Sermon -- Good Friday (April 2, 2021)

LUKE 23:32-34

HANDS OF THE PASSION:

Nail-Pierced Hands

 In the name + of Jesus.

     Jesus was nailed to the cross.  On Jesus’ right and on his left, two criminals were also being crucified.  No Gospel account mentions nails in connection with them, but if they used nails for Jesus it is likely they used nails for the criminals.  The Bible also does not record what the criminals said when they were being mounted to their crosses.  I think we could guess what they might have said, although I doubt their words would be suitable for a sermon in a Christian church.  I suspect their vocabulary would be familiar in a prison yard, though.  And you almost couldn’t blame them.  If you had iron nails being pounded through your flesh into a wooden beam, you might utter some words that would make your mother blush.

     St. Luke did record the words Jesus used when his nail-pierced hands were affixed to the cross.  “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’” (Luke 23:34).  The verb used to describe Jesus’ prayer is an imperfect tense, which means that Jesus’ prayer was spoken repeatedly.  Not just once, but a number of times Jesus pleaded that his Father would grant forgiveness.  It is a marvel that such love and compassion would flow so freely during a time of intense pain and agony.

     But there is a question that lingers in regard to Jesus’ prayer.  “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’” (Luke 23:34).  Who is the “them” for whom Jesus asks forgiveness?  Who are the “they” who do not know what they are doing?

     The most likely answer is to apply “they” to the Roman soldiers who were given the task of putting Jesus to death.  They had no idea who they were crucifying that day, nor would they have cared.  They were there to carry out their responsibilities: Execute three people that day.  Think what you want about Pontius Pilate’s poor ruling in handing Jesus over to be crucified, but all things considered, the Romans were pretty fair in their legal system.  So, it was reasonable that the soldiers would assume that the men who were being crucified were getting what they deserved.  One of the criminals later acknowledged that much.  Besides, the soldiers on crucifixion detail were not there to re-assess Pilate’s court decisions.  They were there to carry them out.  They knew what they were doing in crucifying people, that is, they knew how to do their job.  But they had no idea who they were killing.  And they certainly had no idea what role they were playing in God’s plan of salvation.

     But was Jesus’ prayer limited to them?  Who else might he have meant?  I suppose Jesus could have been praying for the ones who sentenced him to death.  Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent.  He had hoped to set him free.  But once Jesus was called the king of the Jews, to let him go would be to aid and abet treason.  Pilate sought to avoid the riot that was starting, and he sought to avoid having to defend himself for letting a rival to Rome go free.  Perhaps Jesus prayed for him. 

     Or perhaps he had compassion on the Sanhedrin.  We know that not everyone in the Sanhedrin agreed with the sentence against Jesus.  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, who would bury Jesus’ body, did not consent to Jesus’ condemnation.  Perhaps there were others whose fear of Caiaphas overruled their sense of justice.  Did Jesus have these men in mind?

     Perhaps Jesus was thinking of the mob of Jews who were at Pilate’s trial.  This was not the same people who had cheered Jesus when he entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  About them, St. Luke recorded, “There followed (Jesus) a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him” (Luke 23:27) as Jesus headed to the cross.  But the trial before Pilate was held at the crack of dawn.  Most of the Passover pilgrims were barely awake yet.  The mob seems to have been gathered by the Sanhedrin to influence Pilate’s decision.  They were coaxed into calling for the release of Barabbas.  They were coached to cry out for Jesus’ crucifixion.  Was this mob a bunch of lackeys who would do whatever the chief priests told them to do?  Perhaps.  And perhaps it was for them that Jesus prayed.

     “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).  The further we go down the line of suspects, the less likely it seems that they would be on Jesus’ mind when he prayed.  The Roman soldiers were ignorant.  They did not know whom they were killing.  What about the mob at Pilate’s trial?  Were they ignorant or willful accomplices?  It’s hard to say.  Pilate was in a tough spot.  No matter what his judgment was, it would have had bad results.  But could it really be said that he did not know what he was doing?  And certainly you could not say that of Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.  They had been plotting Jesus’ death for months.  They knew exactly what they were doing.  They knew that Jesus was a prophet, was recognized as the Christ, and claimed to be the Son of God.  There was no ignorance on their part; but there was a lot of unbelief.

     “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’” (Luke 23:34).  Who is the “them”?  Who are the “they” who know not what they do?  If I had to pick one, I would say it was the Roman soldiers who put the nails through his wrists and ankles.  They may have been ignorant, but they were not innocent.  You don’t seek forgiveness for the innocent.

     Ultimately, it does not matter whom we choose.  That’s because there are no innocent people among all mankind.  All have sinned and continue to fall short of the glory of God—whether they know it or not.  “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and all are going to die because all are sinners.  It does not matter if someone is ignorant of the Triune God or not.  Everyone—Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jehovah’s Witnesses, agnostics, atheists—everyone is going to die.  No one has done the good God seeks from all of us.  Everyone has done the evil that God forbids from everyone.  Sin dispenses its wages to everyone the same; death comes for all.

     Granted, many people seem to be decent and nice.  Most people are not like the thieves on the cross who deserved to be executed for the crimes they committed—though some are.  Some people are like the priests and Pharisees.  They had high regard for themselves, even thinking themselves superior even to the Son of God who was morally and spiritually pure.  Others are like the Roman soldiers who were doing their job but had no interest in knowing anything about Jesus.  They may have been haunted by past sins, but their coping mechanisms were wine, gambling, womanizing, and denial.  Some are perverse; some are honorable.  But all are marked for death, and no one is ignorant of that.

     If you have trouble acknowledging that all people are wicked, it is because you and I judge people by their actions.  In a worldly sense, that works.  “Man looks at the outward appearance” (1 Samuel 16:7) because he is limited by it.  Outwardly, most people seem nice and decent.  But we can’t know what level of evil, hatred, or anger lurks within someone’s heart.  We only know it when we see people shoot up supermarkets in Boulder, Colorado or spew out venom on social media.  “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).  The Lord knows the secrets that lurk there, fully aware of each shameful thought, spiteful attitude, and guilty pleasure.  Therefore, God’s judgment is always just, and his condemnation is always justified.  Even if people are ignorant of the Ten Commandments, they are not ignorant of the conscience which God has given them.  All people are without excuse.  All are guilty, which is why all will die.

     But for all people, Jesus has prayed for the Father to forgive them.  And for all people, Jesus has become the answer to that prayer.  Jesus gave himself up as the ransom price to pay for the sins of the world.  Jesus did not sift through who sinned in ignorance or in willful rebellion, whose sins were done because of weakness or because of choice, whose guilt is greater or less.  And for that reason, you do not need to figure out what category you fall into.  Nor do you have to come up with reasons why Jesus’ payment for you because you are worthy.  You aren’t.  Nor were the soldiers, nor the criminals on his right and his left, nor Pilate, nor Caiaphas, nor the crowds, nor anyone else in all creation.

     But hear this: “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).  All guilt, all wickedness—whether done intentionally or ignorantly—every sin was placed on the head of Jesus so that he could receive all of the punishment for it.  For you.  Jesus was not merely a nice man who asked his Father to forgive people.  Jesus is the Son of God who was sent by the Father to secure the forgiveness of your sins for you.  Those innocent hands were pierced to the cross for hands that have been raised in anger.  Those innocent feet were pierced for feet which have walked away when we could have helped those in need.  That innocent heart was pierced for us who have let grudges reside in our hearts.  That innocent head was pierced with thorns for us who have daydreamed about revenge or lust or defrauding our neighbor.  The iniquity of us all, all of it, the Lord has laid upon his Son.  And the punishment due all of us, all of it, the Lord has carried out against his Son.  Death has taken its wages.

     Therefore, Jesus does not merely pray for your forgiveness.  He has won it for you.  And he proclaims it to you.  He has every right to declare your forgiveness; for he has endured all the punishment and has paid the full ransom.  Now, he lives and reigns to declare that all who believe in him shall receive full pardon for all sins.  And all who appeal to him shall find release even from the sentence of death.

     Forgiveness is not limited to some unknown “them.”  It is for you.  It is what Jesus was sent for, what he died for, and what he has accomplished.  Those nail-pierced hands were dedicated to you, to your family, to your friends, and to the world.  We proclaim it so that all might believe it and be saved by it.  Finally, that is what Jesus prayed for.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.