Lenten Midweek Sermon: "A God Beaten"

+ Lenten Midweek 2 – March 20, 2019 +

Beautiful Savior Lutheran, Milton

Isaiah 52:13-53:12; John 18:19-24

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

Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.

Behold the man. Jesus, our Suffering Servant. Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus, the God takes on our flesh and is beaten for us.

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.  Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”  When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”

It’s hard to say which is more shocking – that one of the officers punches Jesus, or that Jesus, true God and true man, takes the hit. But this is the kind of God we have. The God who bears human flesh for us. To endure everything that sinners throw at him, even their fists in anger. The God who humbles himself even unto death for you. 

We could never have created or thought up a God like this. And that’s our real problem. Since Adam’s rebellion in the garden, mankind has been alienated from God. Like Adam, we seek our own desires, our own good; we desire to be our own god. We prefer the gods of our own imagination, for they are far less demanding. Instead of perfection, they only ask for pleasure. Instead of the Law’s demands, only that our desires are fulfilled. 

A Jesus of our own imaginations, is far easier to follow than the Holy God of Scripture, who demands that your holiness perfectly match His. A good-teacher Jesus, or a life-coach Jesus, or a model-CEO Jesus, or a moral-example Jesus, or a nice-guy Jesus, or a guru Jesus is no offense to our sinful nature. 

But that’s the problem with our imaginary gods. They can’t save us. They can’t bear our sin and be our substitute. We don’t need a god who encourages us to try harder next time. We don’t need a mulligan. We don’t need a behavioral adjustment. Like Adam, we have sinned in thought, word, and deed. Like Adam we have fallen short of the glory of God. Like Adam, we die in sin apart from Jesus. What we need is Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah. The Messiah struck by the officers of the high priest, mocked, jeered, beaten, bruised, and bloody. All for you.

This is why Jesus takes the officer’s blows. Behold the man! Behold the man who allows Himself to be struck by sinners. Behold the man, the God who is beaten for you, who bore our striking, smiting, scourging, and hating. Behold the servant who suffered in our place. Who has borne your griefs and carried your sorrows.

Jesus takes our mockery, our self-worship, our sinful desires, thoughts, words, and deeds onto his own body on the cross for you. Jesus bears the full brunt of our sin as he suffers, is beaten, bloody, and crucified for you. Jesus took on our flesh—cheekbones that can take a punch, lungs that the wind can be knocked out of, skin that can bruise and bleed—so that He can be struck by God the Father. Dealt the death blow of our sin on our behalf. To let sin, death, and the devil defeat him, so that in Him, you are redeemed, rescued, and raised victorious. To humble himself that we might be exalted. To bear our grief and shame and, in exchange, fill us with his everlasting joy and peace.

And now, his body, once beaten, crucified, and buried is risen, ascended and given to you in His holy Supper. In Jesus death and resurrection you are buried and raised to new life in holy baptism – a new man, a new creation who reaches out to your neighbor with hands of mercy. Jesus the innocent one was declared guilty for us, so that when we confess our sins before him, we the guilty ones, are declared innocent. Holy. Righteous.

Jesus does all of this, not because deserve it, but because we are the least deserving. By grace you are saved. Behold the man, Jesus, despised and rejected by men for you. Jesus, stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted for you. Jesus, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. And by his wounds, you are healed.

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