Good Friday sermon on the cross as God's eternal plan and finished work
A solo sermon delivered for Good Friday, reflecting on the meaning of Christ's death.
Summary
This is a Good Friday sermon delivered by Tim Behan from Latimer: Listen, reflecting on John's account of the crucifixion. The sermon centres on two claims: that the cross was not an improvised response to human failure but a plan established before the beginning of time, and that Jesus' declaration "It is finished" represents a complete and final payment for sin that no subsequent failure can undo. Tim Behan draws on the Gospel of John's repeated use of the phrase "that scripture might be fulfilled" to argue that hundreds of Old Testament prophecies converge on the crucifixion, demonstrating divine sovereignty over every detail. Tim Behan closes with a direct appeal to those who have not yet placed their trust in Jesus, urging them to consider the cross personally rather than abstractly.
Key Takeaways
FULL TRANSCRIPT
The strangeness of Good Friday
There is a strangeness to Good Friday. It's very clear that the central and most wonderful truth of the gospel — the act which is undeniably the most glorious expression of love in history, and one which we call good and celebrate together today — is the celebration of not only one of the most excruciating and gruesome forms of execution ever devised by humanity, but one performed on the only human in history who had done nothing to deserve it. It's the event which is the most evil in history, as humanity executed the one and only perfect Son of God. And yet it's that same event which was the purest, greatest act of good, which bought the salvation of that very same humanity. It is something only a sovereign God could determine, ordain, and arrange. And something only a loving God would ever do.
Every single one of us will one day meet our maker. There's no avoiding it. And on that day the question will be: on what basis should you be allowed to be in the presence of a good and holy God and enjoy the blessing of abundant life that only he can provide? And on that day, any answer which starts in the first person has missed the mark already. Because I. Because I have done this. Because I was okay. The only answer which will suffice on that day is in the third person. Because he. Because Jesus died to save me from my sins. Because Jesus is the one and only true Son of God. Because Jesus, and only he, lived the life that I could not and died the death that I deserved.
And if we understand nothing else about the Christian message — just like the thief on the cross who was next to Jesus on that day, who knew nothing other than Jesus' word that he would that day join him in paradise — this is the wonder of the simple gospel. All you need is to trust in Jesus and who he is as our Saviour and our Lord. That is all you need to be right with God.
It was planned
But while the glory of the gospel hinges on this simple truth, its wonder doesn't stop there. And as you step back, we can look at the cross in all its panoramic scope, in all its wondrous glory. There are many things that we could focus on. But there are two things from John's account that we heard this morning of Jesus' death that I want to highlight briefly, which the more we look at, the more should astound us as we see the cross of Christ. Firstly, it was planned. Secondly, it is finished.
It was planned. Even in that last section, three times in those verses — John has already mentioned it a few times in the lead-up to Jesus' death — you get some variation on the phrase "that scripture might be fulfilled." Verse 24, verse 28, again in verse 36. What John is highlighting in just a few small parts is what those familiar with the rest of the Bible will know in even greater detail. Hundreds of years before Jesus came down to earth as a human, there are literally hundreds of promises and prophecies made in the Old Testament which are all fulfilled in Jesus. Some promises are mundane, like the dividing and gambling over Jesus' clothes. Some are massive. Some are accomplished by Jesus himself, like saying he was thirsty to receive the wine vinegar. Others are completed by random strangers. That shows God's control over every single part of his plan. Some are fulfilled before Jesus' death. Others happen after, showing that God's plan is still in play. God leaves nothing to chance, and he wants us to know it. So he made hundreds of promises which are fulfilled so that we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God's plan all along that this happened.
More than this, though, and more than any other gospel, John takes us back to before the beginning of time — before there was even a universe to save — showing that God's plan was always to rescue a people through Jesus. This is important for us to grasp, because Jesus dying on the cross wasn't God's response to some unforeseen event of sinful rebellion. It wasn't as though humanity failed in the Garden of Eden and God had to quickly think of some solution which would allow humanity a way back in. Jesus dying on the cross was always God's plan. Because it was the only way to show the depth of his great love by saving a people who didn't deserve it and couldn't save themselves. For God so loved the world — not the world that was so big, the world that was so bad — God loved that world so much that he gave his only Son to die, so that whoever believes in him might not die, but have eternal life.
We've just sung in that wonderful hymn. So I ask you today: do you know how deep the Father's love is? How vast beyond all measure? That he planned and gave his only Son to make wretches like us his treasure. Do you know how deep the Father's love is for you? It was always his plan.
It is finished
And secondly, do you know how completely Jesus' death pays the price for your sins as you put your faith in him? In verse 30, John's final recorded words of Jesus are: "It is finished." And with those words, John says, Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
One thing we should see is the total willingness of the Son in the Father's plan. This wasn't, as some have famously said, some form of cosmic child abuse. This plan, made before the beginning of time, was made with Jesus' full knowledge and consent. Because Jesus is God. And he was with the Father in the beginning. John is very clear to make that — right back in chapter 1, verse 1: "In the beginning was the Word" — that is Jesus — "and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." This was a united plan from the start.
John is at pains at several points to remind us that in one sense, no one took Jesus' life — he gave it up of his own accord. He gave up his own spirit in the end. Back in chapter 10, Jesus says, "I lay down my life. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again" — which will be very relevant come Sunday.
Do you see the point, though? Jesus went to his death willingly. And the more we think about that, the more mind-blowing it should be. Jesus, with full knowledge and forethought of just how awful we are as people, of just how much we didn't even want to be saved, even though it's the thing we needed more than anything else — Jesus was willingly flogged, beaten, mocked, scorned, stabbed, crucified, and died. For you. And for me.
Now there may be people here today who know about Jesus. You might even know on a surface level that he died on the cross for the sins of the world in some sense. But have you ever really grasped or thought that he did that for you? I would implore every single person here: think about not only what Jesus did for the whole world, but for you specifically. I put it to you that even if you were the only person who needed to be made right with God, the only person to be saved, Jesus would still have come down and died just to save you.
The fullness and finality of the cross
Now the other thing we should repeatedly remind ourselves of is the fullness and finality of what Jesus accomplished on that cross. Of course, that's not to say that Jesus' work doesn't continue — and we'll see more of that on Sunday. Death is not the end for Jesus, any more than it is for us who put our trust in him. But Jesus has finished his work of paying for our sin by his death on the cross, and it's important for us to remember that. With our trust in him, our sin has gone forever. Our slate is clean completely before God.
It's fair to say that at many points in a Christian's life, we question just how finished the finished work of Jesus is. Was it really enough for all of my sin? I keep failing — that's what we think. Is Jesus' death still enough to cover someone as repeatedly rubbish as I am? Maybe he can cover the more obvious things, the outward things. What about all those horrible things I think? If I'm honest, I'm so often a truly horrible person in my heart of hearts. I think awful things about other people. So often I just want to continue living my way, not Jesus' way. Is Jesus' death really enough to save me from me?
Friends, what does Jesus say? It is finished. When you put your trust in Jesus, there is no mistake too massive, no failure so fond, no shame too deep, no sin so strong, which can in any way outstrip what Jesus has done for you on that cross. Of course, this isn't a licence to try and fail, to grow complacent, or to continue to live our own way. If we do that, all we've done is proven that we don't understand what trust in Jesus really is — it's our Saviour and our Lord. But when your trust is in Jesus, in who he is and what he's done by dying on the cross in our place, your sins are gone. All of them. Past, present, future — fully, finally, forever.
Remember the words of that wonderful hymn, "It Is Well":
"My sin — O the bliss of this glorious thought — my sin, not in part, but the whole. Where is it? It is nailed to that cross, and I bear it no more. Even so, it is well with my soul."
As I mentioned before, even that is not the end of the story. Jesus' finished work on the cross is what begins a new life for those who put their trust in him — a life changed and shaped and glorified in him. We'll see more of that on Sunday.
A call to look at the cross
But today, join me in fixing your eyes on the cross of Christ. If you're here today and you don't yet know Jesus as your Saviour, as your Lord, look at the cross. Ask yourself: why do you think Jesus died? This was far more than just an unfortunate end to an otherwise promising life. It was planned and willingly walked into by Jesus. Why was it necessary? Why wasn't there another way? What does that mean to you today? There is nothing more important in this life than how you respond to Jesus. And while this decision affects you for the rest of eternity, you don't have all eternity to make it. You only have the time you've been given, and you don't know how long it is.
But for all of us — for every single one of us today — look at the cross and know just how deep the Father's love is for you. Before the beginning of time, he put a plan together to show you just how deep his love was for you, that he would send his beloved Son to die for you so that you might be with him for all eternity. Look at the cross and see that love which surpasses all understanding. And look at the willingness and finality of what Jesus accomplished on that cross for you and for a sinful and broken world. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.
It was planned. And it is finished.
Prayer
Let me pray. Our great and glorious and wonderfully loving Heavenly Father, we thank you that before time was even time, you had set forth a plan to show us how deep your love is for us. We thank you for sending us your Son, who lived the life that we could not and died the death that we deserved. We thank you for his willingness to do so — that he walked towards that death, knowing what he would face, and facing it anyway. Such was his love for us and you. Lord, open our eyes to the glories and wonders of the cross, the depths of what Jesus went through to save us. Help us to put our trust in him, knowing your great loving plan and knowing that his work is finished to make us right with you. Thank you for Jesus. Amen.