1.
Please pray
with me. May the words of my mouth and
the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and
our Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word this Friday we
call Good because Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross for the forgiveness of
our sins is taken from John 19:30 and is entitled, “It is Finished,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Dan first
felt the pain at about 6 p.m. on Saturday. Six hours in the emergency room
wasn’t a way to spend Saturday night. Besides, he needed to preach in the
morning. By 6:15, the aspirin seemed to have no effect, and the ER was his only
option. The doctor ordered an EKG and
nitro sprayed under the tongue. It would take a while for tests to be completed. Dan was admitted, and by 4 a.m., the tests
confirmed a heart attack. By 7 a.m., he was being prepared for a heart
catheterization. While on the table, the medical team performed their tasks.
The cardiologist operated the equipment with skill. Dan prayed that his
coronary arteries could be opened and he would be home by Tuesday. “Dan,”
the doctor said, “I have bad news. You’re
going to need surgery.” Dan was wheeled to a room in the critical care
unit. He was given three days on an assist pump to allow time for his heart to
strengthen. He was scheduled for surgery on Wednesday. On the night before surgery, Dan’s family
stood at his bedside. They read his favorite psalms and prayed with him.
Everything was in the Lord’s hands and the hands of the surgeon. Early in the morning, Dan was prepared for
surgery. His chest was opened. His heart was repaired, and his chest was
closed. When the surgeon completed his work, he may have declared, “It is finished.” The only thing that Dan brought to the
process was a damaged heart. He brought no skill, effort, talent, or gift to
the process. The repair of Dan’s heart was begun, carried out, and finished by
the surgeon and his team. Dan contributed nothing.
3.
Dan’s
experience can help us understand Jesus’ work of salvation on our behalf. When
Jesus declared from the cross, “It is
finished,” these words indicated so much. They announced that The Defeat of Sin, Death, and the Devil Was Begun,
Carried Out, and on the Cross, Finished by Jesus. We contribute nothing.
4.
The greatest
insight that Martin Luther brings to us through his catechisms is our need for
a savior and a great focus on God and what he’s done for us in Christ. In his
explanations of the Ten Commandments, Luther underscores just how deeply sin
has invaded our hearts. They are more than weakened. The Bible tells us that
they are dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). This is evidenced by that fact
that none of us fears, loves, and trusts in God above all things (SC First
Commandment). Luther helps us to concur with the psalmist’s “There is none who does good, not even one”
(Ps 14:3) when he says, “We daily sin
much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment” (SC Fifth Petition). The spiritual death
and corruption of our hearts is so complete that we have no desire for God. In
fact, in our very being we are hostile to God (Rom 8:7). For this reason, we can’t
by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to him (SC Third
Article).
5.
Left untreated,
this spiritual death leads to eternal death. God isn’t responsible for our
sorry condition, but he has the cure. Healing comes from our Great Physician.
He administers the ultimate treatment when he grants to us forgiveness of sins,
life, and salvation. Like Dan’s cardiac
surgeon, the Great Physician must administer his healing without any
cooperation from us. We give him no advice and assist in no way. But unlike
Dan’s surgeon, the Great Physician requires no payment of money. And unlike Dan’s surgeon, the Great Physician
gives himself for our healing. He does everything necessary to repair our dying
hearts. The Bible is the story of God’s
treatment plan. He promised a savior and then sent his only Son to be that
Savior. The goal of Jesus’ entire life was this one thing: to rescue us from
sin, death, and the devil. He did this by living a perfectly sinless life for
us and then giving that life for us on the cross.
6.
On Good
Friday, we observe the conclusion of Jesus’ mission on our behalf. Although he
could’ve called for his Father to supply 12 legions of angels, he allowed
Judas’s kiss of betrayal to mark him as the one to be arrested. Although he was
innocent, he stood silently as Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin forced through his
unjust conviction and a sentence of death. Although a few days earlier he had
been honored as a king, he heard the crowd’s echoing shouts of “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Although he
came to provide us with the white robe of righteousness, he was stripped,
beaten, and spat upon for us.
7.
Finally, he
was crowned with thorns and forced to carry his cross to the Place of the Skull.
There, nails pierced his hands and feet as he was lifted up for all to see and
mock. From the cross, in spite of his thirst and pain, he spoke words of
forgiveness and paradise for all to hear. And although he had twice heard the
words of his Father declare from heaven, “This
is my beloved Son,” on this day he was forsaken even by his Father in
heaven. The Great Physician did this all
for us in order to heal us with his holy, precious blood and with his innocent
suffering and death. When everything was completed, he declared for all to
hear, “It is finished.”
8.
The only
thing we bring to the process is a damaged—no, make that a dead—heart. We bring
no skill, effort, talent, or gift to the process. The repair of our hearts was
begun, carried out, and finished by our Great Physician, Jesus Christ. We
contribute nothing. We take no credit. We are not worthy. That even includes the Holy Spirit applying
the healing won on the cross to each of you. In your Baptism, God cleansed you
by the washing of water with the Word and presented you to himself without any
spot or blemish (Eph 5:26–27). Like for the thief on the cross, the Holy Spirit
has brought you to faith and moved you to seek life in Christ’s kingdom. In the
Word and Sacraments, the completed work of Christ is presented to you week
after week as you receive forgiveness of sins. For where there is forgiveness
of sins, there is life and salvation.
9.
When the
thief on the cross made his confession of faith and received from Jesus’ own
lips the promise of paradise, he had only a few short hours remaining on earth.
But, when Martin Luther was led to put his trust in Christ, he was granted many
years to share the Gospel with a Church that had neglected it. You and I are
the great beneficiaries of this rediscovery of the Gospel, and we thank God for
men and women such as Luther who have faithfully passed on God’s Word of
salvation through faith in Christ.
10.
None of us
knows how many days or hours we have left. We may have only a few, like the
thief, but possibly many more. Before
Dan’s surgery, the doctor had informed him that he could live no longer than
six months without corrective surgery. The surgeon repaired Dan’s heart more
than five years ago. This led Dan to contemplate what God would have him do
with this extra time granted to him on earth.
11.
Dan concluded
that among the things God wanted him to do was to tell people about our
wonderful Savior, the Great Physician of soul and body. God may also grant more
years of life on this earth to us. May he so move us that we may join the ranks
of Peter, Paul, Luther, and countless others in sharing the message that on the
cross, Jesus completed the work necessary for our salvation and that it is free
to all who believe. Amen.
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