Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write `The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced." [NIV]

When it comes to the things accomplished by the work of our hands, what do we like to do? We like to stand back and admire, whether it is the landscape we designed for the home, the Thanksgiving turkey we cooked to perfection, the A+ term paper, or a painting. Even more, we want to tell others so that they too can stand back and admire. “Why don’t you drop by and take a look at the new landscaping I put in around my house!” “Taste this, taste this!” “Mom and Dad, I got the highest grade in the class!.” “Honey, do you think I should hang this masterpiece over the mantle where EVERYONE can see it?”

But what about those things which our hands have not done so well? We hide them away, even from our own eyes. The “D” term paper gets crumpled up and thrown in the wastebasket. The so- called “masterpiece” painting gets buried in the dusty attic.

Look at what the work of our hands have done to Christ . He hangs there, his hands pierced by nails, his soul in anguish as He dies for our sins. Truly, the work of our hands put him there. What should we do? Certainly what we want to do is hide our eyes from the sight and hang our heads. But the question is: Does God want us to do this? Yes and no.

Because it was the sins of our hands and mouths and hearts that put him there, we should rightly feel sadness and shame. But God doesn’t want it to end there for us. Not at all! We call Good Friday “GOOD!” for a reason. While it was our sinfulness that caused him to suffer, Christ went to the cross for us because He wanted to! He went to the cross willingly because He loved us. He went to the cross to take away our sin from the Father’s sight to make us holy. For this reason this Friday is a very Good Friday! We, therefore, should not hide our eyes from the sight of the cross, even though we put Him there. Let us look to the cross and confess our sins to God. Then let us look to the cross and see our salvation won there! While it makes us sad to think our sins caused Jesus suffering, we are ultimately lifted up in Jesus’ suffering for us. The Father sent His Son to the cross and abandoned Him there to suffer hell for our sins so that we would not be abandoned, but saved!

But as we look to the cross in the faith that God has worked in us by His word, we remember that most do not look to the cross in faith— just as it was in Jesus’ day, even among many of the people who were watching him suffer on the cross. This unbelief was most obvious among those who hated him most: the false religious men of the Jews, such as the chief priests and Pharisees. So deep was their hatred of Jesus that they even objected to the notice Pontius Pilate fastened to the cross. As the Gospel of John records for us: “Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write `The King of the Jews, ' but that this man CLAIMED to be king of the Jews.”

But to reject Christ is to reject the salvation He came to win for every person. Truly every person needs His salvation. While we assume that only certain sins truly merit judgment in hell, like the recent murder of nineteen Jews by a suicide bomber even as they prepared to celebrate the Passover. But all sins, even the most common of sins, is damning! The disobedience, lying, gossiping, and greed common to us all. There is no one without need for faith in Jesus, who died for all sins, all of which God considered great.

Tonight, as we feel the weight of Christ’s sacrifice for us, let us remember the many who do not yet believe. When we see the black shroud upon the altar, when we hear the solemn drumbeat of the hymns, when we hear the Scripture lessons which record the beating

Jesus received from the soldiers, when we hear Him cry out the words: “It is finished” (referring to His completed salvation of our bodies and souls), when we see him give up His spirit, when we see the soldiers look upon the dead Christ whom they had pierced with a spear, let us remember that he didn’t do this for us alone . By his wounds all the sins of all people have been forgiven! Tonight, on this Good Friday, as we look in faith on the One we have pierced with our sins, we pray that next year there will be many more who look to the cross in the same faith with us. SOLI DEO GLORIA

DEAR HEAVENLY FATHER: GIVE US REPENTANCE TO CONFESS THE SINS THAT PUT CHRIST ON THE CROSS. GIVE US FAITH TO LOOK UPON CHRIST, WHOM WE PIERCED WITH OUR SINS, AS OUR SAVIOR WHO TOOK THEM AWAY! GIVE OTHERS THIS SAME FAITH FOR THEIR SALVATION. AMEN.

[NIV] New International Version used throughout.