PART 2
Good Friday
Matthew 26-27
April 3, 2026
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The text that I have chosen for this evening’s sermon is Passion of Jesus from the Gospel of Saint Matthew.
On Palm Sunday I talked about the details of our Lord’s Passion leading up to His appearance before Pontius Pilate. Jesus’ fervent prayer, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, the High Priest’s interrogation, and the sentence of death. The hitch, for the High Priest, is that the Jews didn’t have the authority to execute, not even for someone claiming to be the Son of God. They would have to rely on the Romans.
If it wasn’t for Jesus’ trial, Pontius Pilate would’ve only been a footnote in Roman history. Instead, his name is forever memorialized in our Creeds as the executioner of our Lord. Early in His ministry Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life.” This is a direct reference to the manner of His death. The Jews handing Jesus over to the Romans to be lifted up on the cross was another step in God’s plan.
His experience with Jesus troubled Pilate. He questioned Jesus, trying to figure out what was going on, and Jesus responded only with silence. He didn’t defend Himself, call the Jews liars, or plead for His life. Isaiah said of Jesus: “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” He didn’t plead with Pilate because He knew that His death was the only way to obtain the forgiveness of our sins. While He was silent before Pilate, He now pleads for you with His Father. He’s your advocate, always defending you with His body and blood, and always speaking words of comfort and hope to you.
You’re probably familiar with Barabbas, the murderous scumbag the Jews wanted released in the place of Jesus. Do you know what his name means? Son of the father. Jesus the Son of the Father died in the place of the son of the father and not just Barabbas, but all who are sons of a father. The perfect Son died for imperfect sons the world over. And this includes you ladies as well, for we are all Barabbas. An innocent man unjustly dies so that you guilty people will unjustly live. Like Barrabas you’re given freedom at the expense of Jesus.
Pilate washed his hands to absolve himself of Jesus’ death. He had Jesus scourged and was sending Him off under the weight of a cross, but it wasn’t his fault. Does this work for any sin? Can we forgive ourselves while denying what we’ve done? Not at all. But you know what you can wash in, don’t you? Baptism! In baptism your guilt is cleansed! Your sins absolved! Jesus does what Pilate couldn’t do and what you can’t ever do – wash your sins away.
The crown of thorns mocks our Lord’s claim to be King of the Jews. The crown of thorns also reminds us that Jesus is dying to undo the curse proclaimed on Adam and Eve. God warned Adam that the ground would produce thorns, and now these thorns pierce not our Savior’s hands or feet but His brow. He bears the curse of sin. We’re cursed by living in this world, we’re blessed by living in Him.
Matthew writes, “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when He tasted it, He would not drink it.” Mark says that the gall was made from myrrh which has druglike properties. This seems like a decent thing for the Romans to offer, so why does Jesus refuse something to mask the pain? Jesus refused the gall because He had to endure the totality of the torment. To be drugged meant He wouldn’t drink the cup of His Father’s wrath with all His faculties. He didn’t take any shortcuts, nor did He use His divine powers to eliminate the pain and suffering. He faced the pain of sin head-on for you.
Good Friday is the first time Jesus comes right out and says He is the King, not an earthly king like Pilate understood them to be, the King of a different kingdom. This is the foundation for the mocking, right? The purple robe, the crown of thorns, the placard over His head which said, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Pilate was probably sticking it to the Jews a little bit with this sign. He didn’t realize that his sign was a proclamation of holy truth. Jesus is the King – of the Jews and the Gentiles. The King of all creation. The King who rules over us, watches over us, and provides for us. He offers us refuge and forgiveness. He’s the antithesis of every king who has ever ruled because He is the perfect King.
We’re told that Jesus made “made intercession for the transgressors.” He pleads to God on your behalf. When you disobey the Father’s commandments, Jesus prays for you. When you deserve wrath, you receive love. “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing” isn’t only about the Roman soldiers wielding the nails, nor is it only about the Jews who cheer His death. It’s about all those who came after them, born decades, centuries, and millennia after Him. It’s about you. He pleaded for you on the cross, and the Father fulfilled His Son’s request, not just once, but again and again throughout your entire life.
Isaiah foretold the Saviour would be numbered among the transgressors, and his words came true when our Lord was crucified with robbers on either side. Robbers were worse than thieves. Robbers didn’t just steal, they stole with violence and murder. Like Barabbas these men were scum, and they acted like it.
Something happened though during those long hours on the cross. One of them saw something that told him Jesus was different. As he watched Jesus die and listened to what He said, the Holy Spirit brought that man to repentance and faith. A condemned man, one deserving of death and hell, found life in Jesus. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” No one is ever too far gone to be saved. You can’t commit a sin which will cause God to wash His hands of you. Jesus died for the scummiest of people, including you and me, so that we will be with Him in paradise.
Luke records for us: “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed.” Since the Passover is during the full moon, the darkness which fell over the world from noon to three on Good Friday wasn’t an eclipse. And this darkness wasn’t just over Jerusalem or the middle east because the sun failed. It was extinguished as Jesus, the Light of the World, is extinguished briefly as the Father withdraws His hand from His Son. The world is plunged into darkness, as the Father carries out His judgment for the sinfulness of man. During those three black hours Jesus was made sin for us, was made a curse for us, and thus God turned completely away from him.
At 3:00, Jesus cried, “My God, my God why have your forsaken me?” He wasn’t questioning His Father, He knew exactly why He was forsaken. He’s quoting Psalm 22 where King David felt abandoned. David wasn’t, and he never would be, and why? Because Jesus was abandoned for all people! God turned His back on His Son so that He’ll never do that to you. Never, ever, ever will the Father abandon you! In the words of Jesus we still hear words of faith. “My God, my God.” Even as He suffers horrifying abandonment, Jesus trusted His Father. When it looks like you’ve been abandoned, trust your God because He is faithful.
Jesus says, “I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” Jesus is the Lord of Life, and He would die according to the time and place of His choosing which was when He said, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” No matter what it looked like, the Romans didn’t kill Jesus, the Jews didn’t kill Him, they were merely instruments to get Him to this point when He willingly gave up His life for all.
With the cry of “It is finished!” Jesus’ work was done. What is finished? The sighing and the dying. The suffering for your sins. God’s cup of wrath has been emptied. He has triumphed over sin and satan. The curtain in the Temple, the one which separated everyone from the presence of God, split down the middle. It’s no longer needed because we have access to Him through the Son. Sacrifices aren’t necessary because Jesus is the perfect sacrifices which did it all.
Matthew writes: “And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” These incredible aftereffects showed that the death of the man from Nazareth wasn’t an ordinary death. His death forced death to give up its possessions. Death is no longer your final step; it’s simply a time of bodily rest until Jesus raises you from the dead to join all the faithful in His eternal kingdom.
Most of the Pharisees we encounter in the Gospels are hypocrites, and they show their hypocrisy one more time when they want the condemned men killed and removed from the crosses because Saturday was a special day. An unfair trial and an unjust execution are okay, but God forbid some men live past sundown and ruin it for the Jews. To hasten their deaths, the legs of the robbers are broken. Since Jesus was already dead, this step wasn’t necessary. It fulfills the prophecy “He keeps all His bones; not one of them is broken.” Because the Romans are thorough and can’t have anyone survive the cross, “one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.” Doctors will explain that when the spear punctured Christ’s heart it released the fluid of congestive heart failure. Maybe medically speaking that’s true. It means much more when we look at it spiritually. Artists have frequently depict the blood filling a chalice and the water filling a baptismal font. In Jesus we find both Communion and Baptism. His death gives power to both. We find life in His death. We find our sins washed away and our spiritual hunger filled with the body and blood of Jesus. What precious gifts that flow from our Lord and they’re for you!
Details matter. Let the details of our Lord’s suffering and death always remind you of how much was paid for you. Your forgiveness wasn’t purchased with gold or silver. It was purchased with the holy, innocent, precious blood of Christ. He gave all to save you, a detail you should never forget.
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen