Sermon - Good Friday 2023

Ecce Homo, Antonio Ciseri, 1871

Behold the Man

1. Who suffered and died to forgive us

2. Who comforts us amidst all sorrows

The Lord spoke through the prophet Zechariah: “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch: for He shall branch out from His place, and He shall build the temple of the Lord.” In a sort of fulfillment of that prophecy, Jesus having been mocked and beaten, we heard it read: “Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”” Today the Christian church does exactly that: we behold Jesus in the midst of His suffering and death.

It’s unpleasant to listen to the account of Jesus’ crucifixion. “His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance…He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” 

The crowds looked upon Jesus, the Son of God, their Savior and Redeemer, and they despised Him since He looked like nothing more than a pitiful man. I think this is why the image of the crucifix is sometimes shunned even by Christians because it makes Jesus look like a pitiful weak ugly man. It is not pretty. It’s not attractive. But Jesus, standing there before the crowds or hanging bloodied from the cross, is beautiful. Because the horrific ugliness of the crucified Jesus is the extreme magnitude of God’s love for us.

Jesus was crucified because we are sinners. God is righteous and demands justice for evil. Our sins demand God’s wrath. So it is in mercy that God bore the burden of our sin upon Himself, so that we may be spared His wrath. It is our sins for which our Lord must languish! That Jesus appears like a pitiful weak ugly man is profoundly beautiful because He became a pitiful weak ugly man in our stead to forgive us. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.” 

Thus, when we meditate upon the crucifixion, as we have done this week and today, we gain some perspective into the reality of our situation. While we spend our days eating, drinking, and in merriment, trying every form of worldly pleasure, striving after every manner of vanity, our dearest Lord Jesus was suffering and dying to atone for our guilt. This doesn’t mean we must walk around gloomy all the time, by no means!, but it does teach us to appreciate this gift of life we’ve been given and to use it appropriately. “He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Not only do we behold the Man who suffered and died to forgive us, but we behold Him who now emboldens us amidst all trials. Remember, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” The death of Jesus Christ makes you a new creation, since you’ve been crucified with Jesus to the ways of Satan. No longer is Caesar your king, but Jesus is your King! You have been washed and fed with the blood and water from Jesus’ side and “it is finished!”, Jesus said. Therefore the sorrow from guilt over your sins, the regrets you live with daily, the disappointments you experience in every corner of life, are covered in the blood of Jesus, and you’re redeemed from it all.

In this way, when you behold the crucified Jesus, you’re given great comfort and courage in the face of sorrow and adversity. Your Lord Jesus has gone before you in suffering and death and risen victoriously; you will follow Him. Therefore what do you have to fear? No shame, no cross, shall daunt you, you shall not fear what those can do to harm you nor shall death alarm you. Since you stand beside His cross today, beholding the Man, you shall one day behold Him still and stand before Jesus’ throne in heaven, crowned with joy forever. Instead of tears and sadness, the saints and angels will sing the sweetest hymns of praise with gladness.