Good Friday Message

We just ask that you’d be here tonight, that you’d be present with us, and that you would just be smiling down on this time. That we would just know that we met with you tonight, God, and that this time would be special, and it would be meaningful for each one of us. I ask this in Jesus’ name. And then, so as I was looking at Good Friday and trying to prepare for tonight, the place that I was led, was to John chapter 13. And as I read John chapter 13, something stuck out to me, and I just want to read it for you right now.

It says this, “Now, before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father, says, “Having loved his own, who were in the world, he showed them the full extent of his love.” And this verse says that what stuck out to me was that he showed them the full extent of his love. And ever since I was a kid, I had always just thought that what that verse meant, he showed them the full extent of his love, just meant that he washed their feet. And that is true. That is true that Jesus did proceed in those verses that follow to wash their feet.

But as I was reflecting and reading this week, I realized that those verses actually, that verse actually marks out something that was trying to be said in line with the fuller context of John chapter 13 through John chapter 19. And what I realized is that him showing us the full extent of his love was him dying for us. That was him dying for us. And so listen carefully because Jesus was about to die for them. He was about to wash their sin away and to serve them in a way that they had never been served before.

And by Jesus washing their feet, not only was he foreshadowing this for them, he was also telling them to live this same way and to love this same way, moving forward by serving people sacrificially. So profound that symbolically he was showing them how much he loved them before he ever died for them. But here’s the deal. Jesus was sitting in a home, he’s eating a past over meal, he was safe. How was he ever going to die?

Well, a few verses later in John chapter 13 verses 21, one of Jesus’ disciples, Jesus kind of calls him to attention and he says, “One of you is going to betray me.” And we know because of what John’s gospel reveals is that this was Judas. And that at this time in the meal, Judas got up and left to go and betray Jesus. And then not 10 verses later, the next thing Jesus says is that he predicts that after his betrayal, one of the disciples that was closest to him, Peter, so one of his best friends, he says to Peter, “Peter, you’re going to be so scared. That you’re going to deny not once, not twice, but you’re going to deny three times ever knowing me.”

And what’s interesting is that even knowing that all of this would take place, even knowing that he was going to be betrayed, even knowing that he was going to be denied, still in John chapter 14 through 17, the next three verses chapter, Jesus still goes on to share with them how much he loves them. Jesus still walks them through what it takes to gain eternal life, what it takes to live a Christian life, and he also prays for them and prays for the world. And the

gospel of John doesn’t depict what takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane, but if you jump over to one of the other gospels, the gospel of Luke that also gives the account of Jesus’ death, Luke chapter 22 verse 44 says that, “Then Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane and take this and he literally swept drops of blood because of the great anguish that he felt.” And then if you jump over to the gospel of Mark chapter 14 verse 50, it says, “After that, that Jesus

was arrested and that when Jesus was arrested, everyone fought for him, everyone deserted him.” He was all alone.

And if you continue to read the gospels, we know that Jesus was taken and he was tried. We know that he was severely beaten and that he was flogged. We know he was spat on and struck with the staff. We know that Jesus then was forced to carry a cross up to where he’d be crucified and he was so not able to do it that they had to have an innocent bystander carry it for him and carry it with him. And then when he finally gets to the place where he’s going to be crucified, they nailed his feet to the cross.

They nail his wrists to the cross and I’ll spare you the details of how just excruciating painful crucifixion was as a death sentence. But usually on Good Friday, we look at the gospels. We go through the gospels to explain what happened to Jesus on that night. Although this past month, we’ve been taking the youth here at Grace Point through a series called The Prophecies of Jesus. And we’ve been looking at Old Testament prophecies or Old Testament predictions that foretell those of the Messiah that basically those predictions had a deeper fulfillment in Christ.

And one of the Old Testament passages that we looked at shed some light on Jesus’ death and what he went through. Therefore, as I was preparing tonight with all of that in mind, with this series of The Prophecies of Jesus in mind, I felt led to take us to and read this one passage. But it’s also a passage that I think gives us greater depth and a new perspective on what Jesus did for us and on the death that he went through for us. I’m hoping that you’ll be able to see a picture of a God that loved us so much that he was willing to trade places with us. I’m hoping that you’ll be able to see and have a picture painted for you that you can be forgiven of all things because he died for us.

Because he died for you. So as I read this for you, I just want you to try to picture Jesus in these verses. What he went through, but I want you to also try to internalize what he did for you because he loves you. And the passage that I’m gonna be reading out of is Isaiah chapter 52, verses 13 through chapter 53, verses nine. And I won’t read every single verse, although I will read the majority of them because I’m doing this on purpose because I want the scripture to speak for itself.

I just want you to take it in. I just want you to be able to hear it from God’s word. And I’m actually gonna read a couple of the words differently than you might be used to on purpose so that it’s easy for you to understand what’s being said. So it says, see my servant will act wisely. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

And there were many who were appalled at him. And this is where I want you to start taking note. His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by humankind. A man of suffering familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised and we held him in low esteem. Surely you took up our pain and bore our suffering. Yet we considered him punished by God, struck by him and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our crimes and faults. He was crushed for our guilt and shame. The punishment that brought us peace was on him. And by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray.

Each of us has turned to our own way. And the Lord has laid on him the guilt and shame of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted. Yet he did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.

And as a sheep before it shears a silent soul. So he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment, he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? He was cut off from the land of the living.

For the crimes and faults of my people, he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death. Though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. And of passage. Jesus took on all the punishment that was rightfully ours.

He paid the price for our guilt. He paid the price for our shame. He paid the price for our wrongdoing by dying and by giving his life for your sin and for mine. By his wounds, we are healed. And while Jesus was hanging on the cross, he said these words.

He said, Father, please forgive them for they do not know what they do. And usually we hear these words that were spoken by Jesus. And we think that they apply to the people of that day and to their sin. And it does. But it also applies to us.

The truth of the matter is, is that we all have done more things than we can count that put him on that cross too. And Jesus knew that everything that humanity would ever do needed to be paid for. Once and for all. And in another passage, Romans 3, 23, in the Bible, it says that we all sin, that we all fall short of the glory of God. None of us has ever sinned.

And the sobering reminder is that the darkness of Friday, the darkness of tonight is what it took for us to be forgiven. But good Friday also shows us how much Jesus loves us. Well, he was willing to go through and all that he did for you and for me. Some of you might be sitting in this room tonight and you might be saying, oh, yeah, that that’s true. I know he did that.

But he would never forgive me. There’s so much wrong that I’ve done. There’s so much wickedness that I’ve done, you would say. It’s more than he could ever forgive. I’m not worthy to be forgiven.

He wouldn’t dare forgive me. And this truly is the lie that you believed up to the this point in your life. But God wants you to know tonight that yes, you can. And yes, he did forgive you for your sin when he died on that cross. And this is why I want to give all of us this opportunity tonight during these next three songs to come forward and just to write down whatever it is that you need him to forgive you for.

And then I want you to lay it at his feet and let him take it from you. And maybe tonight you’ve heard the gospel presented before. You’ve heard all of this before, but tonight something’s different. Tonight there’s a tug. Tonight God is somehow you just, you don’t know how, but he’s reaching through and he’s getting your attention.

And if you know that tonight he’s saying to you, I saved you. I forgave everything you ever did. All you got to do is accept it. I love you so much. Would you please let me in?

And if that’s you tonight, I just want to encourage you. I’m just going to say a prayer right now. And would you just pray with me? Just pray in your heart and say, Lord, I know that I’ve done things that are wrong. I know that I’ve made mistakes.

I know that I’m not good enough, but I’m realizing tonight that you made a way for all of that to be forgiven because you truly do love me so much and I don’t understand it. I don’t deserve it, but I’m just asking God, would you take my sin from me? Would you give me the gift of eternal life that only comes through your Son Jesus? I want to be in heaven with you, Jesus. Come into my heart.

Come into day. Come into stay. I want to be in heaven with you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Tonight, during these next three songs, we’re going to share communion together. And this is the time for people who believe in Jesus to partake in this sacred moment, to remember Jesus’ body that was given for them and to remember Jesus’ blood that was shed for them. I just want to encourage you to come forward at any time during these next three songs. Can’t wait till the last song if you like. I just want to encourage you to come down the middle aisle and feel free to make two rows because both Pastor Steve and myself will be here to serve you and then just return to the outer aisles to go back to your seats.

If for some reason you’re unable to come forward tonight, I just want to encourage you to just raise your hand and one of our ushers or one of our deacons will come and will serve you. But also during these next three songs, if you’d like to, feel free to come up and kneel and pray. Take one of those cards back to your seat or write on it there and just give it all to him. And then bring it forward with you and lay it at his feet and just know that it’s gone. We’ll take them all.

We’ll shred them all. We’re not even going to read them. But just know that he’s taken that from you. So this time I just want to encourage the worship team to come on forward. But the price has been paid.

He died in your place for all your sin. This is what Jesus did for me and for you. This is the amazing price that was paid for us. So at this time, let’s share in communion together.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 2,468 words.