It’s not fair, right?  Why should a good person suffer?  Why would an innocent man be put to death?  It’s incredible how ridiculous some of the things associated with the trial of Jesus actually are.  Barabbas?  Oh – he’s a bandit.  Let’s get him released instead of Jesus!  And then there’s all of this talk about the Emperor as their only king.  Seriously?  The Jewish people hated Roman rule and couldn’t wait to kick out the Romans and be under the rule of their own king – a king from David’s line who would rule over Israel.  And yet, with Jesus standing before them, bloodied and beaten down and crowned with thorns, they proclaim that the Roman Emperor is really their only king.

         It is the stuff of movies and gripping story lines – an innocent person made to suffer and even put to death -- quite unfairly, we might add.  It is the same thing that was pondered all the way back in Isaiah’s time.  However, even then, what seemed like unjust and unfair suffering had meaning that went way beyond appearances.

         The servant who is mentioned in Isaiah astonished and startled people, for even though God says he is exalted, he certainly didn’t look like it.  In fact, much is made of his appearance, as he is described as disfigured and without dignity or beauty.  It seems that suffering and pain and disease had taken their toll on him, and people could not bring themselves even to look at him.  Instead, they despise him and reject him and ignore him, deeming him to be worthless, and perhaps even rejected by God.

         However, all of a sudden the poem in Isaiah changes, and those who hear it go from being bystanders looking on to people who are intricately connected to this suffering servant.  As it turns out, the suffering and pain and diseases that this servant has endured should have been ours, and the punishment that he suffered was for our sins and for the evil that we did.  Even though we thought that he was being punished by God for his sins, this wasn’t true.  Instead, he was giving himself for our healing and for our salvation.

         It is easy to see the connections that were later made with Jesus, who endured suffering and death, not because he deserved it, but in order to bring healing and forgiveness and salvation to so many others who need it.  And with Jesus, as with the servant in Isaiah, things were certainly not as they seemed.

         Anybody who was looking on as Jesus was arrested and tried and crucified would have concluded that Jesus was quite simply not who he said he was.  They would have had a very hard time conceiving of any sort of king or Messiah who would endure such suffering or be put to death on a cross.  They would have viewed the crucifixion as a sign of God’s judgment and condemnation of Jesus – the end of one who had showed such promise but apparently had delusions of grandeur.

         Yet, it was anything but.  God never once stopped loving Jesus.  God took no pleasure whatsoever in seeing Jesus suffer.  And the apparent defeat on the cross was merely the beginning of Jesus’ victory over sin, death and the devil.  God knew that Jesus would be the righteous one – the only one in a right relationship with God – who would take the sins of the world upon himself in order that sinful humanity might be redeemed.  God allowed this to happen out of love for us, and not out of some twisted desire to see Jesus suffer.

         In the same way, when suffering happens now, it is not a sign of God’s disinterest or God’s punishment or even of God’s absence.  Rather, it is part of life in a sinful world populated by a sinful humanity.  Certainly, many people have opinions about what God should do and where God should step in.  Should God also have stepped in and prevented Jesus from suffering and dying?  This would also have prevented resurrection and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

         In the end, we are never able to see the whole picture as long as we are in this life, and there will be times when we question God and when we simply don’t understand why things happen the way that they do.  Yet, in the midst of our doubts and our questions, and even in the midst of our suffering, God continues to love us and to be present with us and to give us strength when we don’t have anything left.  And because of Jesus, who did humble himself and endure the pain of the cross, we do not have to walk this journey alone.  Instead, the one who loves us and who gave himself for us walks with us, bringing the presence and power of God into any situation, and allowing us to know God – not only now, but into eternity.  Thanks be to God!  Amen.

Good Friday                                                  Isaiah 52:13-53:12

April 7, 2023                                                 John 18:1-19:42

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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