Good Friday 2026 Sermon

Good Friday  2026

John 18-19

Isaiah 52:13-53:12                                                                                                                                                               2 Corinthians 5:14-21

“Bearing ‘for Himself’ the cross.”  John 19:17
[the reading “for Himself” (ἑαυτῷ) is better than simply “His cross” (αὐτοῦ)]

In the name of Jesus.

Jesus’ Sacrificial Love is ours in the “bearing for Himself the cross.” The Son of God came into the world to serve—to give His life a ransom for many.  The Son of Man born of Mary is God’s Suffering Servant as Isaiah describes Him.

Last night we heard in John 13 how Jesus humbly and, as a lowly household servant would do, washed the feet of His disciples. It was a deeply personal act, as He took Peter’s size 12’s in His hands, and removed the dust and filth from them and rinsed and dried them to a refreshing clean. Note how John describes the scene, Jesus “rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.” He takes the form of a slave—or more directly one crucified. He then said, “What I am doing, you do not know now, but you will know after these things.”

There was but one way for Jesus to cleanse His disciples and all the world of their filthiness, which He had come to do. He was taking away their sin. And it was not a mere cleaning of crud from between each of their toes, as humbling as that sounds to all of us. He must bear the wrath of God in His body. He must endure the Father’s curse for us, in our place. He must provide a righteous, holy life which will be cleansing for the world.

“The Father who requires the death of the sinner both offers and accepts His Son’s death.”  “Between God’s active wrath and man’s destiny for perdition stands Jesus as the sole recipient of that wrath and as the giver of all graces which flow from that death. [In the epistle for Good Friday, which we heard] Paul described the theological reality of the cross by saying that in this act Christ became sin for us so that we could become God’s righteousness in Him (2 Cor 5:21).” [Scaer, David. Christology 177]

When you understand this, you begin to understand what the foot-washing by Jesus was all about. You want to be like Jesus and wash your neighbor’s feet? Then die the death he deserves to die and let him go free. But no! We are not about to do that: forgive and bear the sin of another and forget what he has done to me, how he has hurt me, the way he has treated me, the shame and humiliation he has caused me? I will wash his feet, just let me hold his sin against him. Let me remember so that I can lord it over him. To wash the feet of your neighbor, brother, sister, dear friend or enemy, is to forgive him or her from your heart—bearing the cost of their transgression without any attempt or thought to get even.

Jesus took our sin upon HIMSELF.

Now, we live in a modern day Christendom that considers the love of God to be His sole attribute—you have heard me teach that God’s mercy/loving-kindness is the chief attribute of which He would have us be certain as Luther taught—but radicals today consider love His sole attribute and conclude that God was not serious in His wrath over sin. This form of Christianity or general conception of God overlooks the justice of God and His hatred of evil. We see it at work generally in our society in attorney generals turning a blind eye toward evil; in judges freeing criminals back onto the streets without just punishment, in the whole world a-rage with undisciplined men (like the lawless sons of king David and of the high priest Eli). We hear it from a Texas congressman who argues, “Just because someone committed a crime does not make him a criminal.” The old Adam likes this sort of lawlessness. “Just because someone tells a lie does not make him a liar.” “Just because someone takes a bribe does not make him corrupt.” Furthermore, “Just because a person sins does not make him a sinner.” [Imprimis]

Well—yes—before God it does. And the soul that sins, it shall die. But hanging there before God is the Sinless One, Jesus Christ. Modern Christendom would turn Jesus’ death into a moral example, rather than what it is: a full and complete and necessary payment for the sin of the whole world. Yes, there is a hell, where the unbeliever will suffer the abandonment of God eternally. And this is what the darkness of the last three hours of the death of Jesus indicates (mentioned by Matthew, Mark and Luke but not by John): “the deeper mystery of the Son’s abandonment by the Father. That darkness exhibited not so much the absence of light, but the absence of God.” If Jesus had merely borne the wrath and rejection of sinful man and the assaults of the devil, without the real desertion by God, His death would not have accomplished our salvation. As God’s suffering Servant, Jesus bore the wrath of God in your place. [Scaer]

While John does not mention the darkness, he highlights Jesus’ bearing the curse of God more than the other Evangelists. For he alone tells us that Jesus carried His own cross. This is saying more than that He dug His own grave. We can envision that scene from the treatment of innocents by the Nazis, who dug graves and then were shot and fell into them. Jesus bore “for Himself” the instrument of His death, the instrument by which He would endure the curse of God our Father. Here Jesus acts as Priest as He Himself prepares the altar of the cross on Golgotha as the place of sacrifice, on which He then is lifted up.

[We think of Isaac carrying the wood for his sacrifice on the same mountain, but the hand is raised but never falls on him. The fire is lit but never touches him.] The closest parallel we find in Scripture to this action might be in the Book of Esther, which is not the same but truly the opposite. It is the case of Haman, the evil Persian who planned the extermination of the Judahites—on a given day throughout the vast empire of “Ahasuerus who reigned from India even unto Ethiopia” (Esther 1). Haman built a 75 foot high gallows on which to hang faithful Mordicai the Jew, but on it  -  because of his treachery  -  outside his own house Haman was hung instead – high and lifted up – for all the people to see. One might say that in Haman’s death Israel was saved (Esther 7).

[It is noted that upon Haman’s death, “Then the king’s wrath was pacified.” Further in chapter 8 we read Esther’s plea that would be granted, “let it be written to reverse the letters devised by Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to destroy the Jews which are in all the king's provinces.” Jesus’ death canceled the decree that was against us: “having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” (Col 2:14).]

Haman did not knowingly build that gallows “for himself.” Now Jesus carried the cross on which He had come into the world to die, to make the all-atoning sacrifice, in order to save the nation of Israel and all people by bearing their curse. [He knowingly and willingly entered upon the task the moment of His incarnation]—to bear this cross we deserve because of our treachery and sin.  We aroused the wrath of God by our disobedience and rebellion. But when Jesus had been crucified on the cross He carried, the Father’s wrath against mankind was pacified.

Only John tells us what Matthew, Luke and Mark describe as a loud cry from the cross: tetelesthai = it is finished; the payment of the shed blood of the Son of God for the sin of mankind was complete. Jesus’ sacrificial love had reached its goal: God and man were reconciled. In this way Jesus washed your sins away, which washing you have received personally in the waters of Holy Baptism. It is the seal of this cleansing that you receive in every celebration of the Lord’s Supper, when Jesus your Redeemer King SERVES you at table, where forgiveness is poured into you in the very blood of Jesus your Savior.

Wash one another’s feet—forgive and love one another in a way that your neighbor knows and experiences God’s love through you, through your words and actions, and so prove to be sons of your Father.

In the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  SDG