Good Friday

Dead!

Luke 22:66-71

Opening Words: There are 52 weeks every year. Each one is important and not a single one should be wasted. Have you every stopped to consider how many weeks have occurred in the history of the world? However, there is one week that changed our world forever, Holy Week! On the Christian calendar Holy Week is the last week of Lent, beginning on Palm Sunday and ending at dawn on Easter. It is the week the church remembers the final days of Jesus’ earthly ministry. It recalls the expectations of Palm Sunday, the rejection of Maundy Thursday, the devastation of Good Friday and the final victory of Easter morning.

Today is Good Friday and on this day we remember how Jesus wad sent to the Roman governor, Pilate, was rejected by the crowd, was nailed to the cross and died as a common criminal. May God give you ears to hear these words from the twenty-second chapter of Luke, verses sixty-six through seventy-one. Let me call this message Dead!

Luke 22:66-71 66At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. 67"If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68and if I asked you, you would not answer. 69But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God." 70They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am." 71Then they said, "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips."

Most Americans do not know the name Sir Alexander Mackenzie. He is a Canadian hero. Early in his life he was a fur trapper and trader but he is remembered as an explorer. He longed to lead an expedition across Canada from Lake Athabasca in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. His incredible journey was completed in 1793, 11 years before Lewis and Clark began their famous expedition. However, history tells us Mackenzie failed in his first attempt in 1789. That attempt ended in disappointment. The valiant group followed a mighty river (now named the Mackenzie) with high hopes, paddling furiously amid great danger. Unfortunately, it didn't empty into the Pacific, but into the Arctic Ocean. In his diary, Mackenzie called that river, "River of Disappointment."

Has anyone here this evening ever experienced disappointment? Have you ever been disappointed in your spouse? Have you have been disappointed in your children? Have you ever been disappointed in your parents? Have you ever been disappointed in your friends? Have you every been disappointed in your country or the government? Have you ever been disappointed in your church? Have your ever been disappointed in your yourself? You can admit it. From time to time we all do it. You turn your critical eyes inward and you don’t like what you see. You are not alone. Some of the greatest people in the history of the world have been disappointed with themselves. Consider these names with me.

Did you know Alexander the Great conquered Persia, but broke down and wept in disappointment because his troops were too exhausted to push on to India?

Did you know Hugo Grotius, the father of modern international law, knew disappointment. Near the end, he said at the last, "I have accomplished nothing worthwhile in my life."

Did you know John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the U.S., knew disappointment? In his diary he wrote, "My life has been spent in vain and idle aspirations, and in ceaseless rejected prayers. I hope I did something beneficial for my species."

Did you know Robert Louis Stevenson wrote words that continue to delight and enrich our lives, and yet he knew disappointment. He wrote these words for his own headstone, “Here lies one who meant well, who tried a little, and failed much."

Did you know Cecil Rhodes, who opened up Africa and established an empire, knew=2 0disappointment? His last word were, "So little done, so much to do."

Do I have to continue? You are not the first person and this is not the first generation that has experienced disappointment. It is one of those things that links one generation to the next. It is because of disappointment we can appreciate this evening’s scripture lesson.

At the very heart of this evening’s scripture lesson is disappointment. It hadn’t been that long. The week began with great promise. The crowds came out on Sunday morning and welcomed Jesus to the Golden City for the Passover. Their world was hungry for change and Jesus was just the man. He was a young charismatic leader, who seemed to have all the answers for their society’s ills. Everyone was excited and was filled with anticipation. They were ready for political change. There was only one problem. Jesus didn’t come for to liberate them from foreign domination; Jesus came to liberated them spiritually. Jesus tried to tell them but they won’t listen. He tried to tell them in the cursing of the fig tree on Monday but they didn’t see the lesson. Jesus tried to tell them in his teachings on the Kingdom of God on Tuesday but they didn’t hear. He washed the disciples feet on Thursday to tell them that life was about servicing, not being served. Jesus kept trying to communicate about this spiritual liberation but he might as we ll have been speaking to Sunday’s donkey. They didn’t get it. And before things really get going, Jesus was arrested.

We find Jesus this evening at the first of his two trials. Those who are questioning him are the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Jesus had challenged their authority and tried to change everything. If you haven’t noticed people don’t like change. So his enemies try to get rid themselves of Jesus so things will remain the same. They have charged him with blasphemy, disrespecting God. So they ask him point blank, “Are you the Son of God?” Jesus responds, in so many words, “Yes!“ Jesus has made his enemies case for them so he is taken to the Roman governor, Pilate. By law he is the only one who is able to take a life. In order to keep the crowds happy, he sentences Jesus to death by a Roman form of execution, the cross. It is ironic. The same crowd that accepted Jesus on Sunday, rejects Jesus on Friday. The week that started with great anticipation, ends in great disappointment. Jesus, the son of God, the Messiah, the perfect one, is dead by 3:00 in the afternoon. His death was not pretty, it was hard to watch. His followers are overwhelmed with grief!

The next time you see a cross remember these three things. Maybe someday we will look at them in detail.

     1. The cross remind s us of the ugliness of sin!

     2. The cross reminds that the eternal is more important then the temporary!

     3. The cross reminds us of God’s great commitment to us!

If you think you can remember one of these three things say, “Amen!”

In 1858 the Illinois legislature--using an obscure statute--sent Stephen A. Douglas to the U.S. Senate instead of Abraham Lincoln, although Lincoln had won the popular vote. When a sympathetic friend asked Lincoln how he felt, he said, "Like the boy who stubbed his toe: I am too big to cry and too badly hurt to laugh."

Maybe that is our story this evening? For 364 days a year we celebrate the resurrected Jesus! This is the one day of the year we wrestle with the divine truth. JESUS IS DEAD! We know Easter is coming but today is Good Friday. On that day he died! They placed his dead body in the tomb. His generation was disappointed and our generation is uncomfortable. No one wants to worship a dead Savior. Maybe those are the words of our generation? “We are too big to cry and too hurt to laugh!”

Let us pray…