Good Friday Sermon 10.04.2009

Good Friday Sermon 10.04.2009

I like the way Luke writes…
1:1 “Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us…
1:4 that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed.”

Luke says others have written an orderly narrative,
telling of ancient prophecies being fulfilled in their experience,
of eyewitnesses and servants of the word of God telling what they have seen and heard,
Luke himself having had a perfect or complete understanding of all the things to do with the gospel from the very beginning. His purpose is to write an orderly account for his friend Theophilus and for his Christian readers and for the world.

Luke 1:4 “I do this so that you will know the full truth about everything which you have been taught.” (GNB)
But does Luke mention any fulfilled prophecies in his Gospel? And does he say how the Easter events are foretold?
Are these writings more than a testimony? Even if mainly aimed at a Gentile audience, if the writings of the Luke are a fulfilment of OT prophecy then they are far more than testimonies. They are the word of God himself. Due to the short time we have, I want to look at some of the Easter prophecies fulfilled in Luke’s Gospel.
1. Firstly, Jesus was considered a sinner so He was crucified
Lk 22:37 “For I say to you that this which is written must still be accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.”
What was predicted long ago in Isaiah 53 (v.12) about Him, Jesus reminds His hearers how He would fulfil OT prophecy in His own punishment and death. That He could do this proved He was the Messiah. The end or purpose of all the things that happened to Jesus proved who He was: God the Son and the Son of Man. Although perfect He was counted to as a transgressor or law breaker and was taken to a cross with two others who had broken the law. “He shared the fate of criminals…” (Isa 53:12, GNB)

2. He was Pierced for our sins
Lk 23:33 tells us of Jesus’ crucifixion; a horrible way of punishment and death which Senator and Historian of the Roman Empire, Tacitus said was a ‘despicable death.’ Most Romans would not even look at it. Crucifixion was invented by the Persians, picked up by the Carthaginians, and passed on to the Romans.” (John McArthur in: http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/sg1574.htm ) The interesting thing is that it was not the known way of punishment when the Psalm writer said in Ps 22:16: “Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet.” It was probably invented around 600 years before Christ, well AFTER the time of Psalm 22. (NOTE 1.)

3. He was mocked and sneered at as a believer and as Messiah
Lk 23:35 “And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.’ ”
This is almost word for word what the same Psalm said all those years before: Ps 22:7-8 “All those who see Me ridicule Me; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ‘He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!’ ”

4. He was Buried in a Rich Man’s Tomb
In Isaiah 53:9 we are told that He will be buried in a rich man's tomb. “And they made His grave with the wicked - But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isa 53:9).
Luke 23:50 “…a man named Joseph… from Arimathea… who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God...went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before.” (Luke 23:50-53).
After extensive study of these things someone wrote:
“The mathematical probability that a person could fulfil even the prophecies listed here is astronomical, yet Jesus did it.” (http://www.bprc.org/topics/fulfill.html#header_4 )
I mean, even if you can cast doubt on some of them, it still leaves too many which were fulfilled to be fulfilled by chance!
Jesus Himself, as He had done so many times before His death, after His resurrection said to His disciples:
Lk 24:44 “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”
Jesus believed in the Bible predictions about Himself. Was He deluded?
As we all come to the cross today, can you see a wonderful long-established plan of compassion and love worked out for you?
Without knowing all the Scriptures about this, you can know that Jesus really is the Messiah, the Son of God and the Son of Man who being fully human and fully divine was the perfect sacrifice for us and still is the way of saving you and me from our sins!
Halleluiah, what a Saviour!

andendunedin@xtra.co.nz

NOTE 1. See: http://www.themoorings.org/apologetics/prophecy/Crucifixion/Ps22.html
Answer to an Objection
“An uninformed reader of Psalm 22 might suspect that the writer is knowingly describing a crucifixion. The facts prove otherwise, however. This method of punishment was not invented until the sixth century B.C., long after any plausible date for Psalm 22 (9). So what we have in this psalm is supernatural knowledge of the future—real prophecy, in other words.” (Keihl and McDowell)
[Erich H. Kiehl, The Passion of Our Lord (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1990), 123-124;
Josh McDowell, The Resurrection Factor (San Bernardino, Calif.: Here's Life Publishers, 1981, 41.]