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Good Friday 2023
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Vicar Kaleb Yaeger

Sermons online: 
Text and Audio:         immanuelhamiltonchurch.com   click “sermons”
Text:                           pastorjud.org   
Audio:                         pastorjud.podbean.com 
itunes:                        bit.ly/pastorjud
Full Service Audio:   bit.ly/ImmanuelWorship

O Lord, have mercy. O Christ, have mercy. O Lord, have mercy. This has been the fervent prayer of the church since she first began. We have always cried out to God for mercy. Mercy is the foundation of the faith. God is merciful. He does not repay evil with evil, but repays evil with good. He sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. It is no wonder, then, that you cry: O Lord, have mercy! 

But have you considered the price of mercy? 

O Lord, have mercy. O Lord, you pray, do not deal with me according to my sins. O Christ, have mercy. O Christ, you pray, do not deliver me over unto death. O Lord, have mercy. O Lord, do not let your just and holy wrath come against me. With this three-fold cry, you beg that God would not come against you in righteous anger, but in peace. You get down on your knees and beg that God would not do justice to you. That God would not give you what you deserve. O Lord, you cry, have mercy! 

But have you considered the price of mercy? 

Mercy is when someone does not get what they do deserve. Mercy is shown to a man on his knees. Mercy is the opposite of justice. 

God is just. God is righteous. In His justice and righteousness, God is wrathful against sin. He may be slow to anger, but His anger does come. In the end, justice must be done. It is to this just God that you cry for mercy. O Lord, do not deal with me according to your wrath. O Christ, put my sins away. “O Lord, have mercy” 

But have you considered the price of mercy? 

Consider it now. Your king stands before the crowd. He is clothed in purple. Dark streaks of blood stain the fine fabric. The crown He wears is made of thorns. His face is covered in crimson streaks. Already, His body is striped with wounds. Wounds that He does not deserve. The wounds He bears in His body are your sins. The thorns that crown His head are your sins. The blows that the soldiers lay upon Him are your sins. 

Yet this is not the full price of mercy. 

The crowds get their way. Jesus is delivered to be crucified. He staggers under the weight of the cross. He staggers under the weight of your sin. He carries the cross on His wounded back. He comes to the place of the skull, the place of death. Your king is laid on the cross. A Roman soldier places the nails. You hammer them in with your sins. Every evil thought. Every wicked word. Every vile deed. With every strike, the Lord of all cries out in pain. 

Yet even this is not the full price of mercy. 

The Son of Man is lifted up. Raised high on the cross. Suspended by nails. A slow death by suffocation. Every breath is a labor. Below the cross, the Roman soldiers cast lots for His garments. Jesus suffers there for some time. His body is in immense pain. The wounds on His back scrape against the rough-hewn cross. The nails in His hands and feet hold Him in suspended suffering. Jesus hangs on the tree of the cross. 

Yet even this is not the full price of mercy. 

His physical suffering is immense. His spiritual suffering is beyond understanding. God the Father looks down on Jesus. All He sees is sin. Your sin. God’s wrath falls on His Son, His only Son whom He loves. On the cross, Jesus drinks the wine that has become vinegar. With it, He drinks the cup of God’s wrath, down to the dregs. The full punishment for sin is laid upon Jesus. From the sin of Adam to the sin of the last man who will ever live, Jesus bears it all. 

When all was accomplished, Jesus said: 

“It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Behold the price of mercy. 

It only cost Him everything. The Son of God laid down His life for you. He has drunk the cup of God’s wrath and left it empty. The debt is now paid. Justice is done. The wrath of God against sin is satisfied. 

Jesus bore all of your sins to the cross and when He is buried in a stranger’s tomb, He committed your sins to the grave. They are sealed away forever. They are cast as far as the east is from the west. All out of nothing but love for you. Your sins are what drove Him to the cross. His love for you is what held Him there. Behold the love of God! Behold the price of mercy. Cry out, cry out with the whole Christian church on earth, 

O Lord, have mercy

O Christ, have mercy

O Lord, have mercy. 

Amen.