GOOD FRIDAY (1)
Text: Matthew 27: 54; Mark 15: 39; Luke 23: 47 f.
Source from Back to Luther with German archive reference. Back to Walther's Epistle Sermons.
Lord Jesus, today we have gathered about your cross in order to see you bleed and die for our sins. Oh grant that none of us may stand about your cross with indifferent, cold, dead, and hardened hearts as your foes once did. By the power of your death on the cross turn this church into a new Golgotha where those who have lived on securely in hardness of heart will under your cross receive a soft heart and repentantly smite their breasts; and may those who up to now have lived without hope, comfort, and peace, despairing of their salvation learn under your cross the blessed joy of having you as their God and Savior. Yes, Lord Jesus, make the day of your death a day of life for us all. Hear us for the sake of the blood of the reconciliation which you shed also for us. Amen.
Quote the text here.
Today was done the most infamous deed whichever saw the light of day. Today a sacrilege was committed which one would believe would be impossible; not only would no human be capable of it, but even the devils in hell would have to shrink from committing it. For what happened? Many years ago today the creature nailed his Creator to the cross, man his God, the sinner his Savior who had descended from heaven to redeem him! Oh man, what have you done? Oh man, how deeply you have fallen! Oh man, how unfathomable is the malice of your hear t!
Good Friday (1) 190
And what happened after this most infamous deed of all had been perpetrated, after the greatest of all sacrilege had been committed? Inanimate creation was amazed; The sun lost its light, the earth quaked, the rocks split, yes, even the graves opened and many of the bodies of the saints who slept arose. And what did they do who had committed the most horrible of all crimes ever committed upon earth; what did the high priests, the elders, the Pharisees and scribes do? As the Son of God hung bleeding on the cross, was their bloodthirstiness appeased? What their thirst for vengeance stilled? No! It usually happens that when the greatest criminal endures his execution patiently, the wrath of the spectators abates and turns into sympathy; but what did the instigators of Jesus' painful execution do? They ridiculed and mocked him even in his pangs of death.
You see, the human heart can be so hardened that even the death of God's Son upon the cross no longer makes an impression. That is the terrible state of obduracy. If a person continually acts against his conscience and knowingly, wilfully, and stubbornly resists the gracious working of the Holy Spirit, God surrenders him to His wrath, denies him the light and power of his grace, and allows him to sink into the sleep of sin and death from which nothing can awaken him but the flames of hell and damnation closing around him.
Do we perhaps see from this that Christ's death on the cross does not have the power to convert all sinners? No, no, my friends! Christ's death has this power indeed; even the high priests, the elders, the Pharisees, and the scribes were offered sufficient power, so that even they could have been converted, had they not wilfully and stubbornly resisted it. True, God will compel no one to be converted. He who despises God's every call of grace, every sweet enticement, every urgent admonition, and every earnest warning and reprimand, him he finally lets go; God abandons him to that damnation which he who resists has freely chosen for himself.
We see the great converting power of Christ's death on the cross for even the greatest sinners in the two edifying as well as comforting examples in our text.
Upon that basis permit me now in this sacred hour to present to you:
THE AMAZING POWER OF CHRIST'S DEATH ON THE CROSS TO CONVERT EVEN THE GREATEST SINNER
1. Softening the Hard Heart, but also,
2. Establishing and Comforting the Frightened Heart of Even the Greatest Sinner.
1.
My friends, Christ's death on the cross seems to be the greatest stumbling block in turning to him. And indeed, it has actually been the real stone of stumbling and rock of offence for the majority; that is why Paul states in his first letter to the Corinthians: "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness." 1 Cor 1,23.
Yet even the Old Testament foretells that after the Messiah would have died, men would turn tu him in greatest numbers. Isaiah predicts: "When thou shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." Is 53,10b. Zechariah introduces the dying Messiah in the words: "They shall look upon him
Good Friday (1) 191
whom they have pierced," and adds, immediately: "And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." Zech 12,10.
Christ himself said the very same thing even before his death. "And I," he said speaking of his death on the cross, "if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." Jn 12,32.
And this was even literally fulfilled on Golgotha in the hour of his death.
Our text presents two examples, one,the heathen centurion, and the other one, in the Jews. Let us ponder the last example first.
Yes, it is true: The people were not as wicked and hardened as the high priests, elders, Pharisees, and scribes. Whilst they were the seducers, the poor nation consisted of those misled by them. Yet even in the people we detect a most incomprehensible blindness and hardness. Christ had never injured the people but done only good, performed countless amazing miracles before their eyes, and preached the Word of eternal life with divine power into their hearts; and that is also why the people by the thousands had followed him everywhere; just a few days before they had hailed him with "Hosanna to the Son of David."
But when the people saw that Christ, whom they had hoped would free them from the power of the Romans, was himself taken captive and declared guilty of death as a rebel and blasphemer, a great change suddenly came over them; they forgot all the great and wonderful things they had seen and heard from him; they permitted themselves to be convinced and incited on by their seducers to join them in shouting before Pilate's judgment seat: "Away with him! Release Barabbas! Crucify him, crucify him 1. His blood be on us and our children 1." Yes, when Christ finally hung bleeding on the cross, the wretched people cried out to him: "If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross;" Mt 27,40; and when he did not descend, they mocked him and said: "He saved others; himself he cannot save." Mt 27,42.
Oh black, accursed thanklessness! Oh incomprehensible,devilish blindness and hardness!
And yet, what happened when the Lord finally died, when he like a patient lamb was led to the slaughter, hung there between heaven and earth, and they, as it were, rebelled? We read: " And all the people that came TOGETHER TO THAT SIGHT. BEHOLDING THE THINGS WHICH WERE DONE. SMOTE THEIR breasts, and returned." Lk 23,48.
You see, scarcely had the Lord bowed his head and died, when the power of his death on the cross to convert even the greatest sinner proved itself. Before Christ had died, the heart of the entire nation was harder than a stone; but the moment he died the hearts of all who had watched Christ's death softened. By smiting their breasts they show that their hard, stony hearts had suddenly been crushed, broken, shattered. Their consciences, which had lain in a deep sleep, now awoke. "What have you done?" spoke the voice of thunder within them. "You have murdered the Son of God, your Savior; how are you going to escape the wrath of the eternal, almighty, righteous, and holy God? Woe, woe to you for ever and ever!" What a terrible period of time the next 50 days would be until on the first Pentecost they heard the Gospel of the reconciliation of God through Christ's death! No matter where they went the picture of Christ hanging on the cross was constantly before their eyes, followed them everywhere, and day and night filled them with unrest, anxiety, fear, and terror.
Good Friday (1) 192
Recognize from this the power Christ 1 s death on the cross showed in those who did not wilfully and stiff-neckedly resist it as those high priests, elders, Pharisees, and scribes; its first result is the anxiety and terror of true repentance
My dear hearers, have you already experienced this! You have often heard and read of Christ's sacrificial death for your sins; has this fact pierced your heart like a sword? Did that frighten and move you to smite your breast and sigh from the depths of your soul: "What have I done?" Is the sight of Christ hanging and bleeding on the cross for your sins unbearable because your conscience cried with the voice of thunder: "Why do you blame Pilate? Why do you blame the Jews? You are the man! You, you are the one, your sins, yes, your sins are the cause why your God and Savior is crucified and murdered! Woe, yes, woe, to you for ever and ever!"
Ah, my dear hearer, you must experience this bitter power of Christ's death on the cross once in your life or you will experience it too late, when you will stand before Christ your Judge and before the gates of hell which are opening for you. Oh, then use this day of the death of your Savior to cast yourself down in spirit before his cross, reflect upon your sins, and join Peter in deploring them bitterly with a crushed heart.
II.
My friends, if Christ's death on the cross had only the power to soften man's naturally hard heart, if a person would experience nothing more, he would finally have to sink into the abyss of despair. But praise God! As we perceive in the centurion of our text, Christ's death on the cross has also the miraculous power of strengthening and comforting the frightened heart of the greatest sinner and filling it with hope, peace, and joy. Secondly, permit me to speak to you of this.
The sins of the centurion and the soldiers under him were also great and terrible; they cried loudly to God in heaven for vengeance. For while the soldiers had laughingly and jokingly carried out Christ's crucifixion, the centurion had com manded and led the monstrous deed. True, they were blind heathen who knew nothing of a Savior promised them by God; but they had heard from Pilate's own mouth: "I find no fault in him," and yet they had let themselves be used as willing tools to execute him, amid terrible pains, who was declared innocent by the judge himself, and devilishly mock him. This was a deed whose wickedness, even though they were blind heathen, they themselves could have very well known by the light of natural reason.
But what do we hear ? When this inhuman mob sees and hears what takes place there: the light of the sun being extinguished, the earthquake, the splitting rocks, but above all how willingly Jesus died as he departed with a loud cry in the full power of life, then we read: " They feared greatly, and glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man and the Son of God. " Christ's heathen murderers did not only repent as did the Jews, but also came to faith and through faith to a public confession and praise of God.
See again the miraculous power of Christ's death on the cross to convert even the greatest sinner! They who happily had divided Christ's garment, cast lots for his cloak, and ridiculed him in his anguish of death, they, we read, " feared greatly." The moment Christ paled in death they also grew pale: The terrors of God filled them; with pounding heart and quaking knee they looked up to the corpse of him who had been executed so terribly by them. They might very well have thought: "Mountains, fall on us; you hills, cover us!" But see! God's Holy Spirit suddenly enlightened them through the Word they heard from Christ's mouth so that they cried out; " Certainly this was a righteous man and the Son of God;" condemning themselves they not only confessed Christ's innocence but also that he really was God's Son and
Good Friday (1) 193
the Savior of the world as he claimed to be. A heavenly hope entered their hopeless souls and true, divine comfort their comfortless hearts.
What a miracle of grace we see take place even in Christ's death! Men who just a few hours before had cried: "Crucify him! Crucify him!" in incomprehensible blindness and hardness,suddenly smite their breasts in repentance; men who just a few hours before had pierced Christ's hands and feet with their own hands suddenly are very much frightened and come to faith! The greatest sinners among the Jews as well as the heathen are converted! What nothing else in the past had been able to do in their hearts Christ's death on the cross did.
And so it has always been, my friends. Why were the simple apostles able to do such great things by their preaching, overturning the strength of heathenism, converting rich and poor, great and small, worldly-wise and simple, honorable and gross sinners? Why did countless millions, yes, whole nations accept the Christian name? Why despite all persecution, despite false prophets arising in its midst, despite all the offences of many appearing with it, has the Christian Church been preserved until this hour ?
The reason is not that the Christian religion has such pure ethics and understanding of Christ's being and attributes. The real reason is the preaching of the crucified Christ. The teaching that God became a man to die for the sinful world and thus reconcile it with himself, this, yes, this teaching alone has shown such great drawing and converting power.
Though a sinner may have lain in the deepest spiritual death, Christ's death on the cross administers divine life to his heart; though a person's guilt of sin may be ever so great, Christ's death on the cross brings him certain and complete forgiveness; though a person's sin-sickness may be ever so desperately severe, Christ's death on the cross heals and sanctifies him and makes his soul well; though a sinner may even draw near to death and have already approached the gates of hell, Christ's death on the cross has power to snatch him from its maw; yes, what do I say? the example of our test shows: Even if a person had murdered God's Son with his own hands, grace which opens to him the locked gates of paradise, flows from Christ's death on the cross also for him.
Oh my dear hearers, would that the day of the death of our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would not pass by without everyone of us having experienced the miraculous power of his death on the cross in his own heart! Oh that all of you who have straddled the fence, clung sometimes to Christ, sometimes to the world and conformed your Christianity to the ways of the world, would today recognize under the cross of your Redeemer, that you also have cried sometimes: "Hosanna!", sometimes: "Crucify him!", just as those Jews, and truly repent! Oh that also you who really have perceived and are frightened that you by your many and great sins have also killed the Prince of Life and crucified the Lord of Glory would today under Christ's cross learn to confess with firm faith: " Certainly this was a righteous man and the Son of God," my Savior and my throne of grace, praised to all eternity! Oh that today all true believers among us would return to their homes with a faith which has been cleansed of all slag in the fire of God's wrath and love upon Golgotha and thus may we all joyfully close this holy day under Jesus' cross as blessed Christians. Lord Jesus, grant that your painful death may not be lost to us! Amen.