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"Good Friday"
The Rev. Dr. Walter Dunnett
March 21, 2008
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
Glen Ellyn, IL
In making our way through the 14 Stations of the Cross we have
traced Jesus journey
from Pilate’s house to the garden tomb. Interestingly,
four of the Scriptures cited in the
sequence are from Isaiah 53 (vv 4, 6, 7, 8), and one of the
Lectionary readings for the
Good Friday service is Isaiah 52:13-53:12. It is to that text
that we now turn for our
meditation this evening.
We center on two particular units of text: (1) in 53:4-6 the
emphasis is upon the
human condition; (2) in 53:7-12 the emphasis is upon the divine
provision. The human
condition has been marred by sin. In vv 4-6, there are eleven
plural (note) pronouns
which relate to that condition: our (5); we (4); and us (2).
We (as a people) are described
as infirmed, diseased, accused of transgressions and iniquities,
having gone astray like
sheep and taken our own way.
Now this is hard to stomach, isn’t it? It is often hard
for us as individuals to look into
the mirror of our souls and render such a verdict—but
to apply that divine verdict to the
whole of humanity seems even more difficult. Especially in
view of the verdict rendered
by the Creator, who after creating humankind (the sense of
the Hebrew word adam,
usually translated “man”) rendered the verdict
“very good.” Yet this appears to be a
general verdict, not only in the Bible (“for all sinned,
and come short of the glory of
God”), but also one rendered every day. In their Life
section USA today (on March
20) features a banner headline “Is sin dead?” followed
by a second responsive one,
“No, not by a long shot” (p 1 D). And while opinions
vary as to what “sin” means
there is a general agreement that something has gone wrong
with the world.
But often in the New Testament this condition is cited, in
texts like Matthew 8:17,
where Jesus “took our infirmities and bore our sorrows”;
or I Peter 2:24 where he
“carried our diseases” and healed our bruises.”
The death of Jesus was to atone for our
sins—he bore them, he was wounded for them, the Lord
(God) laid them on him.
In Isaiah 53:7-12 the emphasis is upon the divine provision
for our sins. Jesus was
“handed over to you according to the definite plan and
foreknowledge of God” (Acts
2:23). By his enemies he was oppressed (53:7); he was cut off
from the land of the living
(53:8); and he was buried in another’s tomb. By his wounds
sinful humanity has been
healed (53:5). This unnamed Servant of the Lord in Isaiah is
amply identified as Jesus,
the beloved Son, by New Testament speakers and writers. The
evangelist Philip,
commenting on Isaiah 53:7-8, proclaimed to the Ethiopian treasurer
“the good news
about Jesus” (Acts 8:32-35). The apostle Peter wrote
to his churches that “Christ
also suffered for you,” and cites five texts from Isaiah
53:4-9.
As we remember our Lord’s passion on this Good Friday,
let us acknowledge the
reality of human (and our own) sinfulness, the provision God
has made for us in our
need, and the willingness of our Lord Jesus to die on our behalf.
Truly he “bore the
sin of many” (Isa 53:12), and gave us hope within the
darkness.
Rev. Dr. Walter M. Dunnett
March 21, 2008
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