4 Faces of Christ

Lent Evensong sermons

Intro

Thus far we have seen three of the gospel faces of the cross.  There are key differences in the way they have been put together and the impression they give.  But now, as the crosshead turns, the forth face of the cross comes into view and we see something quite different.  The whole presentation has changed. 

All four Gospels present us with an account, of the same occurrences, but there the similarity ends.  The Gospel of John is so dissimilar to the other three gospels that it has been argued that the writer may not even have knowledge of the other three Gospels at all.  Indeed, we find that many of the important themes of the Synoptic Gospels are absent or mentioned only in passing in John’s Gospel, while other themes that appear less important in the synoptics suddenly take on a far greater significance in the Christology of St. John.

And we should resist the temptation to try and construct a historically accurate picture of exactly what Jesus said and did.  All four Gospels attempt to bring the good news of the story of Jesus, grappling with the meaning of Jesus’ identity and mission in its own way.  The Church, therefore, needs to allow each Gospel to have its say about Jesus in its own voice.  We are dealing here with a man who was God and the depth of the truth concerning him must therefore transcend the norms of historical research.  The idea that the different accounts of Jesus may differ but both impart truth is not just probable, but necessary, if we believe that he is God.

John’s account of the cross, then, adds stereoscopic depth to the picture we might gain of Jesus and his ministry, death and resurrection.  By telling the stories from a different angle, the total portrait is vastly richer than would otherwise have been achieved.

Distinctive Gospel

John’s presentation of Jesus is at the heart of this distinctive gospel.  The whole is woven into one, seamless work.  Unlike the Synoptic Gospels, the differences aren’t just a question of the use of certain Christological titles.  Nonetheless, fundamentally here, Jesus is specifically the Son of God.  Although we may consider this to mean, very roughly the same thing as ‘The Messiah’ it does carry additional meaning, for it carries with it the idea that Jesus as ‘The Son’ is subordinate to the Father and does and says no more or less than that which the Father gives him to do and say. 

Thus, in the perfection of Jesus’ obedience to and his unqualified dependence on the Father, we find Jesus is nothing less than the actual words and deeds of God himself.

And it is worth noting at this point that this does not lead us into the Gnostic heresy of salvation wrought through the knowledge of God.  This is a Gospel, and the movement of the whole plot is towards the cross and resurrection. 

The cross of Christ, then, is not a mere revelatory moment…  It is the victory of the lamb of God from chapter 1, it is the life that is given for the world from chapter 6, it is the death of the shepherd for his sheep from chapter 10, it is the victory of chapter 11’s Lamb of God, and it is the triumph of chapter 14’s obedient son, who in consequence bequeaths his life, his peace, his joy and his Spirit.

Close reading of the Passion

Jesus has made it clear along the way of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem that he is waiting to lay down his life at the right time, not waiting to have it taken away from him.  Jesus and his Father are one, and this means that, unlike in the Synoptic accounts, Jesus won’t request that the cup of the passion pass from him.  Rather his whole purpose is to come to this hour and drink this cup in order to glorify God’s name.

Jesus, then, is in control of all that happens to him.  Jesus tells Judas to do what he has to do quickly, and Jesus is found waiting for Judas when he comes with the soldiers to arrest him.

And then at his trial, Jesus’ behaviour seems quite odd, if you aren’t in tune with John’s presentation of the Passion.  For Jesus behaves as a King might if his subjects try to take authority and judge him. 

They then condemn Jesus at mid-day, at the same moment that in the temple, they begin kill the Passover lambs - Pilate fulfilling the words of John the Baptist at the beginning of the Gospel, where Jesus is identified as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Jesus then sets off towards Golgotha, carrying the cross bar of his own cross.  Here in John’s gospel, after his exhausting trial and torture, he still needs no help from Simon of Cyrene to bring about his destiny.

Again, while the Synoptic Jesus is mocked on the cross, in John’s Gospel we find Jesus is triumphant.  As Jesus draws close to his end, it is almost as if Jesus is becoming more Holy, and more heavenly, as the world becomes darker and darker.  For here is exactly what Jesus has foreseen, the Son of Man lifted up to the Father. 

And then comes the ultimate irony.  For despite the best efforts of the religious authorities to discredit and destroy him, Jesus’ title on the cross, is proclaimed in three languages, written and affirmed by Pilate… the plaque above his head reads, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews’.

Then when the soldiers have fulfilled scripture by drawing lots for his clothes, Jesus introduces his own end.  Knowing that his Father’s work is completed and that scripture has been fulfilled, Jesus says, “It is finished.”  A phrase filled with the double meaning of the Greek word Teleo, which means not just to complete, but also to discharge a debt.  Jesus has completed the Father’s work and through the events Jesus predicted, the debt of sin is paid. 

Only then, when Jesus work is done, does he give over his spirit to his believers, laying down his life of his own volition as he said he would.

And when his body is taken down from the cross, in contrast to the hasty Synoptic burial, John’s Jesus is buried in a manner worthy of a King who has ruled from the cross. 

Our concluding picture may then be of Christ the King, on the thrown of his cross, the blood of salvation dripping from his crown.

Conclusion

Having spent the last 3 weeks identifying with the synoptic portraits of Jesus’ passion we may now find it difficult to identify with the triumphant Jesus, whose Godly power raises him above all that his enemies can do to him.  It might even seem like a scarcely human way to die.  Yet it is this narrative that makes Good Friday… ‘good’.

Here is a passion for those persecuted by the powerful.  Here, is a passion for those who sense that God is with them and realise how little power worldly authorities really have.  The message for those Jesus came to save is, ‘I give you eternal life, and no one can take it away from you.” 

I’d like to leave you tonight with the words of the 1st Letter of John which catches the whole theological message of John’s Gospel…

“Whoever is a child of God conquers the world.  And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.”