Good Friday at Willow

It was 2,000 years ago in the city of Jerusalem. One of the most important events in human history took place. An event that changed everything. An event that people are still talking about today. So tonight we're going to travel back to those streets, back to those crowds, back to those moments. We'll hear from three people who were there. — Three ordinary people who had no idea when they woke up that morning that their lives were about to be changed forever. But before our first storyteller, let's set the scene. There's Jesus, this master teacher, this miracle worker, and he's going viral. People are asking, "Who is this man and what is his plan? " And then Jesus walks to Jerusalem at Passover. Now Passover was the biggest celebration of the Jewish people. They remembered when God had freed them from slavery in Egypt. So the streets were packed. Families were celebrating, people were cheering, everyone was talking about rescue and freedom. But there was something else in the air. You see, for hundreds of years there'd been this promise of Messiah, of the chosen king, of the one who would come and make everything right again. So the people weren't just celebrating, they were waiting. They were watching. They were hoping for that moment when the Messiah might finally come. But here's the strange part. You see, long before these events had happened, this prophet Zechariah had described what would take place in a surprising way, how that king might come. Said he would not come on a war horse with an army, but on a donkey. So Jesus approaches Jerusalem, and he sends two disciples ahead with some very specific instructions. The Gospel of Luke records his words. — He says, "As you go into the village, you'll find a young colt there that has never been ridden. He's like, "Untie and bring it to me. " If anyone asks, "What are you doing? " simply say, "The Lord — needs it. " Now let's pause here for a moment. Imagine that's you. It's a normal day, you wake up and you go outside and two strange men are untying your animal. Yeah. Like this is your livelihood. This is how you put food on the table and they're not asking, they're not explaining, they're just untying it. And so as you question them, they give you four words, "The Lord needs it. " All right, kids, I need your help. We got any kids in the house? Yeah. All right, one more time. All right. So kids, imagine this. Someone comes up to you and asks for your LEGO collection, or your Pokémon cards, or your favorite dog or bike or even your favorite cat, if that's a thing. How many of you would say, "Absolutely, you can have it. " Give me a loud cheer if that's you. Oh, wow. Okay, pretty good. You guys are more holy than me. How many of you there's NO WAY, NOT A CHANCE, NOT A CHANCE? ALL RIGHT. That's what I'm talking about. It's Good Friday's a great time to be selfish. The man with the donkey had a choice. He could hold on, or he could let go. But the decision he made would determine what he got to be a part of. It was 2,000 years ago. The streets were dusty and crowded. The air smelled like food and animals and people who'd been traveling for days. You could even hear a song in the distance. But somewhere in that city, a man went outside to feed his donkey. Here he is. Okay. I did not wake up this morning thinking, "Today my donkey becomes famous. " No. I woke up thinking, "I had better feed my donkey before he becomes edgy. " The last thing you want is a donkey on the edge. His name is Zigzag. Yes, I named him Zigzag because he has never walked a straight line in his entire life. You tell him to go left and he goes right. right and he somehow goes up. You tell him to go straight and he stops and stares like you are the problem. Zigzag has very strong opinions, mostly about when he eats, where he stands, and his very firm belief by Zigzag, his very

firm belief by Zigzag, that he does not follow anyone, ever, unless he personally feels like it. He was young, unbroken, no one had ever ridden him, which if you ever met Zigzag would not surprise you at all. And I remember stepping outside that morning expecting it to be just another day when I saw two strangers untying my donkey. They were not asking, they were not explaining, they were just untying. I called out, "Hey, what are you doing? " One of them looked up calmly and said, "The Lord needs him. " That was all. Okay. I grabbed that rope. Zigzag carries water, he hauls grain, he helps me work. He may be stubborn and dramatic, once refused to move for an entire afternoon because a chicken looked at him wrong, but he is mine. He's how my family eats. — [snorts] — And suddenly, two strangers I had never seen before in my life were untying him and walking away. I grabbed the rope and I held it. I stood there with the rope in my hand and I thought of every reason to say no. This is mine. I earned this. My family needs this. [snorts] You do not just hand over something so important to a stranger who gives you four words and walks away. No. Okay. So, I loosened my grip. I was very close to saying no, but I loosened my grip, I stepped back, and I let them finish untying him. Huh? "Good luck," I said. "He has never followed anyone in his life. " The men nodded and walked away. And Zigzag followed, calmly, willingly. I This is Zigzag does not follow without protest. This is very strange, very unusual. Huh? I had raised that animal since he was small. I knew exactly what he was like. It's the first time I ever seen him do this. Yes? And then, I thought to myself, "If he's going to follow this man, I had to go see where he was going. " So I followed and we went through the streets. We went past the market, through the crowds that were gathering for Passover. And I kept my eyes on Zigzag. This donkey has never walked a straight line in his entire life, and here he was walking calmly through all of it. And then, we turned the corner and there he was. The Lord. The men brought Zigzag to him. He looked at him and straight up at me. It was not a long look, but it was enough. I had seen the eyes of many men, merchants, soldiers, priests, and you can usually tell what the man wants from you. Sometimes they want money, sometimes they want power, sometimes they want respect. But when he looked at me, something in my chest went quiet. As if every question, every worry I had carried from that morning suddenly had nowhere left to stand. Something in that look told me this was no ordinary man. He walked forward and put his hand on Zigzag. This animal had never been ridden, not once. I had never even tried. And he got on him and Zigzag did not flinch, did not resist, did not even turn around to complain. He just walked calmly as if he had been waiting for this moment his whole life. And then people began gathering and shouting. — [cheering] — They waved palm branches and laid their coats out in the road in front of him. And I heard someone cry "Hosanna! " And "Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. " And then somebody shouted out, "Make way for the king! " That was when I stopped. The king? We had heard about this king since we were little. God promised to send a king to save all of us. A promised king. A son of David. Okay. I did not have words for this. People began gathering and shouting, throwing the branches on the floor, and then a thought began to grow inside me. What if this is the king? What if the Lord they were talking about was the one God promised to send to save us all? And Zigzag, who had never been ridden, carried the promised king straight into his city. Later I had heard what happened next. They nailed him to a cross.

And he really died. And now they say that 3 days later he rose again out of his tomb. I do not have words for all of it. I don't understand. But I do know this. I was one breath away from saying no. And if I had, I would have missed all of it. seeing the king ride into the city. I would have missed the people shouting his name. I would have missed that look. And in my heart I believe it. This was the king God promised. that God sent to save his people. And somehow, by some miracle, because I decided to let go of that rope, my donkey and I got to be part of that story. Thank you. — [singing] [singing] [music and singing] [singing and music] [singing] [singing] [music and singing] [singing] — The story keeps moving. Just days earlier, Jesus had entered Jerusalem and the crowds were celebrating him. They waved palm branches, they shouted his name. They believed that he might be the rescuer they had been waiting for. But not everyone was celebrating. The religious leaders were jealous. They were afraid of losing their influence and they decided they wanted him gone. So Jesus was arrested. He was put on trial in the middle of the night. The soldiers beat him. They struck him. They made fun of him. They were cruel. And then he was sentenced to die on a cross. — That was Rome's way of punishing the worst criminals. It was designed to hurt. It was designed to humiliate. To make sure everyone watched and everyone knew that you had done something

something terrible. So terrible. And part of the punishment was this. The person had to carry the cross through the city to the hill that they would be crucified. And somewhere in that crowd is a man named Simon. He had saved up for years to be here. He had done everything right. He was proud of himself — and he wanted everyone to know. Have you ever had a day that turned out completely different than what you planned? Simon is about to have one of those days. Watch what happens when one man looks into the eyes of Jesus. We're going back now 2,000 years to the crowded streets of Jerusalem. Ah, my camel. My camel is tired. He will rest now. I had traveled Samson. I had traveled all the way to Jerusalem to worship God at Passover, one of our most important holy days. It was a journey my father once made and I had dreamed of making it, too. I saved for years to make that trip. I prepared for months. I wanted to stand in the holy city and know Samson. Good boy, Samson. Oh, Samson. I wanted to stand in the holy city and know that I had done everything right. The right prayers, the right offerings, the right sacrifices, everything the way God required it. Now, I'm on my way home. In a few days, I will see my wife and my sons again. My camel will be happy about that. He does not like the city. Too many walls, too many people, too many gates. Samson, one of those smaller gates nearly ended our friendship. Trust me, it would be easier to squeeze a fishing boat into a clay jar than to get a camel through one of those gates. Oh God. When my sons ask me about the journey, I will tell them how the city was overflowing with people from everywhere, how the streets were packed so tight you could hardly move, how the white stone walls shone in the sun, and songs rose from the temple and echoed across the rooftops. But I do not know how to explain what happened when I carried his cross. I was walking in from Jerusalem. the countryside on my way to Jerusalem. Samson. Good boy, Samson. Come. I had prepared for this moment for years. I wanted [snorts] to stand before God, make my offerings certain that I had done everything right. That is when I heard the noise. It was not singing. It was not prayer. It was heavy boots of Roman soldiers forcing their way through the crowd. I should have stepped aside. Instead, I stepped closer. And I saw him. He had been badly beaten. His face was bruised and swollen. A heavy cross rested across his shoulders, though he could barely stand. He tried to move forward and then he fell. The cross crashed down beside him. I turned to leave. Everyone knew the Romans were ruthless. Nothing good comes from standing too close to their work. But a soldier grabbed me from the crowd. His hands clamped onto my shoulder. "Carry it," he said. "I come to worship. " I said. "I am a righteous man. " to someone else.

I looked at the man on the ground, beaten, broken, condemned. Men like this were to be avoided. They brought shame on everyone around them. The soldier pressed his spear against my chest. "Carry it. " Ugh. Men disappear for less than this. So, I bent down and I lifted the cross. It was heavier than I expected. The rough wood dug into my shoulder and forced my head down. I walked behind him, angry and humiliated. I had imagined arriving in this city proud and respected. Instead, I was bowed beneath a criminal's cross. I resented every step. I resented him. Everything I had done to make sure people saw me as an honest man, a righteous man, a man worth respecting. All of it had meant nothing. The crowd stared. People who had come to worship watched me carry it. Some stepped back from me. It felt like every person in that crowd was looking at me like I was something to be ashamed of. We moved through the crowd in silence. The sound of women nearby crying broke through the noise of the crowd. He stopped. Not because he fell, but because he heard them. He turned and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me. Weep for yourselves and for your children. " His voice was steady. I could not understand it. He was in agony. He was being marched to his death. Every step was costing him everything he had left. And yet, his heart was full of concern for them, not for himself, but for them. I had never seen anything like it. Men on their way to die are usually angry or afraid. They shout. They panic. As he turned to continue on, our eyes met. It was not anger in his eyes. It was not pity. It was the look of someone who knew exactly who I was. Everything I had done, everything I had thought, everything I had hidden, and he loved me anyway. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. And for the first time, I saw myself the way he saw me. My pride, my resentment, the contempt I had for him just moments before, and he did not turn away. I couldn't move. All the trying and proving I had done for years began to fall away. I do not remember much about the rest of the walk. I only remember the silence. The soldiers took the cross from my shoulder. I should have left then. Instead, I stayed. I watched them lay him down. I watched them lift him up. I stood there thinking about how angry I had been, how sorry I had felt for myself, how unfair it had been. I had been chosen to carry his cross, and I spent every step resenting it. But standing beneath that cross that day, I realized something. Being forced to carry this man's cross had not ruined my journey. It only showed me the truth about my own heart. So, quietly, I asked God to forgive me. I am still thinking about what happened on that hill. When my sons ask what happened in Jerusalem, I will tell them I went there to meet with God, and that I met him on a hill outside the city at the foot of a cross. — [applause and music]

[singing] [music and singing] [singing] — And now the story brings us here. We've seen a donkey owner who almost said no and discovered that letting go led him to the king. A man who was forced to do something he resented and found out that the cross he carried showed him the truth about his own heart. And now we come to the hardest part of the story. See, 700 years before any of this happened, before the cross, before Jesus was born, before Jerusalem in its glory, a prophet named Isaiah. He described someone who was coming. Someone God was going to send. And he wrote these words in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4 and 5 and he says, "Surely he took up our pain and

bore our suffering. He was pierced for our wrongdoing. He was crushed for the wrong things we have done. The punishment brought on us was really placed on him. And his wounds by those we were healed. 700 years before it happened, God had a plan. And Jesus walked straight into it. Because that's what love does. Now, I need you to understand something about what you're going to hear. The cross was no mere accident. It wasn't Rome winning. It wasn't the religious leaders winning. It was Jesus choosing. Choosing to carry our pain. Choosing to be pierced for everything we've done wrong. Choosing to take the punishment so we could have peace. This is what the cross means. And in a moment, you're going to hear from a man who was there. A man whose job was to make sure Jesus died. A Roman soldier. He didn't go to that hill expecting to believe anything. But you cannot stand at the cross and walk away unchanged. Nobody could. Rome does not ask you how you feel about your orders. You follow them. You do your job. You move on. That is what I always did. Until the hill. I was the Centurion in charge. This was not an ordinary prisoner. I had heard his name before. Jesus of Nazareth. Crowds followed him. They said he healed people. They said he performed miracles. Some even said he was the son of God. The religious leaders wanted him dead. They hated him. And under Rome's orders, we marched him up the hill to the place they called the skull. It is where men are sent to die. When we reached the top, I gave the command. And we fastened his hands and feet to the cross. We lifted it into place. And he hung there. As they all do. I had seen many men die before and they were always the same. They screamed. They fought. They cursed. They begged. This man did not. There was a sign above his head that read King of the Jews. We placed it there to mock him. To make him look foolish. To make him ashamed. But he did not look ashamed. Around his head was a crown of thorns. Not a real crown, a joke. Something my soldiers had twisted together from a thorn bush and forced onto his head. The thorns were long and sharp. And they cut deeply into his skin. My soldiers liked to do cruel things. They thought it was funny. I allowed it. Below him, my soldiers threw dice for his clothes. Laughing. Arguing over who won. A man was dying above them and all they could think about was what they could take. And then he spoke. Not to us, but to his God. — [crying] — He had asked for forgiveness for the men beneath him. For the ones gambling. For the ones who had fastened him there. For me. I'd never heard that before. Not from a cross. I did not understand it. Why would a

dying man ask God to forgive the men who were killing him? Hours passed. The sun should have been high overhead. But instead, the sky grew dark. Not like evening. Not like a storm. It felt wrong. As if the light itself had been taken away. The air grew heavy. And even my soldiers fell silent. Near the end, he lifted his head. His body was weak, but his voice was steady. He spoke again to God and said he is placing his life into his father's hands. It was as if his life wasn't being taken from him, but given. And it was in that moment I realized he was not speaking into the air. He knew his God was listening. And then he breathed out. And he died. For a moment everything was still. And then I felt it. Deep beneath my feet, something began to shift. A low rumble that grew into a shaking. A shaking that became a violent trembling that cracked the stone beneath us and sent rocks splitting apart along the hillside. My soldiers looked around frantically. Some of them ran. Some of them dropped to their knees. Men who had never been afraid of anything were grabbing onto each other with nowhere to go. And the words came out before I could stop them. Surely this man is the son of God. I said it. A Roman officer out loud. Rome does not take such words lightly. It is unwise to declare someone Rome condemned as the son of God. I was warned to keep silent. To forget what I saw, but I was there. I saw the sky turn dark. I felt the earth tremble. I heard him speak to God like a son speaking to his father. Rome may deny who he was, but the earth declared it true. And I still see the darkness. I still feel the ground shake. I still hear his voice. He was not just a man. king. He was the son of God. And when he gave up his life, the earth did not remain silent and neither will I. — When I survey [singing] the wondrous cross on [singing] which the prince of glory died, I would escape [singing] I count — [singing] — the loss and poor [singing] content — on all my pride. — [singing] — See from [music and singing] his head, his hands, — [singing and music] — his feet sorrow and love flow — [singing] — mingled did — ever such love and sorrow — [music and singing] — or thorns compose — [singing and music] — so oh — [singing] — the wonderful — cross, — [singing] — oh the wonderful cross, bids

bids me come — and find that I may truly — [singing] — live. Oh the wonderful cross, oh [music and singing] the wonderful cross, all who gather here — [singing] — by grace draw near and bless [singing] your name. Oh the wonderful — [singing] — cross. Oh the — wonderful cross, all who gather — [singing] — here by grace draw near and bless your [singing] name. We bless your name. — [applause and music] — When we think about the oh wonderful cross, it just takes us to a place of worship. And one of the ways that we worship together as we celebrate communion together, so I would love to invite the ushers to come. And as we pass the tray that contains the elements of communion, I just invite you to take one packet that contains both the bread and the juice. A couple things for you. Uh when it comes to all the different practices of the Christian faith, most everything that happens is inclusive. There's actually just one experience that's kind of exclusive. And that's actually this practice is designed for those who've already made the decision to follow Jesus. They proclaim that Jesus is Lord. And so if you haven't yet made that faith commitment, I'm so glad you're here, but I'll just ask you let the tray pass you by and that this part of the service isn't necessarily designed yet for your experience. Uh maybe you're a parent in the room and you've got little kids with you that haven't made that faith profession. Again, I would just ask you allow the elements to pass by them and that you could explain even a little bit more about the sacred reality of this moment. Uh we've actually filled almost every seat in this auditorium. We're in the overflow in the atrium, which is really fun. And so if you're in the atrium, uh just know we're doing our best to get the elements of communion your way as well. Now as we think about this day that we call Good Friday, have you ever stopped and wondered why they call it good? I mean, you even heard from the three different people who experienced it first hand. Their first hand experience really wasn't that good. And even as you look back at that day, if you were there that day, you might have actually called this day tragic, horrible, unthinkable. And yet we look back and we call it good. Isn't that just like God? That though people intended it to be evil, God has a way of making it good. — The beautiful thing about the cross, it's this perfect collision of God's justice and mercy. You know God's a just God, right? Uh sometimes we talk so much about his love, his grace, his mercy and rightly so, that we don't talk as much about his justice, but our God is a just God. And partly what that means is our God will make every wrong right. Aren't you grateful for a God who will make every wrong right? But here's the uncomfortable part. Some of those wrongs that he had to make right, were my wrongs. They were your wrongs. And the beautiful thing about God is God looked at his creation that he so deeply loved, but he saw the brokenness. He saw the sin-sick reality that we find ourselves in, but God in his justice, he couldn't turn a blind eye to it. He couldn't just sweep it under the rug. He couldn't just act like it wasn't there. Somebody had to pay the penalty in full for the wrongs to be made right. And God in his great justice, but mercy, sent his son Jesus to do just that.

That he who lived in the way that we should, died in the only way God could. That's actually why they call this day good. Because it was there that Jesus took on the full penalty for my sin and yours as well. That it was actually through that God's justice was actually poured out in Jesus, that God didn't sweep my sin under the rug, Jesus took it on my behalf. Jesus bore the weight of God's justice so that he could extend the magnitude of God's mercy. And so as we hold these elements in our hands, we're reminded that the price was paid in full. That everything that needed to be done was satisfied and so at the cross, you and I find forgiveness. grace. You and I find love because Jesus took the justice and extended to us his mercy. So that maybe you and I, that the cry of our heart is very similar to that centurion that we would say surely this man is the son of God. And so as we hold these elements in our hands, it was actually the night before he was crucified, he gathered with his closest followers around a dinner table. It was Passover meal. And Jesus grabbed this loaf of bread that was in the table and he took it and he broke it. He gave thanks. And then he said, "This is my body. It's going to be given for you. " He says there, "Every time you get together," he says, "I want you to take this and I want you to remember me. " It's almost like he was saying that every time you take this is a declaration with your heart that surely this one is the son of God. Let's take the bread together. As we hold the cup of juice, we're mindful of the blood of Christ that was sacrificed for your sin and mine. It's the reminder that Jesus bore the weight of God's justice so that his mercy can be extended to us today. It was around that same dinner table, Jesus grabbed the cup and he said, "This is the blood of the new covenant. " Because we're rejoined in a relationship with God for all of eternity. He said, "Take this and remember me. " Let's take the cup together. God, we're grateful for that Friday that we now call good. And Father, on the surface, we recognize that it was actually a horrible day. It was a terrible day that appeared as though evil had won. But God, we're so grateful that you're a God that even though when others intended for evil, God, you're a God that can work good out of anything and everything. And so in some way, the worst day in human history became the best day in human history. It's the day that you saved our soul. And so Father, we give our lives back to you. We commit ourselves to you. God, we worship you with all that we are. We give thanks in Jesus' name. Amen. And so we want to worship together as a church. And so I want to invite you, whatever level you're in this room or those of you who are in the atrium, if you can just stand to your feet and we're going to sing this song together. It's a declaration of what we believe about this one who's the son of God. Let's sing these words together. From [music and singing] the beginning, you've been [music and singing] unchanging. Age to [singing] age, you Constant you remain. Ever remissed [singing] you. The questions I've carried are safe within [singing] your word. — So I trust you even still. I believe — [singing]

— you are who you say you are. You do what you [music and singing] say you'll do. You'll come through. You are [music and singing] always faithful. I believe you've already made a [music and singing] way. So I'm running through parted ways straight to you. — [singing] — You are always faithful. I believe — [singing] — I believe. — Come on, let's try to sing this together. That [singing] on that cross your blood was spilled and by your [singing] stripes I have been healed and every [singing] promise you fulfilled. I believe. I believe [singing] that you rose again in victory and that same power [music and singing] lives in me. I'm born again. I've been made free. I believe. I believe — [singing] — that the gates of hell will not prevail. [singing] Your church is still alive — and well. This gospel truth I — [music and singing] — live to tell. I believe. That one — day soon [singing] you'll split the sky. You're coming for us, spotless bride. Until my faith has become sight. I believe. — I believe. — You are who you say you are. [singing] You'll do what you say you'll do. You'll come — [music and singing] — through. You are always faithful. — I [singing] believe you've already made a way. — So I'm running through parted ways straight to you. You are always — [singing] — faithful. — Uh church, let's just take a second and with everything that we can muster, let's give God a shout of praise for our time of worship today. Come on. Praise God in the atrium, everywhere. Come on. Yeah, let them hear it. Praise God. — We find ourselves in a place right now where we have heard and seen all that our savior has done on our behalf. And we heard it earlier, but I think it bears repeating. There's a line in our conversation today that we shared just a bit earlier that says you can't stand at the foot of the cross and not be changed. Like that's there's power in the cross and it has the power to change and transform our whole lives. From the inside out, God does a work in us and through us of changing us for his glory. And listen, if you're here today and maybe you have heard and seen all that our savior has done and this has changed you and something inside of you has bubbled up to the top and you find yourself in the place where you just want to scream out the words of that song, I believe. Well, if that's you, I want to give you an opportunity to respond today. In just a moment and I'm going to ask right now that our prayer teams would move down to the front and there will be prayer teams available in the balcony and on the mezzanine if you would move to the center when I give you the opportunity to respond. We want to give you an opportunity to just share with somebody what God is doing in your life. Because maybe you have stepped over the line of faith into belief. Maybe you just need to spend some time talking about where you are. Maybe you're at this place where you realize that you've come to this moment and at one point your faith was strong in the Lord, but now you just want to pray and ask God to give you a

resurgence of faith. Well, if that's you, I want to invite you to respond. You can come down front. You can come to the center on the second and third level and you can respond. The moment and the step of faith in Jesus Christ. Now, we talked about the word good and it is indeed a good Friday. But what makes the word even gooder, what makes the opportunity even gooder and gooder is the fact that the story doesn't end here. Amen. Because Jesus didn't stay dead. He rose again. Praise God. And beginning tomorrow at our South Barrington and our Huntley campus, we are going to celebrate his resurrection and that's going to carry on into Sunday at all of our campuses where we will continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus — and we want you to be there. So just know that you are invited and we also want you to invite your friends, your family, your co-workers, anybody who you know and listen, everybody needs to hear the message of Jesus Christ. Amen. Now listen, as we close out our time, this doesn't have to be the end of worship. We can take this with us into every place in our lives and as you exit, we want to invite you to spend some time mingling, spend some time talking to folks, getting to know them. We are one church in multiple locations, but we get an opportunity to fellowship together and all of the actors and the animals will be out there so you can take some photos and meet together. We're going to continue to worship even as we leave this place. Willow Creek, know that we love you and it's an honor to worship with you and I hope that the rest of your Friday is just as good as it's been right now. God bless you. We'll see you soon. —