1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:05,480 3 movements tonight, a prologue, and then we journey to the cross 2 00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:12,800 followed by an epilogue. Would you pray with me on this 3 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:17,880 solemn day? Holy God, we come and we reflect 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:22,120 on the cost of our salvation. We reflect on the love of our 5 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:27,440 Savior who came and died for us. Pray that He would come in His 6 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,400 grace and truth into this building, into this 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,560 congregation. Teach us tonight, Lord, May the 8 00:00:34,560 --> 00:00:36,920 words I speak be edifying to your church. 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:38,600 May they be glorifying to your name. 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,200 We pray in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy 11 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,040 Spirit. Amen. 12 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:49,520 Prologue. In the beginning was the Word, 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,480 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,560 He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made 15 00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,360 through Him. Without Him was not anything 16 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:04,959 made that has been made. In Him was life, and this life 17 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:08,080 was the light of men. The light shines in the 18 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:11,560 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 19 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:17,000 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming 20 00:01:17,000 --> 00:01:20,160 into the world. He was in the world and the 21 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:25,720 world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. 22 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:31,760 With these words, John the Evangelist opens his gospel. 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,600 And tonight we come to the climax of the story. 24 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,920 Light meets darkness. Will it be overcome? 25 00:01:42,320 --> 00:01:46,400 And this story matters because the pain and the tears of the 26 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,920 world matter. A holy God cannot just sit there 27 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,120 and hand wave it away. Just pretend like it didn't 28 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:55,880 happen. He can't excuse it. 29 00:01:55,880 --> 00:01:59,000 Well, what do you expect? You know, it's probably the 30 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:00,560 best. It's not. 31 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,720 It's not OK. It's not OK. 32 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:05,880 And I think many of us, we've cried some of those tears. 33 00:02:05,880 --> 00:02:08,560 We felt that pain in our heart. We long. 34 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,720 We long for resolution. We long for justice. 35 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:17,000 And as we come to the cross tonight, there's validation. 36 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,480 Something needs to happen. This world is not all right the 37 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,600 way it is. There needs to be a response. 38 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:27,520 We have a Savior, Emmanuel, God, who is with us here in the 39 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,360 darkness, who can walk with us, who can relate to us, who we 40 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,280 pray can heal us with the light of the cross. 41 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,080 It doesn't just validate our longings for justice in the 42 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:47,080 world, it also convicts. You see, when the light shines, 43 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,520 we learn how comfortable we've become in the darkness. 44 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:58,000 Our actions and our desires add to the darkness. 45 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,640 How we are complicit in the darkness. 46 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:04,520 How we don't just endure the darkness, but we add to the 47 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:08,200 darkness. So we journey to the cross both 48 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:13,400 as sinners and as victims of sin equally, longing for the light 49 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:20,440 and fearing the light. The good news start with the 50 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:23,840 good news on this Good Friday. The good news is that God does 51 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,480 not love us because Christ died for us. 52 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,800 Christ died for us because God loves us. 53 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,560 I invite you to bring your pain and your shame to the cross 54 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:45,320 defined in the Crucified One, the life that was, the life that 55 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:52,560 is the light of the world, the light that continues to shine in 56 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,520 the darkness, even this darkness. 57 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:59,040 And the darkness has still not overcome it. 58 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:08,920 Let's go to the cross, Peter. Peter again denied it, and at 59 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:15,200 once a rooster crowed. John 1827, I think this is a 60 00:04:15,200 --> 00:04:17,360 universal memory. Can you remember as a young 61 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,079 person being at the end of a school day or at the end of 62 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,840 practice or maybe a youth group? And you're waiting for the ride, 63 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:25,680 right? You're with all your friends and 64 00:04:25,680 --> 00:04:28,760 one by one, each of their parents shows up or their older 65 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:33,480 brothers sister, and they all depart and you're the last one, 66 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,560 You're the last one left. And you start to panic a little 67 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:40,080 bit and you start to wonder. And this was a bigger deal 68 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,400 before cell phones, believe me. Like, are they going to come? 69 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,240 Have they forgotten? What if I'm left? 70 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:57,520 What if, what if, what if? Well, we can say a lot about the 71 00:04:57,520 --> 00:05:00,400 Apostle Peter. He's quite an interesting guy. 72 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,440 There's a lot about him. But one of the things you can 73 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,400 say about him is that he was a really good friend to Jesus. 74 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:09,560 The two of them, they've been through a lot together. 75 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,960 They'd walked on water together. Peter was the only one who got 76 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:16,280 out of the boat. They had fed the crowds physical 77 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:18,120 food. They'd fed the crowds spiritual 78 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:20,760 food. They'd been in confrontations 79 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:25,360 with the with the priests and the Pharisees, and they talked 80 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:27,440 to each other as friends, right? They could be direct. 81 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,960 Christ could say, Peter, get behind me, Satan and Peter could 82 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:33,960 say to Christ, like, you're not going to wash me. 83 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,600 They had a rapport. And now here we are. 84 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,400 It's Thursday night. We're in the garden. 85 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,800 All of human history comes down to these next 72 hours. 86 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,720 This is the hinge, the conflict between good and evil. 87 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,520 It's all right here. And Jesus, fully God, but fully 88 00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:55,040 man. He needs his friend. 89 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:58,840 He needs his friend to show up. I need you, Peter. 90 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:01,320 I need you to stand visual with me. 91 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:03,600 I need you to be there in the garden for me. 92 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:10,720 Peter doesn't show up. Maybe he doesn't understand. 93 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:12,480 He doesn't get what this is all about. 94 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,960 Maybe he does understand. Maybe it's all overwhelming. 95 00:06:16,120 --> 00:06:20,320 He doesn't know what to do, and caught in his own inadequacy, he 96 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:26,480 just falls asleep and bails. And then the crisis comes. 97 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,760 The enemy, the Evil 1, having entered Judas, appears, and 98 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:34,680 Jesus and the enemy are staring face to face in the dark of the 99 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,720 garden with the torches and the guards. 100 00:06:37,200 --> 00:06:40,880 And Peter comes too. He's completely panics. 101 00:06:41,520 --> 00:06:44,680 He just loses it, goes out on his own, goes rogue, starts 102 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,720 swinging his sword. Jesus has you, Peter. 103 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,120 Peter, put that away. Follow my lead, Peter. 104 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:52,000 Read the room. Peter, show up for me. 105 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,480 Peter, I need you. You see, in this moment when 106 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,240 Christ had literally been sweating drops of blood, he has 107 00:06:59,240 --> 00:07:03,600 to stop and he has to clean up Peter's mess, take time to like 108 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,520 get that stuff straight. And Peter, he disappears into 109 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:13,400 fear and shame. He spirals, he denies, he 110 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:24,680 denies, he denies. Have you ever needed somebody to 111 00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:31,240 show up? Friend, family member, you were 112 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,280 going through something. It's so much more important than 113 00:07:33,280 --> 00:07:35,800 a ride. This was a dark moment, a 114 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:39,160 crisis, and you needed your friend to be there. 115 00:07:39,360 --> 00:07:41,480 You needed somebody to tell you it was going to be OK. 116 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,360 You just needed a hug. You just needed somebody to grab 117 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:47,640 your hand, to shake your grab. You by the shoulder, say I'm 118 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,120 here with you, I see you, I'm proud of you. 119 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:55,240 And they didn't show up. They weren't there. 120 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,360 Maybe like Peter, they promised and promised that they would be 121 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,440 there. And here's is the moment when 122 00:08:00,440 --> 00:08:03,040 you just need them and they're gone. 123 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:05,400 They bail. Or they do show up and they 124 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:09,000 panic and they just say something really inappropriate. 125 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:11,080 They try to make it about themselves. 126 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,600 Oh, it's so much worse when I and it's not helpful. 127 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:16,400 I need you to see me. I need you to be here for me. 128 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:26,160 This is darkness, my friends. This is the way of the enemy. 129 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,720 Leaving us all alone, abandoning us, betraying us. 130 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:34,320 Christ went to the cross for the sins of the world. 131 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,799 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers 132 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:42,840 of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 133 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:47,920 But what if it was us? What if it was you? 134 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:49,720 What if it was me? What if we were the ones that 135 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:53,080 bailed? I was our friend. 136 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:54,760 We didn't. I didn't know it was so serious. 137 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,160 I knew it was kind of rough, but I didn't know it was that bad. 138 00:08:58,200 --> 00:08:59,800 I would have taken time. I should have asked them a 139 00:08:59,800 --> 00:09:03,480 question. I was trying to help and I said 140 00:09:03,480 --> 00:09:05,560 it was dumb. I shouldn't have said that. 141 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:08,160 I could see their hurt on their face as soon as I said it. 142 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:11,000 Now it's awkward. I mean, how do you apologize for 143 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:12,840 that? I don't know. 144 00:09:12,840 --> 00:09:14,320 We don't really see them anymore. 145 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:18,000 We weren't there. They were counting on us. 146 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:19,480 Like Peter. We didn't show up. 147 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:25,000 We left them hurt. I suspect we can all relate to 148 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:27,520 this interpersonal pain at some point. 149 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:29,800 We've experienced the pain of broken trust. 150 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:33,440 And if we're honest, we've not only received or been on the 151 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:37,440 receiving end of having our trust broken, we failed to live 152 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,400 up to what somebody expected of us. 153 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:46,680 Jesus light. It is not overcome by this 154 00:09:46,680 --> 00:09:49,920 darkness. Well, we were yet sinners, the 155 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:52,800 one who will never leave us or forsake us. 156 00:09:53,640 --> 00:09:56,480 He continued on to the cross for us. 157 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:04,840 The faithless priest. The chief priest answered we 158 00:10:04,840 --> 00:10:11,600 have no king but Caesar. We don't know a lot about Jesus. 159 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:14,160 As a young person, one of my friends would say Jesus is a 160 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,600 Shorty, But the one scene we get in the Gospel of Luke is Jesus 161 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:22,920 in the temple, Jesus in the temple with all of the 162 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,880 professional priests and elders. And they're whole, you know, 163 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:29,560 they're talking shop and they're, they're going over the 164 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:32,040 Scriptures and Jesus is just eating this up. 165 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,400 I imagine this being like when the principal cellist comes to 166 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:38,440 the Youth Orchestra and he's playing with them or she's 167 00:10:38,440 --> 00:10:41,680 playing with them or here at basketball camp and there's a 168 00:10:41,680 --> 00:10:45,200 pro player there. This guy's in the NBA and he's 169 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:46,720 going to play basketball with me. 170 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:49,280 I mean, there's a little bit of mystery here because it is 171 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:53,760 Jesus, but I just imagine his humanness, how excited he was to 172 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,000 be around these men. He looked up to them. 173 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,280 These were heroes to him and he got to talk about the things of 174 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:04,280 God with these men in the temple. 175 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,720 And we could imagine a world where these men became pastors 176 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:11,600 to him and the Holy Family. They nurtured him in the faith 177 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,080 and his he started to reveal himself. 178 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,800 They celebrated his wisdom and insight. 179 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:19,800 They went from being his shepherd to being his followers, 180 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:24,040 and they championed him. But we know that's not the 181 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,960 story, is it? Sort of seeing him as one of 182 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,480 their sheep to be encouraged. They saw him as a threat, as a 183 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:33,880 problem. They branded him evil, they 184 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:36,600 warned people against him, they tried to trick him, they tried 185 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,840 to trap him, they tried to embarrass him, and now they're 186 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:47,440 trying to destroy him. But not only are they against 187 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:52,640 him personally, these words I just read, these words haunt me 188 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:56,960 every Good Friday when we say them, the chief priest answered. 189 00:11:56,960 --> 00:12:02,080 We have no king but Caesar. And I wonder, what did it cost 190 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:07,440 these men to say those words? What did it cost you say? 191 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,760 They had been the ones who had taught Jesus and countless other 192 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:15,080 youth about how Moses had stood up to Pharaoh and all the gods 193 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:19,760 of Egypt and he had spoken truth to them and he had got the 194 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,200 people out of Egypt with acts of power. 195 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:24,640 How Daniel had stood up to Darius. 196 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,600 When Darius said you can worship nobody else, you must pray to 197 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,360 me. Daniel refused to pray to Darius 198 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:35,880 and God vindicated Daniel. How Esther for such a time as 199 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:39,360 this? How Esther liberated or 200 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:43,200 preserved the Jewish people from genocide by breaking the norms 201 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,640 of Xerxes court, by coming to him, by demanding an audience 202 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:49,520 with him? See, they knew that Yahweh is 203 00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,880 the king of kings, he's the Lord of Lords. 204 00:12:53,800 --> 00:12:57,360 Yet here, push has come to shove. 205 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:03,160 It's their time with a Pagan tyrant, and they sell out. 206 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:08,000 They give the game away. We have no king but Caesar, like 207 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:13,920 all the other conquered people, you know, to keep their 208 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:17,600 position, to keep the peace, to solve the problem, to get rid of 209 00:13:17,720 --> 00:13:21,000 Jesus. They're willing to go against 210 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,320 the core teaching of their faith. 211 00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:29,120 And I know some of you, some of us have had spiritual leaders in 212 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,720 our lives, men and women, and we've looked up to them and 213 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:34,840 they've shown us the way ways of God. 214 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,680 We've experienced great beauty in their presence and love. 215 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:41,240 And we've experienced, we've heard the words of life. 216 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,080 And then as we've gotten older and we've watched and we've 217 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,520 learned that maybe they were living a double life. 218 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:50,720 There's a whole nother side of them. 219 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:54,760 Or maybe they, like the priests, sell out, maybe for an 220 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,800 extramarital affair, and they walk away, maybe for money, 221 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,400 maybe for political power or position. 222 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:07,120 They give it all up and we're left kind of trying to put 223 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:08,880 together like, what's real and what's not? 224 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:10,360 Like, what do I do with my faith? 225 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,720 I looked up to these people. I believed in what they were 226 00:14:13,720 --> 00:14:15,720 telling me. And now, now I don't know. 227 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:21,320 You feel the pain of betrayal. This is darkness. 228 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:27,240 This is the way of the enemy. Christ goes to the cross for the 229 00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:33,560 sins of the world. When he had said these things, 230 00:14:33,640 --> 00:14:36,640 one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, 231 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,520 saying, Is that how you answer the high priest? 232 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:50,000 But maybe it was us. Maybe people look to us. 233 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,920 They knew we were Christians. You were Jesus follower. 234 00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:55,160 You're one of those religious people. 235 00:14:56,560 --> 00:14:58,800 What are you going to do? Are you going to turn the other 236 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,880 cheek? Are you going to follow the ways 237 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:05,280 of love and mercy? Are you going to stand up 238 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,880 against the vileness of this world and call it out for what 239 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:09,240 it is? Vileness. 240 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:16,320 And what if we just shrink back into the crowd and choose our 241 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,360 reputation? It's going to be awkward if I 242 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,400 say anything. This isn't really the place 243 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,840 those people watch us. And I thought you were 244 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,920 different. I thought this mattered to you. 245 00:15:28,280 --> 00:15:31,040 I thought God was your hope and your salvation. 246 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:32,960 Instead, we choose our reputation. 247 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,120 We choose our pocketbook. We choose our career. 248 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,120 We have no king but our reputation or our job. 249 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:44,120 We choose smaller goals. We choose the easier path. 250 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:50,720 And we sell out Jesus light. It's not overcome by this 251 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:54,040 darkness. And while we were yet sinners, 252 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:58,680 the pure Lamb of God continues on to the cross for us. 253 00:15:59,960 --> 00:16:04,120 Pilate. From then on, Pilate sought to 254 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,480 release him, but the Jews cried out. 255 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:12,640 Do you remember when, like, justice became a real thing to 256 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:14,000 you and you like, kind of got it? 257 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:16,440 Like maybe you were in a classroom and you saw somebody 258 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:19,040 get blamed for something and and you knew because you were in the 259 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:20,840 back row, like you knew they didn't do it. 260 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,000 You know, like, that's not right. 261 00:16:23,040 --> 00:16:24,160 They shouldn't be blamed for that. 262 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,640 It was it was this other kid. Or maybe your mom came home and 263 00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:30,840 she shared the news that, like, Kyle at work got the promotion 264 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:34,680 and she didn't get it. And you saw her tears and you 265 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:38,040 knew how hard she worked and how much she did for that company. 266 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,480 And you were heartbroken. And you said to yourself, if I'm 267 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:47,120 ever in charge, if I'm ever a boss, I'm going to be one of the 268 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:49,280 good guys. I'm going to stand up for the 269 00:16:49,280 --> 00:16:51,040 people who deserve to be rewarded. 270 00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,600 I'm not going to blame the innocent people. 271 00:16:56,760 --> 00:16:58,960 We don't know a lot about Pilot. I know one thing. 272 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:01,840 You probably saw a lot of corruption growing up in Rome. 273 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,880 My guess is that at some point, as an idealistic teenager, he 274 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:09,440 had this thought. Maybe this is even as he was 275 00:17:09,440 --> 00:17:11,920 getting into politics. I'm going to do it differently. 276 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:15,839 I'm going to do it right. I'm not going to be like all of 277 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:18,839 those other people who are only in it for themselves. 278 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:24,680 I'm going to care about justice. But here it is. 279 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:27,560 There's an innocent man. Crowds want him dead. 280 00:17:27,560 --> 00:17:29,040 They're all crying for his death. 281 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,600 Pilot knows he's innocent. You can tell he's squirming. 282 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:37,560 He's trying to figure a way out. He has that 15 year old inside 283 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:40,000 of him saying you're going to be different, right? 284 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:41,960 You're not going to be like all the rest. 285 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,040 But you see, The thing is, the stakes are real for Pilot. 286 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:49,960 His patron back in Rome has just been executed by Tiberius. 287 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:52,040 He's kind of on the outs of the emperor. 288 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:54,840 Like he screws this up. It's going to be his job, It 289 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,640 could be his life. And it's just one man. 290 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,000 And he's not even. It's a different race. 291 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,640 It's a different religion. Like he doesn't know about this. 292 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:09,160 Where Jesus needs a leader, he gets a coward. 293 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:12,040 Pilot advocates his responsibility. 294 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:15,480 Like let the crowds decide. Like how about A or B? 295 00:18:15,600 --> 00:18:18,640 Whatever you choose, I'm not going to be the leader. 296 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:22,800 I'm going to bail here. I see you're innocent, but I'm 297 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,160 not going to call it. I'm going to let the crowds have 298 00:18:25,160 --> 00:18:29,440 their way. It's so much easier. 299 00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:34,520 Just let this one guy die. You know, some of you have had 300 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:39,680 to suffer because God put somebody in charge and they gave 301 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:45,160 them a responsibility to promote and protect the innocent, to 302 00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,480 punish the guilty, to work for justice and human flourishing. 303 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,400 They were called to be a leader and they were a coward. 304 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,120 They chose to enrich themselves. They chose to protect their 305 00:18:58,120 --> 00:19:00,400 friends. They chose to ignore the people 306 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,360 they saw as weak, as unimportant, and you had to 307 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:08,760 suffer because of those choices, because they didn't do their 308 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:13,440 duty. This is darkness, my friends. 309 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,720 This is the way of the enemy. Christ goes to the cross for the 310 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:27,700 sins of the world. Maybe you think like I'm. 311 00:19:27,820 --> 00:19:29,940 I'm not a governor. I'm not an American governor. 312 00:19:29,940 --> 00:19:33,700 So I'm, I'm good here. You know, we all, we have 313 00:19:33,700 --> 00:19:37,380 responsibility for the dignity of our neighbor to promote the 314 00:19:37,380 --> 00:19:40,480 common good. We all have opportunities to 315 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,520 choose to be on the side of justice. 316 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:46,120 Aren't you? Just let it slide, just this one 317 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:48,000 time. I'm not going to do the work. 318 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:49,360 I'm not going to ask the question. 319 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,320 And praise God, we get it right sometimes. 320 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,120 And sometimes we do stand up and we do let our voices be heard, 321 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:04,680 but sometimes we choose ridicule and anger. 322 00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,600 We forget the dignity of those people who are on the other 323 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:12,240 side. We allow ourselves to choose 324 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,120 self-interest over the common good, to cheer for our team and 325 00:20:17,120 --> 00:20:21,000 our side, to look past the, you know, the kind of queasy things 326 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:23,120 our team does. And we're just excited to see 327 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:30,000 them advance, or disappointed to see them not advance our 328 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,280 selfishness, loving ourselves and not loving our neighbors. 329 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,200 Jesus light is not overcome by this darkness. 330 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:40,160 And while we were yet sinners, the Good Shepherd continues to 331 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:46,360 the cross for us. Then Pilate took Jesus and 332 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,600 flogged him and the soldiers, they twisted together a crown of 333 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,560 thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in purple robe. 334 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:58,200 They came up to him saying Hail King of the Jews, and they 335 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:04,560 struck him with their hands. And those cowards and those 336 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,960 sellouts and all those people who failed to show up, they took 337 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:11,760 Jesus. And there they crucified him, 338 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:17,200 and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between 339 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:24,480 them. But also, but also for all those 340 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:30,480 who fail to show up, for all those who sell out, for all the 341 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,800 cowards. Jesus went out bearing his cross 342 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:38,680 to the place called the place of a skull, which an Aramaic is 343 00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:41,760 called Golgotha. And there they crucified him, 344 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:46,760 and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between 345 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:50,280 them. When Jesus had received the sour 346 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:54,280 wine, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave 347 00:21:54,280 --> 00:22:05,640 up his spirit. Epilogue Later in the Gospel of 348 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,640 John we read these words. Then John said to Peter, it is 349 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:12,160 the Lord. And as soon as Simon Peter heard 350 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,160 him say, it is the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around 351 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:20,120 him and jumped into the water. Peter would write these words. 352 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:24,560 He himself, Jesus himself, bore our sins and His body on the 353 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:29,680 tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness by his 354 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,800 wounds. You have been healed on the 355 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,400 other side of the cross. Peter found a restored 356 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:39,480 relationship with Jesus. Peter found healing on the other 357 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:43,000 side of the cross. We're going to be able to come 358 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,320 to the cross tonight and I ask you, come and ask for healing. 359 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,360 We've all been scarred by the darkness and the sin of this 360 00:22:50,360 --> 00:22:54,120 world. We all need Christ to heal us. 361 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:56,560 You can find that healing at the cross. 362 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,880 Peter found that healing at the cross. 363 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:02,640 He didn't stay in shame. He didn't stay in failure. 364 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,240 Come and ask God to adopt you into His Holy Family. 365 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,880 Find a brother in Christ when he was the way, the truth, and the 366 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:18,160 life. In the Acts of the Apostles. 367 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:23,760 We read these words and the Lord continued to increase, and the 368 00:23:23,760 --> 00:23:26,280 word of God continued to increase, and the number of 369 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:30,120 disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many 370 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:32,680 priests became obedient to the faith. 371 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:38,120 Saul the Pharisee would testify for our sake. 372 00:23:38,120 --> 00:23:43,040 He made him Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we 373 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,680 might become the righteousness of God. 374 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:51,920 On the other side of the cross, there's a place for all of those 375 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:53,920 priests. So it's just months later, 376 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:57,880 priests are coming to be saved. There's room for the Pharisees 377 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:00,080 on the other side of the cross. They can be part of the 378 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:02,680 community. In fact, God goes out of his way 379 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,440 to find Saul and say, Saul, I want you to be included in this. 380 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,360 I want you to don't, don't miss this, join the team. 381 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:15,200 Saul, who we also know is the apostle Paul, after his 382 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,680 conversion, he would write these words, We bring our sin to the 383 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,800 cross and we receive the righteousness of God. 384 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,160 Even if we've sold out, we can bring that to the cross. 385 00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,680 We get the righteous. What an amazing verse. 386 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:36,000 What an amazing exchange. Come tonight, bring your sins to 387 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,280 the cross. Let Christ make you new. 388 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:42,040 Deceive the righteousness of God. 389 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:46,320 A new start, a fresh start. If those priests could get a 390 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:52,120 fresh start, you can get a fresh start further in the book of 391 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:56,520 Acts we read. Then the pro council believed 392 00:24:56,600 --> 00:24:59,720 when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the 393 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,560 teaching of the Lord. The author of Hebrews would 394 00:25:03,560 --> 00:25:06,640 testify in Hebrews Chapter 11, that great chapter of faith. 395 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:12,000 But as it is, they, the the faithful men and women and the 396 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,960 faithful pro councils desire a better country, that is a 397 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,960 heavenly 1 Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, 398 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,120 for he has prepared for them a city. 399 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:26,800 There's good news at the cross even for high Roman officials. 400 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:30,600 Now in this passage it's not Pontius Pilate, it's a man named 401 00:25:30,600 --> 00:25:33,640 Sergius Paulus. Sergius had a similar or even 402 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:37,920 higher rank than Pilate had. When he responds to the Gospel, 403 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:42,800 he finds in the teaching of the Lord a calling higher, more 404 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:46,600 urgent than serving the Roman Empire, an empire that would 405 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,840 outlast the Roman Empire. If you're looking for purpose 406 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:54,000 tonight, if you need to have your hope renewed, you're 407 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:55,800 looking for something to believe in. 408 00:25:56,080 --> 00:26:00,200 Come to the cross of Christ, ask him to give you purpose. 409 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:07,360 If denying disciples, if Pharisees and faithless priests, 410 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,920 if Roman governors can find healing, they can find 411 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:16,720 forgiveness, and they can find purpose at the cross of Christ, 412 00:26:17,360 --> 00:26:19,920 and so can you. So can I. 413 00:26:22,440 --> 00:26:26,520 Come, John, have the final words here. 414 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:29,040 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming 415 00:26:29,040 --> 00:26:31,560 into the world. He was in the world, and the 416 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:34,640 world was made through Him. Yet the world did not know Him. 417 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:41,880 He came to his own, and His own people did not receive Him, but 418 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:47,520 to all who did receive Him, who believe in His name, He gave the 419 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:53,400 right to become the children of God, the name of the Father, the 420 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,600 Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.