:11–15).

 

But proponents of the ‘stolen body’ theory are hard pressed to explain why the men who fled for their lives in the Garden of Gethsemane suddenly mustered the courage to begin boldly preaching about the living Jesus whom they all knew was dead. If the apostles KNEW their story was a lie, then what could motivate them to be martyred as they later were?

 

Peter was scourged and then crucified upside down. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross and continued preaching to his persecutors until he died. James was beheaded by Herod Agrippa and recorded in Acts 12. Philip was scourged and later crucified. James, the son of Alphaeus was stoned and then beaten to death with a club.

I could read the stories of the others who died gruesome martyr’s deaths for what they supposedly KNEW was a lie – if you believe the asinine view of scoffers that the apostles stole Jesus’ body

 

Finally, there is the ’Wrong Tomb’ Theory, which proposes that in their confusion and grief, the women on Sunday morning and then Peter and John went to the wrong tomb. Seeing it empty, they assumed that Jesus had risen from the dead.

But if they’d gone to the wrong tomb, the Romans, the Pharisees, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus would have quickly directed everyone to the correct tomb. But no one did that because the women – and later John and Peter – had gone to the right tomb. And they discovered Jesus was not there because He’d risen, just as He said He would. (See Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; Mark 8:31; Luke 24:6-7; etc.)

 

When such easily discreditable theories such as these three are examined by an honest soul, we can understand why it’s more convenient to believe the lies passed off on a biblically illiterate populace. It’s easier and more convenient because the lie gives them the justification to live as they choose and ignore God’s commandments.

 

The resurrection of Jesus from death is the lynch pin of Christianity. Without it, Christianity has no eternal significance, and nothing we believe about God, sin, righteousness, judgment, and eternal life makes any sense. Without Christ’s resurrection there is no hope for the forgiveness of our sins. We are all doomed and inevitably destined to eternal torment.

 

OH! But thanks be given only to God, we have His assurance that Christ has been raised from the dead. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”

Good Friday

Sermon

What’s So Good about Good Friday?

Good Friday, April 3, 2026

 

Most every year during this season, some ask me why Good Friday is called ‘good,’ when what happened to Jesus was so horrific. It’s a reasonable and an important question, but not so difficult to answer if you know the WHY of what happened to Christ on that day.

 

I don’t want to be unnecessarily graphic in these next few moments, but if we are to understand what’s so good about Good Friday, then we ought to first look more deeply into what made that Friday so monstrous. There are many articles written about the Lord’s crucifixion from a medical perspective, and here is part of one written by Dr. C. Truman Davis.

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“Preparations for the scourging were carried out when the Prisoner was stripped of His clothing and His hands tied [above His head] to a post . . . The Roman legionnaire steps forward with the flagrum (or flagellum) in his hand. This is a short whip consisting of several heavy, leather thongs with two small balls of lead attached near the ends of each. The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back, and legs.

 

“At first the thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles.  The small balls of lead first produce large, deep bruises which are broken open by subsequent blows. Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue. When it is determined by the centurion in charge that the prisoner is near death, the beating is finally stopped.  The half-fainting Jesus is then untied and allowed to slump to the stone pavement, wet with His own blood.”

 

The essay goes on to talk about the crown of thorns pushed into His forehead and the robe they placed around Him. I continue now to quote the essay: In deference to Jewish custom, the Romans return His garments. The heavy [crossbeam] of the cross is tied across His shoulders, and the procession of the condemned Christ, two thieves, and the execution detail of Roman soldiers headed by a centurion begins its slow journey along the Via Dolorosa.

 

“In spite of His efforts to walk erect, the weight of the heavy wooden beam, together with the shock produced by copious blood loss, is too much. He stumbles and falls. The rough wood of the beam gouges into the lacerated skin and muscles of the shoulders. He tries to rise, but human muscles have been pushed beyond their endurance.  The centurion, anxious to get on with the crucifixion, selects a stalwart North African onlooker, Simon of Cyrene, to carry the cross. Jesus follows, still bleeding and sweating the cold, clammy sweat of shock, until the 650-yard journey from the fortress Antonia to Golgotha is finally completed.  

 

“Jesus is offered wine mixed with myrrh, a mild analgesic mixture. He refuses to drink. Simon is ordered to place the patibulum on the ground and Jesus quickly thrown backward with His shoulders against the wood. The legionnaire feels for the depression at the front of the wrist. He drives a heavy, square, wrought-iron nail through the wrist and deep into the wood. Quickly, he moves to the other side and repeats the action, being careful not to pull the arms too tightly, but to allow some flexion and movement . . .

 

“The left foot is now pressed backward against the right foot, and with both feet extended, toes down, a nail is driven through the arch of each, leaving the knees moderately flexed. The Victim is now crucified. As He slowly sags down with more weight on the nails in the wrists, excruciating pain shoots along the fingers and up the arms to explode in the brain — the nails in the wrists are putting pressure on the median nerves.

 

“As He pushes Himself upward to avoid this stretching torment, He places His full weight on the nail through His feet. Again, there is the searing agony of the nail tearing through the nerves between the metatarsal bones of the feet.  At this point, as the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. With these cramps comes the inability to push Himself upward. Hanging by his arms, the pectoral muscles are paralyzed, and the intercostal muscles are unable to act. Air can be drawn into the lungs but cannot be exhaled. Jesus fights to raise Himself in order to get even one short breath . . ..”

 

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I now end the lengthy – but necessary quote. It was during those agonizing hours that Jesus uttered His last seven statements. I’ve talked about them in past sermons: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” “Today thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”  Looking at His mother and at John, He said, “Behold thy mother.” Then, looking to His mother Mary, “Woman behold thy son.” “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”  “I thirst.”  “Father! Into thy hands I commit my spirit.”  And finally, “It is finished.”  His mission of atonement was complete. He could allow his body to die. 

 

To anyone with eyes to see, the cross demonstrates how deadly serious is God’s hatred of sin. At the same time, the cross demonstrates how passionate is God’s love for the sinner. So, let’s now see how God’s wrath and His mercy married together at Calvary’s cross as we uncover the answer to the question: What’s So Good about Good Friday?

 

That Friday proved God’s love for us. Theologian and author N. T. Wright put it this way: “The cross is where the love of God and the justice of God meet and embrace.”

 

All our sins, each of our sins, the big ones and the so-called little ones – all our sins are ultimately against God and His laws. And God’s perfect justice demands the death of the sinner. That may seem harsh – especially to our 21^st century Western sensibilities, but that is how God set it up from the beginning.

 

The wages of sin has always been death. Either you and I must pay that irrevocable penalty of death for our sins or – because of God’s love and mercy – His sinless Son must die in our place for our sins as an atoning substitutionary sacrifice.

 

And please hear this: What we do with that Biblical truth will determine our eternal destiny.

 

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to quickly read John 3:16 without pausing to reflect on the heart-searing emotions the Father suffered as He watched His Son agonize on that cross. But we should stop at least once in a while and meditate on the Roman scourging, the spikes in Christ’s limbs, the ribbons of His flesh saturated with His blood. If we did reflect once in a while, we’d better understand the personal nature of that verse -- “God so loved me . . that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 

As theologian John Stott put it: “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.”

 

John 3:16 ought to erase any doubt in our minds that the overarching purpose of God is the reconciliation of sinful humanity to Himself. That’s what the ‘whosoever believeth’ means.

 

Nor should we overlook this text in Romans 10:11-13  “For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

But a reasonable question about John 3:16 and this passage in Romans 10 – and many others as well – a reasonable question would be HOW can a holy, incomparably righteous God permit sinners into His eternal presence? If sin – any sin, all sin – if sin must be severely judged, how can God’s inflexible JUSTICE marry with His mysterious mercy so that sinners could be reconciled – brought near to Himself – without compromising either His holiness, His Justice, or His mercy?

 

Enter the cross. And that’s why Good Friday is so good. God the Father sacrificed His own sinless Son, laying on Him His full wrath against our individual sins, wrath that you and I so rightly deserved and deserve. As His word tells us through the prophet: “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 53:6)

 

We need to pause a moment here and clarify an eternally significant point about reconciliation and judgment for sin. The only method God provides for Christ’s atoning sacrifice to be efficacious for anyone is to honestly acknowledge their sins to God, repent of their sins, and strive to repeatedly, as often as necessary, turn from those sins.

 

Our eternal salvation has nothing at all to do with our works – either good or bad. The only method God provides for sinners to avoid His wrath is by their trust in God’s promise of forgiveness because – and only because – of what Jesus did for them on Good Friday’s cross.

 

As St Paul tells us: (Titus 3:4-6)  “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

 

But escaping God’s wrath is only part of the “Good” of Good Friday.

 

That Friday tore through sin’s otherwise impenetrable barrier between us and God. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

 

On that Friday, God shattered the barrier. He rescued the prisoners who want to be rescued, laying our sins on Christ who, as Scripture assures us, became “sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Indeed, on that Friday, God clothed us with the SAME righteousness of Christ. That means, the harlot, the thief, the murderer, the adulterer . . . think of it! There is no sin that cannot be cleansed by Christ’s blood. There is no sinner who cannot be made as righteous before God’s eyes as Jesus Himself. Listen to this promise again: “[A]s though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

And that’s not all that is good about Good Friday. Because of what happened on that day, AND because God the Son could not be held in death’s grip, Christ’s bodily resurrection three days later infallibly guarantees the obedient and penitent Christian – and ONLY them – their own resurrection to eternal life. Listen to this promise of the Lord: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25)

 

Christian, you will never die. Yes, after you take your last breath, people will bury you in the ground, but the REAL you, your spirit, will immediately enter the presence of our Lord. Immediately. Not at some distant date. Listen to this infallible promise of God:

 

(2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-8) “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens . . . Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord — for we walk by faith, not by sight –  we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

 

Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Immediately. And that’s because of Good Friday and the resurrection of Christ three days later.

 

There is so much more we could say and examine about why Good Friday was so very good, but for now, I’ll bring this message to a conclusion with this final comment about Good Friday:

 

Good Friday challenges us to repentance. When the crowds in Jerusalem learned it was their sins that nailed Jesus to the cross, they cried out, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!”  (Acts 2:37b-40)

 

Yes, be saved from this perverse generation upon whom the wrath of God will be poured out against the rebellious and persistently unrepentant. Listen to Paul’s warning to those in Rome: Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? (Romans 2:4)

 

Repentance. A word overflowing with God’s mercy on those humble enough and honest with themselves enough to turn from their sins.

To those who loved Jesus, nothing about that Friday looked good. But no one knew what mercy would flow from the forehead, the hands, the feet and the side of the crucified Son of God. No one knew those bloody strips of flesh hanging from His back would bring reconciliation and redemption to the penitent.

 

And no one knew on that Friday Resurrection Sunday was coming . . . and with it, God’s redemptive plan conceived before the foundation of the world.

 

Good Friday? It could not have been any better. 

Sixth Sunday of Lent - Palm Sunday

On this the sixth Sunday of Lent we celebrate Palm Sunday – the day we remember the Lord's entry into Jerusalem to the boisterous cheers of the crowds. St Matthew describes the tumultuous scene this way: “Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Mathew 21:8-9)

 

But we know the rest of the story, don’t we? It’s only days before who-knows-how-many in that same crowd will clamor for His crucifixion. And despite the crowd’s boisterous acclamation on Palm Sunday, Jesus knew He was headed toward a gruesome death before the end of the week. He knew this was the time set by the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the time to bring salvation’s plan to its culmination. Jesus knew all this as He rode into the city.

 

The question many of us have often considered – and which I want to spend some time in this message considering again, is “What happened to the crowd between Palm Sunday and Good Friday?” And I want to add one more question to that first one: Why does it what happened to the crowd between those two dates matter?

 

We will come back to those questions in a few minutes

Palm Sunday and Good Friday did not happen in a vacuum. The sin-drenched history of humanity poured out on the Altars of Self since the Garden of Eden brought Jesus to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Those sins would shortly lead Him from the donkey to the cross where He would engage in a battle of inconceivable proportions – a battle to determine the eternal destinies of every man and woman in Jerusalem on that fateful day – and every man and woman in this building today.

 

Most of us have heard this story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem dozens and dozens of times. Many of you grew up with the story told and retold in children’s picture books, Sunday School lessons and from pulpits year after year.

 

There’s a danger in all that, by the way. The danger being that the all-so-familiar story becomes a ho-hum tale of long, long ago. There’s a danger that the story on which salvation history hangs becomes diluted of its power to transform us from a “been there-heard it already” attitude to one of life-altering revelation, even if we’ve been walking with Christ for half a century or longer.

 

Many of you remember the old spiritual, “Where You There?”

 

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?/Oh, were you there when they crucified my Lord?/Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?/Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?/Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble/Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?

 

Does the story of our redemption at the cost of the Son of God's life cause us to tremble? At the very least, does it cause us to pause and reflect on such love, such wondrous loves as this, that God would love a sinner such as I – and you?

 

Actually, and in a very real sense, ‘Yes,’ You and I WERE there when they crucified our Lord. I believe God saw you and me through the lens of eternity when Jesus took His last breath and shouted, “It is finished!”

 

Make no mistake. What was finished was YOUR redemption, and mine. Two thousand years ago. And hear this again, please, if Jesus had NOT permitted Himself to be nailed to that tree, if He had NOT permitted those men – whose very DNA His hand wound together at their conception – if He had not permitted them to murder Him, then you and I would still be dead in our trespasses and sins and on our way inevitably and inexorably to an eternity in the Lake of Fire.

 

What happened to those in the crowds on Palm Sunday who also were part of the crowd on Good Friday? Well, we can’t really know what happened to them because Scripture is silent about that question. But knowing human nature as well as we know it – because we here are all human – I think it’s safe to make some speculative assumptions.

 

In the 53 years I’ve followed Jesus, I’ve seen many followers of Christ turn away from Him. And so have you. And while their reasons for turning back to the world might be varied, I think there is most often only of two fundamental reasons a person leaves Christ: Either they tire of doing what Jesus wants them to do, or they grow angry, or annoyed, or disillusioned when Jesus doesn’t do what they want Him to do.

 

And I think the shorter the time grows before the Lord Jesus’ return the more urgent Satan grows in his seduction of humanity – and especially of churchgoers.

 

Why especially churchgoers? Because if he can seduce you and me away from Christ, we don’t usually go away alone. We bring with us those who looked up to us, who trusted us, who thought we have the answers to questions like, “Are the Scriptures TRUE? Are they TRUE about forgiveness and eternal life? Are they TRUE when they tell me that God loves me, despite all that I have done?” 

 

As I prepared today’s message, the names three modern and well-known Christians came to mind because of what they did. I’ve mentioned them in the past, and I do so again to emphasize the point:

 

The first is Joshua Harris. He was a megachurch pastor and author the then-popular Christian book titled, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”.  Several years ago, Harris told his church that he’d found freedom from Christianity. He divorced his wife and shortly thereafter marched in a Gay Pride parade.

 

Around the same time Harris fell into apostacy, another big-name Christian also turned away from the One he used to call his Lord. Marty Sampson was a worship leader and song writer for the Hillsong megachurch. Like Harris, Sampson also boasted of having escaped from Christ.

 

And only a month or so ago, Philip Yancey, author of many well-known Christian books, admitted to an eight-year-long adulterous betrayal of his wife of fifty years. And during those eight years he continued to write books and play the part of a faithful Christian.

 

Those are only three of many other modern examples of those who at one time shouted like the crowd on Palm Sunday, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David,’ but ended up turning from Him. Such betrayal against the King of kings is nothing short of disastrous for them, their families, and for those who looked up to them. Why disastrous? Because Satan can now seduce those who once trusted them to walk away from Christ as they did.

 

What comes over a person who once proclaimed Christ as their savior and then turn from Him as some in that same crowd did on Good Friday?

 

Scripture gives us some insight – of course. Listen to what Jesus said in that third chapter of John’s gospel: “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)

 

What happens to some people between Palm Sunday and Good Friday? I think some also walk away from Christ when He says things that, to us at the time, don’t make sense – as if, by the way, God is obligated to speak and to do what we can understand with our finite minds.

 

I think now of the Lord’s comments in that sixth chapter of John’s gospel when the Lord told the crowds: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me . . . .” (John 6:53-57)

 

At that point, many of His followers walked away from Him because they thought: “This is insane talk.” (verse 60). And I suspect many never returned.

 

But the story doesn’t end there. We pick it up at verse 67: “So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” (John 6:53-68)

 

I asked at the beginning of this message if what happened to those in the crowds between Palm Sunday and Good Friday – does it have any meaning for us today? Was it – IS it – important?

 

The answer to both questions is an unqualified, ‘Yes.’ Those who today want to stay with Jesus – EVEN WHEN THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND everything He says, or does, or does not say, or does not do – those who want to stay with Jesus do so because – well, ‘Where shall we go?’ He alone has the words of eternal life.

 

I’ve said this to you before and I am grateful to say it again: Just look at yourselves. How many heartaches have YOU experienced in your Christian life? How many shattered dreams? How many disappointments? How many unanswered questions – especially the questions beginning with, ‘Why?’

 

How many of you suffer physical or emotional trials, and you know you might not get better in this life? And yet, here you sit. Week after week. Around the calendar. Year after year. And you still intend with God’s help to follow Jesus until you take your last breath.

 

Why? Your answers will all be individualized; And of course, the Holy Spirit continues to hold onto you. But you also have an important role to play in that ‘holding-on.’ What is that role?

 

You DON’T WANT to go. Surely you know that because of your sin nature and under the right circumstances you COULD make that disastrous decision to go your own way, to leave the love of your life. But you ALSO know, after all these years and all your life experiences, you know there’s nowhere else to go. Jesus alone has the words of eternal life, and Jesus alone can take you to eternal life.

 

And so, my point to all that I’ve said this far? Keep at it! The Palm Sunday crowd didn’t know Good Friday was around the corner. And no one on Good Friday knew that Sunday was a’coming.

 

Keep at it. The devil is a most seductive, magnetic, and beguiling liar. And he is not done with us until we are finally with the Lord Jesus in our new bodies after our death.

 

He’s not done with you or me because he hates us with a most malicious hatred – and if he can take us down, as he did with Harris, and Sampson, and Yancey – if he can take us down, he will take others with us.

BUT! – And this is a most important ‘But” – on the other hand – because of your faithfulness to Christ in it all and through it all – because of your faithfulness to Christ, our God uses your faithfulness to bring others also along with you to that Celestial city.

 

You NEED to know that in your heart of hearts. You and I are, as St Paul wrote, ‘co-workers with Christ’ in the building of His Kingdom. You Must believe that because the whole of Scripture tells us that is true.

 

As I bring this message to a close, I want to cite only one example of what I mean about how God WILL use our faithfulness to draw others to Himself. This story comes from the 6^th chapter of the historical book of 2 Maccabees, written a few hundred years before Jesus was born.

 

During this time, the Jews lived under Greek domination. The Athenian king decreed that all Jews were to turn from their faith, make sacrifice to the Greek gods, and eat pork – something God forbade all Jews to eat. To refuse meant a torturous death. We pick up the story at verse 21, after 90-year-old Eleazar refused the non-kosher meat:

“The officials in charge of this sacrilegious meal took [Eleazar] aside privately because of their long acquaintance with him and urged him to bring meat of his own . . . and to pretend that he was eating the sacrificial meat that had been commanded by the king. In this way he would be saved from death.”

But Eleazar answered: “At this stage of my life it would be terribly wrong to be a party to such a pretense,” he said, “for many young people would be led to believe that at the age of ninety Eleazar had conformed to a foreign practice. If I should engage in deceit for the sake of living a brief moment longer, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring defilement and disgrace on my old age.  For the moment I would avoid the punishment of mortals, but alive or dead I shall never escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by bravely forfeiting my life now, I shall prove myself worthy of my old age, and I shall leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for our revered and holy laws.” With these words he went immediately to the torture rack . . [and] in this way he died, and by his death he left an example of courage and a model of virtue not only for the young but for the entire nation. (2 Maccabees 6:21-31)

 

Did you catch that? “I shall prove myself worthy of my old age, and I shall leave to the young a noble example of how to die a good death willingly and nobly for our revered and holy laws.”

 

What happened to Eleazar between his initial commitment to the God of Israel and the threat of death in his old age unless he gave in to such treason to save his life?

 

What happened? He WANTED to be faithful to His God. And the Holy Spirit enabled him to do so, even on the rack of torture.

 

What about us? Do we WANT to remain faithful to our God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, we do. But we should never be ignorant of Satan’s tricks and lies and sweet temptations. That is why we every day put on that armor of God St Paul spoke of in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus. You can find it in chapter six of that letter.

 

We WANT to remain faithful because – well – how could we commit such grievous spiritual adultery against the one who loves us so, so very much. How could we devastate Him? How could we break His heart by doing what some in that Palm Sunday crowd did on Good Friday?

 

Please, my brothers and sister, hear this one more time today: It is ONLY, ONLY, ONLY the Holy Spirit’s power that keeps you and me faithful. That is why we seek Him in prayer again and again to keep us humble, penitent, and obedient. Where else can we go? Jesus alone has the words of eternal life.

 

Keep at it. Keep walking with Christ. And know this: Sunday is coming!