So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” 20 Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”
23 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. [3] But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,
“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.”
So the soldiers did these things, 25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”
Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text today is the 5 and 6th verses of the hymn Savior of the Nations, along with the reading from John chapter 19, especially these words from verse18, “there they crucified him.” Thus far our text.
Dear friends in Christ. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. There’ll be parties for throwing, marshmallows for roasting and caroling out in the snow, well so long as the wind chill isn’t 20 below zero! Christmas is a time for celebrating and enjoying the excitement of the season. So why in the midst of all this happiness do we have such an offensive text this evening? Why in the midst of this merriment do we look at a horrific execution, with blood and guts, dirt and grime? Why must we look to Jesus on the cross, rather than Jesus in the manger?
After all, what do we have up in our houses this time of year? Not crucifixes with a bloody dying Jesus, but instead happy cuddly baby Jesus laying in a manger surrounded by Christmas lights and happy Christmas trees. And it’s true isn’t it, that we as Christians prefer the baby Jesus in the manger to the bloody man Jesus hanging and dying on a cross. We don’t like the image of death, but we like the image of newborn life, especially this time of the year.
We’d rather get caught up in our own sinful desires. We would rather face Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, and jack frost nipping at your nose, than to face the reality. Advent and Christmas come about because we are sinners. Advent and Christmas occur because we are judged by God and found wanting. The first Christmas didn’t occur because God wanted to give us a day off of work in the midst of a long dreary winter, but because God wanted us to be rescued from our long dreary sinful lives.
Long and dreary especially as we remember those who because of sin and death are no longer around with us. Our grandparents, parents and more, our children and nephews and others who will not be with us this Christmas season. Those who have paid the price of sin, death.
Long and dreary as we see the sin in our own life, and the way that it inundates us. How we complain and whine to our friends and family about how bad work is. We see that sin as we covet all sorts of new toys that we want Santa to bring us for Christmas. New boats, new ice fishing gear, new computers and cell phones. Our selfish greediness is what we want Christmas to be all about.
But our hymn today speaks of something different. Our hymn speaks of “the Father’s Son, who in flesh the victory has won”. Our hymn speaks of Jesus dying for us on the cross. You see, at Christmas, we must look beyond Jesus in the manger to Jesus the adult who lived a perfect sin free life. The one who was the perfect atonement for all of our sin, by his own death on the cross, and his own resurrection. We must look to that, because that is our only hope. Without Jesus on the cross, Jesus in the manger doesn’t mean anything to us. Without Jesus on the cross, Jesus in the manger is just another baby.
And it is in Jesus on the cross that we receive forgiveness. It is in Jesus on the cross that we are selves are reborn in to peace and everlasting life. For our in our baptisms, we have died with Jesus, and been reborn into eternal life. A life that will last forever. Just as Jesus is born in the manger, through Jesus’ death, you are born into heaven.
In a small dark stable, Jesus Christ is born, he has come to rescue you from sin and the power of death. He has come to rescue you and to bring you into his kingdom, so that you might live apart from all the sin of this world. He has come to rescue you, and in that rescue mission, as the hymn says, Jesus’ course “ran down to hell” suffering for you and then “back then to his throne and crown. Jesus takes hell on for you, and instead gives you life in his kingdom.
