Good Friday – Chief Service
Text: John 18, 19
Peace be unto you from our Savior, Christ Jesus. Amen.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If what we have before us in the account of our Lord’s Passion is not a power struggle, than there is no such thing. You have it all here – opposing forces and a tension so great it can hardly go unnoticed… or not sensed… even after two thousand plus years.
Who is involved in this particular tug of war? It most certainly includes the Jewish leaders and then Pontius Pilate and the Romans are sucked into it as well. The Jews want Jesus dead and they want Pilate to do their bidding. It is as simple and sick as that.
And they were oh-so close to accomplishing their objective. They had our Lord arrested and were able to turn Him over to Pilate to finish the job. But then, Pilate says to the Jews, “Not so fast,” exercising his power and authority over them and also, it would seem, over our Lord as well.
But have you noticed that something is missing here? Or should I say “someone is missing” from the fray. Someone is not engaged in the struggle... only One, a certain One here who is not asserting His power or authority... only One, a certain One, who is not throwing His weight around. It is Jesus.
He could have struck the whole lot of them dead, there and then. But He does not for He came to this hour to give them life… to give us life, and more abundantly… life that is perfect, life that is eternal.
No. He… Jesus… the One who alone is Lord of lords and King of kings… remains submissive, quiet, silent in regard to doing anything that would prevent Him from accomplishing that which God the Father sent Him to do… anything that would prevent His suffering and death in our place… even death on the cross.
Pilate tells Jesus, “Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?" (John 19:10 NKJ) Our Lord then makes it clear with Whom all power and authority rests. And it is not with man.
Christ allows Pilate to do what he is going to do. Just as He did with Judas. Just what He did with the Jews. Amazing. One can never ponder enough our Lord’s state of humiliation from its beginning in the womb of a virgin to its bitter end during these days that we now consider. It is far more than we could bear… would bear.
And yet, for you, for me, for all the world including, yes, Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, all the Jews and the gentiles… He lets it be… He lets it all be… for this is why the Son of God came into the world… for our salvation.
“He let it be for you and me.” May this most wonderful and amazing fact be a recurring refrain especially on the Friday we rightly call “Good” as we consider again what happened in the garden, in the Jewish courts, at Pilate’s headquarters, at the place of the skull and finally at a sepulcher that is not even His own.
He let it be for you and me.
It is our dear Savior willing it all… allowing it all… carrying it all out in the midst of this sinful world with its pathetic power plays which continued throughout His passion and even at His crucifixion.
You have Pontius Pilate placing the inscription on our Lord’s cross which read,
“Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” And to make sure it was understood by all, it is written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek… this, to the objection of the Jewish leaders. They said to Pilate, “Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’" (John 19:19-22)
You even have the Jews and the Romans at odds over the guarding of the tomb in which our Savior’s body was laid.
There is here, my friends, an ongoing power struggle. It is by no means new or of recent times. It actually began, of all places, in heaven, with rebellious angels and one in particular who we know to be Satan.
It is a power struggle which continued on earth with man’s fall into sin… man’s falling into the clutches of Satan.
Mark well though, that the struggle for power and authority throughout time and eternity are the exclusive pursuits of men and fallen angels. Not of God. Not of the Son of God and certainly not on Good Friday. Our Lord did not have to struggle for power. It was never up for grabs! You do not have to struggle for something which is already yours... divinely yours… exclusively... unequivocally... eternally yours.
No. His struggle… Christ’s struggle was of a totally different kind. It was to undo what you and I and all mankind brought about, namely sin and all its effects.
His struggle… Jesus’ struggle… was to take our place on the cross... to take our place under the crushing weight of the Law... to take our place feeling the full fury and righteous wrath of God for our sins and those of the entire world... the sins of every human being who as ever lived and will ever live.
There… on the cross… in excruciating agony and immense pain… our Lord struggled for every breath… to take each breath… which, my friends, will be the only struggle He will willingly lose... the only struggle which He gladly lost as He breathed His last. He who gave His Body and Blood now gives up His spirit.
Jesus died. The events of this day so long ago, happened. It was over. Finished not by man… certainly not by the Jews or the Romans… but by God.
The outcome never in question. And neither is the love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit toward us. And this seen in the length taken by God to redeem us, to set us free, to make us His own. And that is what we are… Christ’s own!
Indeed, on this most holy day, we have every reason to rejoice and be glad. We have every reason, though silent and solemn, to leave this sanctuary and be at peace… that which our Savior has won for us. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
“The True Struggle” The Rev. Mark H. Hein
4/18/25 Zion Lutheran Church, Naperville IL