“The Miracles of Lent: Good Friday”
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. During this Lenten season we have been considering “The Miracles of
Lent”: the three hours of darkness that enshrouded the earth as Christ hung upon
the cross; the temple curtain torn in two from top to bottom at the moment he
died; the earthquake that shook the holy land following his death. This evening
for our final message in this sermon series we are considering the miracle of
Good Friday. The dictionary defines a miracle as “a remarkable event that
contradicts known laws and accepted principles.” St. Paul explains
the miracle of Good Friday in Romans, printed on the cover of this evening’s
bulletin: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man,
though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates
his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ’s death for us on the cross is the greatest of all miracles
because it completely contradicts known laws and accepted principles:
“There’s no free lunch”; “You get what you pay for”; “You can’t get something
for nothing.” “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ
died for the ungodly.” Christ’s death for us on the cross completely contradicts
known laws and accepted principles. Perhaps it would make sense for him to
give up his life on behalf of those who from our perspective have earned it or
deserved it. But, Paul also tells us in Romans what all of us would
receive if God gave us what we actually deserve: “For the wages of sin is
death.” That is what we all have earned on account of our sins, eternal
death and damnation in hell. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man
someone might possibly dare to die.” Christ’s death for us on the cross
completely contradicts known laws and accepted principles because he gave up his
life not for those who have earned or deserved it. “But God demonstrates
his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” That is the greatest miracle not only of Lent but of all history:
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” St. Peter says, “He
himself bore our sins in his body on the cross.” The miracle of Good
Friday is that God’s own Son himself suffered for us the punishment of death and
damnation that we deserved. As Peter also says, “For Christ died for sins
once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Christ’s death for us on the cross is the greatest of all miracles
because it completely contradicts known laws and accepted principles: “You see,
at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the
ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a
good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his love for
us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” According to known laws and accepted principles, you should get from
God only what you deserve. But, God’s own Son took upon himself what he
did not deserve, the punishment for our sins. And, by his suffering and
death on the cross, he earned for you as a free gift what you do not deserve:
your sins are all forgiven, and you will have eternal life with God in heaven.
This miracle of Good Friday is beautifully expressed in Hebrews: “He has
appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the
sacrifice of himself. . . we have been made holy through the sacrifice of
the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
Return to Top | Return to Sermons | Home | Email Church Office
|