Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
Good Friday

      • John 18:1–14ANGLNIV2011

      • John 18:28–40ANGLNIV2011

      • John 19:16–22ANGLNIV2011

      • John 19:28–30ANGLNIV2011

      • John 19:38–42ANGLNIV2011

  • Election

    We’re going to build more. We’re going to operate more efficiently. We’re going to have policies that inspire people to great things. We’re going to restore confidence in the system once again.
    Does it sound familiar?
    We’re in the thick of an election campaign yet again, and while we might be able to point to some unique factors about this election, the reality is, the opening statements I just made could probably be made by almost any party in almost any election.
    The way politicians speak, they essentially are trying to convince us that they, and they alone can save our nation.
    But sorry to burst anyone’s bubble here, but Peter Dutton is not going to be our saviour. But in case anyone thinks I’m being partisan here, Anthony Albanese is also not going to be our saviour. And for that matter, neither is Adam Bandt, Pauline Hanson or Clive Palmer.
    We can argue the merits of each of the policies of the parties, and we might find that some are more beneficial to our country than others, but the reality is, no one for a second thinks that we’re about to enter some utopia.
    You know, sometimes we look back on earlier times and reminisce about how good things used to be. The problem is, we like to remember the good parts, but conveniently leave out the bad parts.
    Now, politics is a necessary part of life, and we should engage with it to try and get the best outcomes we can, but we need a different kind of leader. But by different, I don’t mean Donald Trump kind of different. And by different, I also don’t mean a committed Christian. As much as I love Christians in leadership, I really do, but even with Christians in power, we’re still not getting the change we need.
    You see, let’s think about it. Why are we dissatisfied?
    We might be tempted to answer that it’s the cost of living and the housing crisis - at least that’s what appears to be the case based on what the politicians and commentators say. And there is truth to it.
    But let’s say some amazing politician actually was able to fix it all. Are we now satisfied?
    The fact is, our society is broken in a far more complicated way then the issues spoken by the politicians. Hatred. Envy. Destructive conflicts. Abuse. Corruption. Fraud. Broken relationships. Depression.
    Good policies might help to a degree, but even the best policies can’t bring what we want.
    What we really want, (whether we acknowledge it or not), is shalom.
    This is peace the way God intends it. Where things work in harmony. Where there is order. Where love abounds.
    This might sound like make believe, and in a way, while we’re surrounded by sinful people like myself, it is.
    But yet it is possible to move towards it. Not because of politicians, but because of Jesus.

    Jewish context

    Let me take you back to the time of Jesus.
    In one sense, their culture was completely different to ours, but then again, in another sense, it’s not that different.
    You see, just like us, they felt dissatisfied with the world around them, and they looked to their leaders to try and make it a better place.
    Those leaders promised big.
    The religious leaders told the people, just follow these rules and it will all be better.
    The Roman rulers said - we’re just going to force compliance, and in the process give people a kind of peace and security.
    Yes there was some inherent conflict between the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman rulers, but they had kind of reached some kind of equilibrium of sorts which meant that they could go on living. It wasn’t the best living, but it was kind of the best they felt they could hope for.
    But Jesus was offering something different. It was a kind of inner transformation that then transforms communities.
    Over the last few months, we’ve been going through the first twelve chapters of John’s gospel.
    It was back in the third chapter where Jesus spoke about the transformation that needs to take place. He was speaking with one of the Jewish religious leaders who had come seeking after him at night, and Jesus told him that he needs to be born again.
    Of course this was a difficult thing for him to get his head around, but it starts to get at the different kind of change that we need.
    Being born again is allowing your life to be changed by God. It’s the shift from acknowledging Jesus as a good teacher to actually submitting to him.
    But to do this, there is a barrier and left to our own devices we are incapable of changing.
    It’s the curse of sin.
    That curse needs to be broken, and that cannot happen easily.
    But this is why Good Friday is called Good Friday.

    Arrest of Jesus

    Jesus had actually been predicting his death for some time now, but the disciples whom he was telling, just couldn’t comprehend it. It just didn’t make sense to them.
    On the Sunday before the great feast of Passover, Jesus had entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
    They had laid out palm branches for him, and cried out Hosanna.
    And yet, despite the praise he was receiving, as Jesus looked up and saw that great city of Jerusalem, he wept over it.
    He wept over it because he knew of the destruction that was going to come over it. He knew that this world was a cruel and horrible place. That it wasn’t as it should be.
    Throughout the week that followed, Jesus faced increasing pressure from those around him, but he didn’t shy away. He knew what was to take place and how it would take place.
    On the Thursday before the great Passover feast, he gathered with his disciple in a room. There he broke bread and shared a cup of wine. He used the bread and the wine as symbols of what is to take place.
    Following the meal, he went out to a nearby garden - the Garden of Gethsemane.
    There he prayed. Lord, take this cup from me, but not my will, but yours be done.
    A short while later, Judas comes. One of the disciples who had been with Jesus throughout his whole ministry, but in this moment, became his betrayer. He came with both Roman soldiers and religious leaders.
    Now, as all of this is happening, Peter becomes outraged. For those who are unfamiliar with Peter, he is one of the closest friends of Jesus. But he’s also known for his rather speak-before-you-think moments, although in this moment, it become act-before-you-think.
    He pulls out a sword and strikes the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear.
    But here’s just the problem. Peter is operating in the mindset of the way this world thinks. But what Jesus is doing, is not of this world.
    John’s gospel doesn’t say that Jesus put the ear back on the servant, but in the other gospels we are told that Jesus did heal the man.

    Jesus and Pilate

    But then, Jesus is eventually taken to Pilate.
    Now, I am skipping over some of the other moments that happened, and jump to John 18:33 where Pilate asks Jesus “Are you the king of the Jews?”
    Now, it’s a fascinating question in many ways, and gets to the heart of the matter that I want to think about this morning.
    You see, they’ve fallen down the trap of assuming that change is going to come through the existing structures and systems. Both the Jews and the Romans think along the same lines - it’s how things work.
    The interesting thing is that Jesus is a king and he admits as much to Pilate, but he is not a king like they knew.
    I said before we need a different kind of leader. This is what Jesus is. He tells Pilate in verse 36: “My kingdom is not of this world.… my kingdom is from another place.”
    Now, I’m pretty sure that at this point, Pilate is probably just thinking that Jesus is a bit crazy.
    He even tries to release Jesus to the Jews. But the Jewish crowd that has gathered in what is now early Friday morning are insistent. They want Jesus dead.
    Pilate then has Jesus flogged and mocked. He kind of hopes that will be enough to appease the Jewish religious leaders. It’s not.
    It’s at this point, (John 19:7) that the Jewish leaders say “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God”.
    Now this puts Pilate into a bit of a tail spin. What is this that he is playing with?
    I think he had previously just put this all down to a bit of internal conflicts among the Jews.
    Pilate does not want to be playing loosely with people connected to gods - and I say “gods” here, because Pilate would have naturally believed there were many gods.
    Pilate tries harder to set Jesus free, but the Jews become more insistent, to the point that Pilate eventually just hands him over.

    The Crucifixion

    Jesus is made to carry his cross up to the place called the skull. With two criminals either side of him, he is nailed to the cross, then lifted up.
    Above him read the sign “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews”
    A sign that Pilate insisted upon.
    On the cross, Jesus struggled for every breath. Yet even while on the cross he cared about the affairs of his mother.
    After hours of struggling for breath, he knew his time was almost up. Finally he said “It is finished”.
    It might seem an almost odd thing to say. For those who play computer games, it’s almost like when the character in the game dies and on the screen it says “game over”. Except… what Jesus says here has far greater meaning.
    The word Jesus uses here which is translated to “It is finished” actually carries the connotation of a business transaction being complete. In a sense, what he’s saying is that what he set out to achieve has now been completed. Rather than “game over”, it’s “mission accomplished”.
    You see, the reason that the cross is so significant is that it is the place where grace and justice meet.
    God could extend grace by just pronouncing forgiveness on everyone, but then we wouldn’t have justice.
    Or God could carry out justice, but then we would all be annihilated, and we would be no more.
    The cross allows mercy and justice to co-exist.
    And because of this, we can move out of our destructive cycle where shalom happens.
    For shalom to occur, we need justice. But for shalom to occur, we also need grace and mercy.
    When Jesus declares on the cross, “it is finished”, he’s saying, we now have both grace and justice.

    A better future

    So let me come back to where we started, is there any hope of us moving out of the dissatisfaction that we have in our current society.
    In one sense, we might be tempted to answer, well, actually, no. And that is partly true. But yet in a sense, we can know that there are little out-breakings of shalom in our world. These out-breakings occur when God’s people gather together and shine a light into a dark world.
    But here’s the important thing to note in all of this… it is only possible for this to occur because these people who gather together are both forgiven and satisfy the system of justice. But they are only able to do this, because Jesus, the Son of God, died in our place.
    This is the different kind of leadership that I was describing at the start.
    It’s why, no matter how highly you think of either Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton, they’ll never be able to provide what we need to make society what it was intended to be.

    Why bad things happen

    Now, I think it’s important to address a glaring question in all of this. If I am insisting that Jesus achieved on the cross what we need for every thing to improve, why are things as they are? Why don’t we live in the perfect shalom?
    Well, firstly, let me say… that perfect shalom is coming. A day will come when Jesus returns and all things will be made new - but more on that on Sunday when we talk about Jesus rising from the dead.
    But, in the meantime, it’s important to note that bad things happen, not because God is not powerful to stop it, but because he chooses to delay that final day, to allow the full number of people to come in. It is because of God’s patience and love for us that he delays.
    God is not causing the suffering, but what he is doing, is allowing his kingdom to break into this broken world and to provide life to all who accept it.
    Which brings us to a choice.
    You can continue to fight in this world - fighting against our natural human inclinations that inevitably end in heart-ache and sorrow… or you can choose to move towards the kingdom of God, where grace and justice meet, and where shalom is actually possible.
    If you choose the way of Jesus, we still live in this world of pain, but yet even within this, we experience something beautiful, because what Jesus did on the cross, has real ramifications for us today.

    Conclusion

    Jesus is the leader we need, because he is the only one that has the power to make real change.
    For everyone else… well, as the saying goes, it’s a bit like moving chairs on the sinking titanic.
    There is hope in this world - not because of any politician, but because Jesus died on the cross. There is hope because you can both satisfy the system of justice and be forgiven.
    But there is even more - because Jesus did not stay dead - but that’s what we’ll discuss when you come back on Sunday.
    Let me pray...
Tanilba Bay Baptist Church
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