TITLE: “Why Jesus Can’t Come Down from the Cross”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is taken from the Gospel lesson just read, the Passion of our Lord from Matthew 27. We will focus on the words of the passersby at Jesus’ death: “If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

Is Jesus’ death and resurrection a mistake in God’s plan, or was it a part of His divine plan all along? Today is March 24, exactly 9 months before Christmas Eve. The Christian Church traditionally celebrates the Annunciation of our Lord by the angel Gabriel to Mary on this day, and it is fitting for us to ponder our Lord’s birth as we ponder His death for our sins. For the two go together, and we can’t finally understand Jesus death apart from His birth.

“If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross." What is it about that statement that is so intriguing and even disturbing? When you think about the death of our Lord, is there one part of you that asks this question? Why don’t you just come down, Jesus? If you are really God, why go through all of the pain and suffering and even death?

The answer lies in the fact that the passerby simply did not understand what it means to be the Son of God. For His entire public ministry, Jesus taught and lived the theology of the cross. He preached the good news of the Gospel of peace, He forgave sins, healed the sick, and raised the dead. And time and time again, they rejected Him and His message. They wanted nothing to do with a prophet who told them of their sins and forgave them. But even more, they were utterly scandalized by an itinerant carpenter who claimed to be the very Son of God. The Son of God couldn’t die. The Son of God simply could not be like that. It didn’t make sense.

But you see, that view really lies at the heart of all unbelief. Saint Paul called it the scandal of the cross. How could it be that it could be a part of the great divine plan that God would have to send His own Son to die to forgive you of your sins? How is that possible?

It is possible. But more than that, it is reality. God had your fall and redemption in mind before the foundation of the world. His very nature is of self-giving and sacrifice. That is what it means to be God. It means that He loves so much that He must create, and when His creation rebels, He becomes one of them so that they can return to Him. That is the very essence of the divine nature.

Now I know that’s a little bit hard to understand. It is supposed to be. The love of God in Christ Jesus is so rich and deep that we cannot possibly fathom that kind of love. You can understand the love of a man for a woman or a father or mother for a child. We can grasp that love. We can even grasp love that drives men and women to die in service of their country. That I can grasp. But to have all of the power and might and glory of the whole world, and to give that up for poor sinners who don’t care or even hate you, well, that love is just a little hard to grasp.

Yet that is what Christ our Lord would have us believe. For that is who He is. That kind of love could not come from anywhere else than the very mind of God Himself. That love is so deep, so rich beyond measure. How can we plumb its depths? How can we understand it?

Many do not. They try to make Jesus into a new lawgiver or a moral example or a nice guy or some other nonsense. But Jesus is much more than that. He calls on you this die to look at His wounds. Look at the suffering and death of the very Son of God. Look at that cross and you see the love of God shining forth with a richness and splendor that calls out to you and says, “I love you with an everlasting love. I give my very life for you. Trust in me.”

That is what the crowds did not get. To them, the Son of God must use His power for His own good. But Jesus did not. In the Garden He turned His back on the easy road and went the road of death. At the Mount of Olives He could have summoned a legion of angels to defend Him, but instead was carried away by His own people, betrayed. Before Pilate and Herod He upheld His innocence and they condemned Him to death. On the cross itself they mocked Him and called out to him, if you truly are the Son of God, come down! They did not understand. But Jesus forgave them their sins.

So how do you view the cross this day? This symbol of death is for us Christians life. Real life. Eternal life. For it is in those wounds. It is in that very body and blood of Christ that your salvation lies. All of your false pretensions about your goodness and righteousness lie in the dust. You cannot redeem yourself. Jesus had to come into your flesh, take on your life, die your death, so that you could live His eternal life. That is the love of God given to you.

If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. No. No. A thousand times no. Jesus knew that the very nature of God is to give, to sacrifice all for you. So look upon the cross. Look upon that cross and live. Tomorrow and fear for the future doesn’t matter. The pain and heartache of today don’t matter. The sins and shortcomings of yesterday are gone. In that cross of Jesus all of these things are resolved. For when you are in Christ, all of your sins are washed away in His holy blood.

As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you do show the Lord’s death until He comes. So said St. Paul. For the Christian, we finally do not play mental games and simply try and remember the cross and the death of Jesus. When we say look to the cross, those words draw us to His Holy Supper. For it is in that sacred Meal that we receive all of Christ’s work on the cross. When you receive Christ’s body and blood in His meal, you show the world the cross. You demonstrate to the world that your life is bound up in His and He in you.

So this Palm Sunday, as we remember and reflect upon Jesus impending death and resurrection, come to the Lord’s Table. For here at the Altar, you are bound up in His life and death and life again. And His life is now yours for all eternity. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.