Good Friday April 18, 2019

Good Friday
John 19
April 19, 2019

“Is God Real? The Real Suffering and Real Death of Jesus”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Is God real? If you were here yesterday at our Maundy Thursday service you heard the first answer to that question. “Yes. God is real. He is Jesus.” God isn’t real because we feel He’s real or because we want Him to be real or even because we think He’s real—God is real because Jesus showed us He is real. He revealed God to us. When you look on Jesus you see God. God came to us. Lived among us. Died and rose for us. God is real because Jesus is real.

Now today we enter into another yet deeper piece of this reality. We see just how real Jesus is. He’s not an angel. He’s not a ghost or a spirit. He’s not a god playing the part of man. He is flesh and blood. He’s as real as you and your flesh and blood. You bleed. He bleeds. You suffer. He suffers. You feel pain. He feels pain. You fall. He falls. You agonize. He agonizes. You pray. He prays. You die. He dies. And we know all of this because on Good Friday we see His real flesh and blood suffering and dying.

When it was about 3pm in the afternoon, the three criminals had been hanging on the cross for six hours. The Jews didn’t want this spectacle to go too long where it would carry over into the Sabbath day, which would begin when the sun went down. So they asked Pilate if they would break the legs of the criminals so that they wouldn’t be able to support their weight and would die very quickly. But when they came to Jesus to break His legs, they saw He was already dead. One of the soldiers took His spear and pierced the side of Jesus. When the sword broke through Jesus side, blood and water came pouring out.

At this one detail John the Apostle, who is writing all of this for us in His Gospel, stops and makes a special point to you and me. He says, “He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.” Apparently, John really, really wants you to know that He’s not lying about what he saw. He really saw it. It really happened. Jesus’ side was pierced with a spear and blood and water came running out. Why is this so important? That you may believe.

That you may believe He’s real. He’s flesh and blood. Your flesh and blood. Not only is He God of God and Light of light—He’s blood of your blood. He’s as real as you. And His suffering and death is no show. It’s not pretense. It’s reality. The crown of thorns which pierced the skin of his head was real. The whip which striped His back and put Him on His knees was real. The nails which went through His hands and feet are as real as the nails at home on the workbench in your garage. And the blood which flowed from His side is as real as your blood.

Now then, the only thing left for you to see is that His real suffering and death are as real as your sin. Because part of the reason we don’t always want to see how real God is and how real Jesus’ suffering and death are—is because we don’t want to admit how real our sin is. If we don’t think we’re all that bad of a person, then why do we need a God who suffers and dies for us? “That can’t be real, we say. I’m not that bad. Alls I need is a god who tells me everything’s fine and I can do what I want to do. That’s my kinda god.” But that God’s not real. And in that case, neither are we.

The real God is for real sinners. The question is, “Are you real?” Because if you’re real, then you’re a real sinner. If you’re real, then those thorns piercing into Jesus’ head are your sins. Is that your sins? Are you real? Those thorns are your pride, your evil thoughts about others, your greedy thoughts of all the things you think you should have, and your ungratefulness to the God who has given you everything you already have. Those real thorns are real sins. Are those yours? Are you real?

If you’re real, then those stripes across His back are your sins. Those lashes are your curses against God, your misuse of His name, your lack of concern or care for His Word, your prayers never spoken, your thanksgivings never said, and your idols that you feared, loved, and trusted more than God. Those real stripes are your real sins.

If you’re real, then those real nails through His hands and feet are your real sins. Those nails driven through His flesh are all the times you’ve hated other people instead of loving them, all the times you’ve lusted after another man’s wife or another woman’s husband, all the times you’ve exaggerated the truth, all the times you’ve hidden the truth, and all the times you’ve outright lied. Are those nails yours? Because they’re mine.

And if you’re real, then those six hours on the cross are your sins. And that dead body at 3pm is the full punishment of your sin. Each hour on that cross comes at the expense of your envy, your anger, your greed, your apathy, your gluttony, and your lust. And the final breath and the spear in the side at His death is for your pride.

Is God real? That depends. Are you real? Because if you’re real, which means you’re a real sinner with real sins, then this God is real who suffers and dies for you on a cross in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. John saw it. His testimony is true. Blood and water flowed from Jesus’ side. And He has written it that you may believe. May believe that God is real. He is Jesus. And He suffered and died for your real sin.

And if you’re a real sinner, which I know you are, and God is real, which you know He is, then here comes the best real and true news that you’ll ever hear—you are really and truly loved and forgiven. All those times you think to yourself, “God couldn’t possibly really forgive me for this, right? God couldn’t really love me when I’ve done all the things I’ve done, right?” God couldn’t really forgive me this many times, right?”—then you see those real thorns and those real stripes and those real nails and those real hours on the cross and that real death and that real blood and water from His side and you believe, “Yes, God really loves me.”

Is God real? We are left finally with the words of the Roman centurion who oversaw Jesus’ death that day on the cross. At 3pm when Jesus breathed His last and said, “It is finished,” and the earth shook—the centurion said, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Truly God is real. He’s Jesus. As real as you and your sins. And His love and forgiveness for you is as real as that blood and water flowing from Jesus’ side.

Truly He is the Son of God.

Amen.