Jesus is our Savior! (Psalm 22:1-2)

Good Friday 

April 6, 2012

Dear friends in Christ.

A few years ago, there was an article which appeared in the religious section of the Dallas Morning News, with the title:  “Savior or Martyr?”  This article explored news and information about Jesus as it tried to explain just what Jesus’ death meant.  However, rather than stating the biblical facts of Jesus death on the cross, it presented new and fresh ideas which challenged the Scriptural teaching that Jesus died on the cross to save the word from sin, by painting a picture of Jesus as a man who was so committed to his teachings that he was willing to die for them as a martyr.  Though this may be the world’s conviction about Jesus, you and I know that he was not just a martyr!  In fact, you and I know that he wasn’t a martyr at all, rather, we know that Jesus is our Savior from sin and death. He is the one who suffered to save us.  He is the one who died in our place.  He is Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior!

Now, among those who believe that Jesus was a real human being who lived in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago, there is little debate that he endured great suffering when he died.  However, in some circles there is an even greater debate as to exactly what and exactly how Jesus suffered.  Those who see Jesus as a great teacher who was willing to die for what he taught, believe Jesus was nothing more than a martyr who suffered death because his teachings went against the wealthy and influential people of the time.  But for us who believe in Jesus Christ as the sinless Son of God who came to the earth as our Savior, we know he endured much more than that.  For we have Jesus’ own words recorded for us in Psalm 22, which reveal the extreme anguish that Jesus suffered to save us.  David writes, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1-2).

Just by looking at Jesus on the cross, we never would have known the intensity of Jesus’ sufferings, but when we hear his own words, recorded by the Psalmist, David, we see the gruesome picture of what Jesus truly endured to save us.  For on that cross, Jesus not only endured the pain of the nails which were driven through his hands and his feet.  He not only endured the anguish of his whip-torn flesh scraping against the wood as he struggled for breath.  But on top of all that, he felt the weight of our sins pressing down upon him, and he knew the horror of his Father willfully turning his back on his Son.  In spite of his repeated efforts to get his Father’s attention, his Father did not respond.  Though Jesus pleaded for help time and time again, it did not come.  It wasn’t that Jesus only felt forsaken; it was that Jesus had been forsaken by his Father. Why?  Because at that moment, the Father was directing all of his wrath against our sins at his Son.  It was because at that moment, Jesus was suffering the torments of hell which we deserved because of our transgressions.  It was because at that moment, Jesus who was the bearer of our sin, was sin and had to be destroyed, so that we might be saved.

This is how seriously God takes our sins, and this is how severely he punishes them.  Call them what we will, errors in judgment, mistakes, little white lies, or even, if you will, an alternative lifestyle, God calls them sins and every single sin is a paycheck that can only be chased in for God’s everlasting justice and punishment in the never ending torments of hell.  This is what Jesus endured for us so that he might save us, and this is why Jesus is our Savior!  For when Jesus suffered, he didn’t just suffer at the hands of the religious majority because he had crossed them.  He suffered the full fury of God’s wrath against sin so that he might save us.  This is the reason Jesus cried out in such agony, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me?”  Because when he suffered, he truly suffered to save us, and when he suffered, he innocently suffered to save us.

Though Jesus went to the cross as an innocent man; he suffered as the Son of God hanging on the cross, not for his own sins, but for the sins of the world.  He suffered in our place; the Holy Son of God who had never committed a single infraction against God’s perfect law.  He suffered, because it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer so that he might make Jesus’ life a guilt offering for our sins.  You see, in the same way that the Israelites had continually sacrificed innocent lambs to cover over the guilt of their sins, the Lord God now sacrificed his sinless guilt offering to cover our sins once and for all.  Just as the Israelites were required to chose a one year old lamb from the flock and take special care of it during the fourteen days prior to the Passover and then, at twilight, slaughter that lamb and cover the door posts of their hoses with its blood; the Lord sacrificed his Passover Lamb, on the cross for our sins. 

Though Jesus was truly innocent of all sins, his Father saw fit to slaughter him to pay for our sins, rather than condemn us to eternal death forever in hell; for as we know, we are far from innocent.  Though we might try to fool ourselves into believing that we are pretty good, all we have to do is take a look at our track record.  Each and every one of us has at one time in our lives despised God’s Word by our refusal to come and worship him.  Each and every one of us has taken his name in vain by shouting it out when we were surprised.  Each and every one of us has failed to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.  (And those are just the first three commandments we have broken.)  But Jesus is the one who kept them all perfectly, and he is the one who willingly went to the cross to save us.  For there on the cross, Jesus, the innocent Son of God, was forsaken by his Father, to pay for our sins.  Jesus the innocent Son of God, endured the punishment our sins deserved so that he might free us from them forever.  This is how Jesus is our Savior!  Through his innocent sufferings and death, he freed us from our sins, and has guaranteed eternal life with him forever.

When someone dies as a martyr, that is the end.  Though their memory may live on in people’s minds, there is nothing more that person can do for the living.  When Jesus went to the cross, he went so that he might save us through his innocent sufferings and death.  When Jesus died on the cross, he died to pay the price that our sins deserved.  But when Jesus rose again from the dead on Easter morning, he showed himself to be the Lord God our Savior.  For in rising from the dead Jesus assured us that our sins have indeed been forgiven.  This is the comfort we have in knowing that Jesus is our Savior.  He is the one who freed us from sin and death.  He is the one who suffered to save us.  he is the one who died in our place.  He is Jesus, the Son of God, our Savior!

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions! (Isaiah 53:4-12)

September 11, 2011

Dear friends in Christ.

If you’ll permit me, I’d like to ask you a question this morning.  It’s not a difficult question.  In fact, it is a question you’ve probably been asked all during this past week as you watched the news, listened to the radio, or simply read the paper, for the question is simply this: “Do you remember where you were 10 years ago, today?  Do you remember what you were doing when you heard the news and saw the images of the planes and the destruction they wrought on the twin towers and the pentagon?    I have no doubts that most of you sitting here today can clearly remember each and every detail of where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news.  I have not doubts that if we went around the room each and every one of you could easily recount the events of that day because they have been so clearly etched and ingrained into our memories.  Even though the events of the previous days and many of the following days have faded into obscurity, we can still remember the events of that day 10 years ago, as clearly as if it happened yesterday.  But even though we can so clearly remember the events of September 11, 2001, what is it that we need to remember today? 

While it can be a benefit for us to look back and remember the events of ten years ago, the thing that is even more important for us as Christians is to look back and remember what our Savior did for us.  As we do this, I invite you to open your Bibles to Isaiah 53:4-6 and we will remind ourselves of just what our Savior did for us.  Now, the amazing thing about Isaiah 53 is that this chapter, in fact, the entire book was written nearly 700 years before Jesus was born.  Throughout the entire book of Isaiah, the Prophet is constantly warning the people that their sins have separated them from God.  He is constantly calling on the people to repent and turn to the Lord for forgiveness, and he is constantly warning them that if they continue in their evil ways, they will be taken off into captivity by the nation of Babylon.  Yet, even in the midst of all this warning and Law, the Lord blesses his faithful people with messages of Gospel salvation, as we have before us in Isaiah 53 beginning with verse 4:  “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

Now, I don’t know about you, but every time I read these words, I get shivers.  I get shivers running up and down my spine as each word hammers home exactly what Jesus did for me.  He is the one who took up all of my infirmities, and carried them away.  He is the one who loaded up all my sorrows and drove off with them.  He is the one who was pierced by whips and scourges, thorns and nails for my transgressions—my sins of willingly crossing the line of God’s Ten Commandments.  Jesus was pierced for me, in my place, for my rebellion against the Lord—my transgressions.  He was crushed in order to satisfy God’s righteous anger over my iniquities—my guilt at being unequal to God’s righteousness; my sinful nature.  Though I was the one who had gone astray; though I was the one who had constantly wandered away, it was the Lord who laid my punishment on his Son so that by his wounds I might be healed!

Could there be anything more important for us to remember today than the fact that it was Jesus who was pierced for our transgressions!  After all, this is a very important truth, especially when we consider what the Bible tells us about our natural state!  According to Genesis 8:21, the Lord tells us that every inclination of our hearts are evil from childhood.  According to Psalm 51, David tells us that we are all sinful from birth, sinful, even from the very moment of our conception.  From Romans 3 we learn: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes…For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”(Romans 3:10–18, 24, NIV84)  

This, too, is a very important truth for each and every one of us to remember today!  All of us, each and every one of us have sinned.  Each and every one of us have fallen short of God’s Glory.  Each and every one of us are guilty of breaking not merely one, but each and every one of God’s commands.  Each and every one of us in this church is guilty of pride, of arrogance, of apathy, of jealousy, of anger, hatred, and murder.  Each and every one of us is guilty of taking God’s name in vain, dishonoring his word, and failing to honor our parents.  Each and every one of us is guilty of adultery, because we have all lusted after another person on at least one occasion.  Each one of us is guilty of stealing, of seeking to ruin another’s reputation, of failing to defend another, of failing to go to the person who has wronged you and talk to that person, even of coveting things that our neighbor.  Each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of God’s Glory.  Each and every one of us knows, as Isaiah tells us, “Your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2, NIV84) And as we know all too well, the wages of our sins is paid in eternal death and damnation.

This is why it is so important for us to remember the words of our lesson today!  “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

Though our sins had separated us from our God, it was our God who sent his Son to be our Savior!  For it was the Lord’s will to crush Jesus and cause him to suffer!  It was the Lord’s will that he be pierced for our transgressions and be crushed and wounded for our iniquities.  It was the Lord’s will that Jesus our Savior bear the punishment that our sins deserved so that through him we could live in the peace of forgiveness and salvation!  Though our sins were like scarlet, they are now as white as snow.  Though they were read as crimson, they are now like wool  (see Isaiah 1:18, NIV 84)  Though all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we have been declared not guilty by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus, our Savior.  Though we have broken all of God’s commandments, Jesus’ blood has washed away the stain of our sins. Though we have been guilty of pride, of arrogance, of apathy, of jealousy, of anger, hatred, and murder, our slate has been wiped clean.  Though we have been guilty of taking God’s name in vain, dishonoring his word, and failing to honor our parents, our record has been expunged.  Though we have been guilty of adultery, stealing, seeking to ruin another’s reputation, failing to defend another, failing to go to the person who has wronged you and talk to that person, and even coveting things that our neighbor, each and every one of these offences was laid on Jesus our Savior who endured the punishment that brought us peace, and by whose wounds we have been healed.

What greater truth could there be for us to remember today than the truth that Christ our Savior has freed us from our sins!  What greater truth could there be than the truth that it was Jesus, your Savior, who freed you from your sins, washed away even the guilt of your sins, and through faith has promised that you have a place with him, forever in heaven, when he shall call you out of this life to the life that is to come.  But the question is, has that truth made it from your head to your heart?  Are you indeed living in the forgiveness with which Jesus has blessed you?  Or are you still harboring grudges, frustrations, hatred, or annoyances against others in this congregation?  Are you recognizing each other as forgiven believers in Jesus Christ your Savior, or are you letting satan egg you on from frustration to annoyance, annoyance to anger, anger to hatred, and hatred to grudges? 

Though these are difficult questions to ask, these are questions that each and every one of us must ask of ourselves.  If we find that we have allowed anger, frustration, malice, and the like to grow in our hearts then we must turn our hearts to God in repentance for forgiveness.  When we do, it is the Lord who forgives us and reminds us of that very beautiful truth: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4–6, NIV84)

What greater thing could there be for us to remember today than the fact that our Savior has freed us from our sins.  Though I’m sure there are many things that we each remember from the events of 10 years ago, the most important thing for us as Christians is the memory of Jesus sour Savior who died in our place so that we might live with him forever.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church--Le Sueur, MN

One of the Mob; a Follower (Matthew 27:20-23)

Mach 9, 2011
Good Friday
Preached from the perspective of one of the mob.

Dear friends in Christ.

Were you there when they crucified the Lord? Where you there when they nailed him to the tree? Were you there when they crowned his head with thorns? Were you there when the crowds cried, “Crucify”? Though I know that none of you were there on that dark day so many years ago, I can tell you that I was. I was there as one of that mob. I was there as a follower. Yes, I know I told you this same story back on Ash Wednesday. But sometimes we just need to hear a story two and three times before it begins to sink in. But as I said, I was there, and I can remember the details of that day as clearly as if it happened yesterday. I remember all the sights and sounds from that day. I remember how the sun seemed almost tentative as it warmed my skin that morning and how the breeze almost seemed to hold its breath when Pilate brought Jesus out before the crowd.

Funny thing, isn’t it, I can remember all those details. I can remember exactly how Jesus looked; bruised and beaten with blood trickling down his face from the crown of thorns pressed into his head. Yet I simply, for the life of me, cannot remember why I was part of the crowd in Pilate’s courtyard that morning. I can’t remember if I had gone there out of curiosity to find out why Jesus was on trial or if I had simply been swept along to the palace by the mentality of the mob gathering there. After all, I wasn’t a follower of Jesus at that time. Oh, I had heard him preach. I had seen some miracles, I liked what he had to say, but the Holy Spirit had not yet created faith in my heart to trust in Jesus as my Savior. Though I now know exactly why I was there as part of that mob that day, at the time when Jesus was on trial, I was merely following the crowd.

Yes, I do remember exactly what Jesus looked like when Pilate brought him out before the crowd. I remember Pilate’s booming voice as he asked the people, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:17) And I remember seeing the Chief Priests and the Elders circulating through the crowd persuading the people to ask for Barabbas and to have Christ crucified. (Matthew 27:20). I probably wouldn’t have noticed it except for the Elder who came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the eye, and told me that if I considered myself and Israelite, I would demand Jesus’ execution and Barabbas’ release. It was in that moment that time seemed to stand still as a saw the Chief Priests and Elders, essentially the entire Sanhedrin—the ruling body of the Israelites—milling through the crowd; turning the people against Jesus. I wondered what I should do! Should I stay and ask for Jesus? Should I do what my leadership told me? Should I just leave and go somewhere else? I didn’t know what I should do. I was frozen with indecision as I heard Pilate ask, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” (Matthew 27:21)

It took a few seconds before my mouth started working again. I heard some shouting for Jesus, but I heard others shouting for Barabbas. Then I heard more and more people taking up the cry for Barabbas, and before I knew it, I joined right in with all the people chanting Barabbas’ name and drowning out any other voices crying out for Jesus. When Pilate asked, “Why? What crime has he committed?” (Matthew 27:23) I didn’t even hesitate. I was right there shouting with the crowds, “Crucify!” “Crucify!” I was fully part of that mob now. I was following every direction that the collective mentality of crowd was giving me. My eyes were gleaming with evil intentions. My stomach hungered for the deed to be done. My blood was boiling with lust to see Christ’s blood spilled on the ground. Every fiber of my being demanded to see him nailed to the cross and crucified. Every part of me needed to see it happen, because I was caught up in the frenzy of the mob that day. I was following the crowd demanding that the governor give the order, so that we could go out to the place of the skull and see it come to pass.

Now, I’m not proud of what I did by any means. But, before you judge me too harshly, let me ask you a question. How often haven’t you done the same thing? How of then haven’t you been part of the mob; a follower of the crowd when it came to sins? How often haven’t your own temptations led you to a mob mentality as you quickly rushed in to your favorite and most comfortable sins with an ever increasing hunger for more? How often haven’t you simply followed the bread crumbs of temptation in to the courtyard of the palace of sin, joining with other sinners as a mob of people trying to justify their actions to each other by comparing their sins to other worse sinners in the world? How often hasn’t our blood boiled with lust as the TV screen, movie screen, or computer screen flickered before us? How often haven’t our mouths cried out with curses upon others, oaths sworn to get even with the person who wronged us in some way, foul language, lies, hatred, gossip, slander, or other sins? How often haven’t you acted just as I did in that crowd, following the mob mentality of sin that moves us to rush forward into more and more greater sins as we hurtle ever forward moving closer and close to the cliffs of damnation?

That’s where I was! I was hurtling through those gates, moving as one; following the mob of people as they led me behind Jesus, out toward the place of the skull. I was there, standing, watching, desiring, and needing to see the nails driven through his hands and feet! I was there needing to see him raised up, dropped into place, and left to die! I was there as part of that mob, following every move until I heard something that began to separate me from them. As they were crucifying him, I heard him pray, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:32–34) In that moment my heart seemed to stop beating as I came back to my senses. When I heard the exchange between one of the thieves and Jesus, and heard Jesus promising the thief that he would be in paradise with Jesus today (Luke 23:39-43) I began wondering if this Jesus might be the Messiah for whom I had been waiting. When the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the land for three hours, I knew there was something special about this Jesus. When I heard him cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) I was immediately reminded of what David had written about the Savior in Psalm 22. Then, when I saw how he died, how he declared everything to be finished, how he committed himself to his heavenly Father, and how the earth shook and the rocks split, I knew that this Jesus had to be the Son of God, the Messiah for whom I had waited, my God who saved me from my sins. Now, I told you that when I was part of that crowd in Pilate’s courtyard I wasn’t a believer. However, I can tell you that if I had not followed the crowd out to Calvary that I may not have had the opportunity to come to faith in Jesus as my Savior. Though I am not proud of my part in the mob, I know I am forgiven. I know that I am forgiven through my Savior who poured out his blood upon the mercy seat of God to atone for my sins.

The same thing is true for each and every one of you who have gathered here today! Though you may have given into a mob mentality when it came to your sins, your sins have been forgiven! Though there have been many occasions that you have rushed head long into your favorite and most comfortable sins, with an ever increasing hunger for more, your Savior’s blood has not only washed you clean, but gives you the desire to turn your back on those sins. Though you may have felt your blood boiling with lust, or your mouth on fire with vicious and sinful words, even these sins have been taken away! They were all nailed to the cross with Jesus your Savior. They were atoned for by his death. They were erased from your record by his blood poured out for you. But best of all, through the faith created in your hearts by the Holy Spirit, you all have been separated from the mob barreling its way toward the cliffs of damnation. Instead you are traveling with the group of believers, following after your Lord and Savior who redeemed you by his blood, made you his own, and has given you the guarantee of eternal life in heaven through faith in the one who poured out his blood for you.

Though none of you were actually there when the crucified our Lord, each time we review the events of that day, our Savior’s love is brought home to us all the more clearly. I pray that through my witness today that you have grown in your faith and your assurance that you have been forgiven by the Blood of the Lamb. I pray that you won’t find yourselves as I did, part of a mob; a follower. Rather, I pray that you will continually be found as a follower of Christ, your living, loving, and forgiven Savior. In his Name.

Amen.

Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church --Le Sueur, MN