An Easter Sunday Homily
By Mark D. Harris, MD, MPH, MBA, MDiv, PhD, ThM, DBA
Musical Prelude
- Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent
- O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Congregational Hymn
- The Old Rugged Cross
Scripture Reading – Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:1-12
Homily
Jesus was not despised and rejected because He personally short and ugly. Jesus was despised and rejected because He carried the ugliest, deadliest, and most terrifying parts of mortal human life in Himself. Everything which was dark and deadly, Jesus took. He took the agony not just of man but also of all creation. Every calamity in the universe fell on Him. Just as people fled from the Black Death, the Great Influenza, the guns of war, and the face of a corpse, so mortal man flees from Jesus. His visage was too horrid to glimpse, much less endure.
The greatest pain that Jesus felt…
- Was not in the crown of thorns which mixed sweat and blood on His brow (Mark 15:17).
- Was not in the lashing that tore His back into quivering strips of flesh (John 19:1-2).
- Was not in 100 lb horizontal beam of the cross that He carried (John 19:17).
- Was not in the spikes that pierced His wrists and feet (John 20:25-27).
- Was not in the desperate gasping for each breath that He endured for hours hanging on the cross (Luke 23:33).
- Was not in the Roman spear impaling His side, piercing His stilled heart and drowning lungs (John 19:34).
The primary pain that Jesus felt was that He became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). The weight of the sin, which resulted in the separation from His Holy Father (Matt 27:46), were Jesus’ greatest agony.
What does the Bible say?
Isaiah 53: 3-5
- Griefs (חֳלִי chŏlîy, khol-ee) – malady, anxiety, calamity: — disease, grief, (is) sick(-ness).
- Sorrows (מַכְאֹב makʼôb, mak-obe’) – anguish or (figuratively) affliction:—grief, pain, sorrow.
- Wounded (חָלַל châlal, khaw-lal’;) – to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound
- Transgressions (פֶּשַׁע peshaʻ, peh’-shah) – a revolt (national, moral or religious):—rebellion, sin, transgression, trespass.
What did Jesus Carry?
Imagine the worst moments of your life. Remember the deepest hurts and the highest shames. Add these moments together. Finally, multiply this number by tens of billions, one for each person who has ever lived. This is what Jesus carried:
- Every pain you have ever felt
- Every tear you have ever shed
- Every pang of guilt that has ever pierced your heart
- Every worry that has ever crowded your mind
- Every fear which has ever sent you scurrying away
- Every time you have betrayed someone else, or someone else has betrayed you
- Every flaming dart of lust that has burned your eyes
- Every boulder of unforgiveness which has bent your back
- Every time that your greatest source of support steps away in your hour of need, or you step away in theirs.
- Every time that you consider death.
Because Jesus took all these from us on to Himself, we no longer have to bear these burdens. We no longer have to endure this pain. We who are too weak to bear our own burdens for a lifetime can give these burdens to Him.
Despite the awful weight of every sin and every pain of everyone who has ever lived, as the withdrawal of His ultimate source of support, the Father, Jesus conquered death. He arose.
Congregational Hymn
- Christ Arose (Low in the Grave He Lay)
- Because He lives
