We have come to the foot of the cross. We have
gone to dark Gethsemane, followed to the judgment hall, climbed Calvary’s mournful
mountain, and here we are--standing on Good Friday at the foot of the cross.
But we’re not really at the foot of the cross.
Jesus died 2000 years ago in a far away place. And yet we do consider ourselves
at the foot of the cross when we take time on this day to hear the account of
Jesus’ suffering and death. Through the Word of God we stand on Calvary and we
see Jesus.
WE SEE JESUS...SUFFERING FOR OUR SINS
The prophet Isaiah also saw Jesus, though he too
was not on Calvary. He lived about 700 years before Jesus. He saw Jesus in much
the same way we see him. Isaiah saw Jesus through the Word of the Lord that
came to him. So as we stand today at the foot of the cross, let’s stand for a
moment with Isaiah and see what we see.
“See, my servant will
act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. Just as there were many who were appalled at
him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form
marred beyond human likeness - so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will
shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand. Who has believed our message and to whom has
the arm of the LORD been revealed? He
grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He
had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that
we should desire him. He was despised
and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one
from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (52:13-53:3)
Look at the Lord’s servant, Isaiah writes. Look at him, though you may wish you hadn’t, because he’s not pretty. He’s appalling, shocking, disgusting, disfigured, despised, rejected, and if possible, ignored. It’s not a pretty picture, and if they could, most people would just as soon look at something else. Most people--in Isaiah’s day and ours--would prefer not to think about such a suffering servant. Most people would choose to turn away. That’s exactly what happened to Jesus on Calvary. “He was despised and rejected by men.” --the Roman government, his Jewish countrymen, his own disciples--they all left him; the sight was all too much for them. Yes, “He was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
That’s right. “We esteemed him not.” It
turns out we were there after all. No, maybe we were not hammering nails into
his flesh, maybe not mocking him and spitting on him, but we were there -
Isaiah and all of us - politely turning our heads, trying desperately to think
about something else. “He was despised,
and we esteemed him not.”
As we stand at the foot of the cross we see Jesus suffering, but it’s not an
easy thing to do. It’s not something we want to do or like to do. We’d probably
rather go home and think about something else. But here we are, standing at the
foot of the cross and we see Jesus suffering for our sins.
Surely he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. But he
was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are
healed. We all, like sheep, have gone
astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. (53:4-6)
It would be easier to stand at the foot of the cross and see Jesus suffering for his own sins. It would be easier to consider him stricken, smitten and afflicted for his own sins. Or maybe it would be easier to pretend that he was suffering for someone else’s sins--easier to pretend that we had no transgressions, iniquities, sins. It would be easier just to turn away.
God has made known to us in his Word how he
would have us live. He has told us certain things about the way we should live
with our parents, with our spouses, with our neighbors. He’s told us things
about dealing with our property and the property of others. He’s told us things
about using our tongues and using our time.
But here comes the devil, the world, and our own
sinful flesh. Here come transgressions and iniquities. Here comes judgment, condemnation, and
eternal punishment in hell. And it would be easier not to think about those
things. It would be easier to go home and do something else. It would be easier
to hide ourselves in all the busyness of life--easier to do just about anything
else than to look at the cross and see Jesus suffering for our sins.
Seeing Jesus suffering for our sins reminds us
of those sins. It reminds us of our failures and it reminds us of their damning
consequences.
That makes it hard to look at. Our only option,
if we are to stay here, our only option is to fall down on our knees and
confess the sins we see in ourselves (as unpleasant as that may be). Then in
humble penitence... look up...and see Jesus.
For it is this very same view--seeing Jesus
suffering for our sins-- it is this same view that is for us the most beautiful
sight in the world. We can look through the eyes of Isaiah and hear these words
and see Jesus suffering for our sins
and know that because he did, we will not. We will not suffer
because his punishment brought us peace. We, who would just as soon have
ignored him, are brought close to him, brought into his family. We, who have
been ripped apart by spiritual enemies, have been healed by his wounds.
I know that this sight can be just as hard to
believe, just as hard to look at--that God would have loved me so much to send
his lowly servant to be my servant; that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice--in
place of sheep who loved to wander.
He was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his
mouth (53:7).
It’s hard to look at, hard to believe because it just doesn’t make sense to our reason. We see Jesus suffering for our sins...willingly. He did all this because he wanted to. He did it because it was his will. And it was the will of God.
Yet it was the LORD’s
will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a
guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of
the LORD will prosper in his hand (53:10).
Before the creation of the world God had determined his plan to save his beloved human race. Though it meant that that his one and only Son had to suffer the punishment of hell--it was his good and perfect will. When we see Jesus suffering for our sins, we see the best of God’s will for us. We see him acting on our behalf, carrying out every promise he has made to us, doing whatever it takes to bring us to himself. We see him declaring that this work is finished. When we see Jesus suffering for our sins we see our salvation--complete.
After the suffering of
his soul, he will see the light [of life] and be satisfied; by his knowledge my
righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the
great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his
life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin
of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (53:11-12).
It’s not uncommon for us on days like today to say that we stand at the foot of the cross. It’s not just on Good Friday. At Christmas time you’ll often hear people talking about standing at the manger, gazing with Mary and Joseph and the shepherds at our newborn King. In fact, there is a Christmas hymn that describes such an experience (CW 54). It describes a pilgrim who finds himself where shepherds lately knelt. He says that he comes in half-belief, not really sure what he’s seeing. In one sense, it’s hard to imagine that this could be true--this thing so amazing and so miraculous.
When we meditate on these words from Isaiah, we
stand in humble awe--awed by the great suffering of this servant; awed by the
great wisdom and love of our God.
And yet we really shouldn’t be surprised by what
we see. That same hymn continues “How
could I not have known Isaiah would be there? His prophesies fulfilled, with
pounding heart I stare: a child, a son, the prince of peace for me, A child, a
son, the prince of peace for me” (st. 3).
We stand just as awestruck today as we do at
Christmas. We see Jesus...suffering for our sins. Even though
this picture in our minds graphically reminds of our sin and guilt. This
same picture shows us clearly the great love of our God. “God so loved the world, that he sent his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
And so we’re never quite the same. Though many of us have never stood on