Sermon for Good Friday, 2025

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The sermon is printed below.

Readings:

Old Testament: Isaiah 52:13–53:12

Epistle: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Holy Gospel: John 18:1–19:42

Sermon manuscript: download

Sermon:

Sermon based on John 19:33-34 *

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

Dearly beloved by the Lord: 

Blood and water streamed from Jesus’ side. When [the soldiers] came to Jesus and saw that He was dead… one [of them] pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. It is finished. 1 The blood and water from His pierced side testify to the fact that Jesus was dead. And by His death, He, the Lamb of God, takes away the sin of the world. 

It all comes down to this: your sin and Jesus’ blood and water. Your iniquities? Washed in Jesus’ blood and water. Your breaking of God’s commands—your failure to love Him and your neighbor? Paid for by Jesus’ blood and water. Eternal death and hell—God’s righteous punishment for your transgressions? Answered by Jesus’ blood and water. Yes, it all comes down to this: your sins, my sins, the sins of our neighbors and our enemies, the sins of our forefathers and our descendants, the sins of every generation, past, present, and future, the sins of all mankind were covered, atoned, and accounted for the day Jesus’ side was opened, and blood and water streamed out. 

That really shouldn’t surprise us. From practically the very beginning, the Lord has been saving His people with blood and water. Consider the blood of the animals shed to make garments for Adam and Eve, 2 and the water of the flood wiped out the world, yet Noah and his family were saved in the ark. 3 Consider the blood and water that flowed through Egypt as plagues and signs warning Pharaoh to release God’s people. 4 Then, there’s the blood of lambs painted on the doorposts and the waters of the Red Sea through which Israel walked on dry ground while Egypt was destroyed. 5 And consider the water and blood that flowed constantly in the tabernacle and later the temple, as the priests washed in water and sacrificed animals, shedding their blood. 6 Over and over again, yet always pointing ahead—awaiting fulfillment: blood and water were the ways in which the Lord cared for His people. 

And now, on the Cross, blood and water again. Jesus was born in the flesh, born of the water of His mother’s womb, and shed blood at His circumcision. 7 He was baptized in the waters of the Jordan and was bloodied by those who crucified Him. 8 And then, finally, there, on the Cross, once for all, blood and water from the side of God’s Son who finished it all. 

There’s nothing to add to the blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ side. Not our faith, not our good works, nor our best intentions. Not our decision or even desire to be saved. Nothing can be added to His blood and water. When the blood and water flowed from His side, they took our sins with them. 

Beloved, if you ever, even for the slightest moment, doubt that your sins are terrible and great, then ponder the blood and water that had to flow from the side of Almighty God in the flesh to take them away. Or, if you ever, even for the slightest moment, doubt that your sins are gone, then consider again the blood and water of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. 

Yet the blood and water don’t stop on Golgotha. They flow from Jesus’ side down to the ground, down from that hill of bones. The water flows into the Font of Christ’s churches throughout the world. And His blood fills the Chalice of His churches. There, at the Font, and from the Cup, water and blood are given to you, as what flows out of Christ is poured upon and into you, saving you. 

Holy Baptism gives you Jesus. The Blessed Sacrament of the Altar gives you Jesus. That, Beloved, is how you are saved; that is how God gives you eternal life—life in His Son: 9 by the blood and water of Jesus. And not just back then; no, Beloved, here and now: given to you at the Font and from the Altar of Christ Jesus, your Saviour. For faith receives them as they are given. The blood and the water: they are not symbols—meant to signify something else, nor are they merely reminders of what happened; on the contrary, they impart the very forgiveness, rescue, life, and salvation they procured. 

The soldiers pierced Jesus’ side to make sure He was dead. Blood and water flowed from that pierced side so that you would be sure that you are saved. 10 Holy Baptism and the Blessed Sacrament are given for this very reason: that you would never doubt God’s mercy and forgiveness; that you would cling to them all the more and live by the blood and water of Jesus. 

As we live in this life, it’s shockingly easy to put Jesus out of our minds most of the day. That’s because we live our lives for ourselves. Yet doing so tempts us to suppose that faith and devotion are all about something that’s going on inside of us, something we do or muster. Beloved, we must repent. Repent of any thoughts, feelings, or practices that leave out the blood and water of Jesus. Repent of any living that forgets or sidelines all that is given to us in Holy Baptism. Repent of anything that ignores or supplants the Sacrament of the Altar, in which Jesus’ very Body and Blood are distributed to us. Repent of ever trying to add anything to His blood and water. 

Nothing can be added; it cannot be done. Jesus’ blood and water are the proof that it is finished. Your salvation is accomplished; it’s a done deal. So don’t listen to any voice that tells you there’s something more needed. Flee from any preaching or teaching that doesn’t point you to the blood and water of Christ Jesus. Faith receives. It doesn’t receive feelings or philosophy; it receives Christ Himself—crucified, risen, poured out, and given. 

When Adam was alone, the Lord caused him to fall into a deep sleep. Then, the Lord took a rib from his side to make a wife. 11 Upon the Cross, when Jesus, the second Adam, 12 fell into the sleep of death, His side was opened, and from it came not bone and flesh, no, from it came blood and water, and from that holy water and blood, a Bride is made for Christ, namely the holy Christian Church. She is born from above: 13 born of water and the Word. And nourished and sustained by His Body and Blood. She is you because you are part of Her. With the blood and water that flowed from Jesus’ side, He has fashioned you into His Beloved and clothed you in a spotless wedding garment, and, in addition, is and provides the marriage feast. 

The blood and water that poured from Jesus’ side at His death are your life. Therefore, come. Come, pass the Font, remembering the water by which you were born. Come to the altar, where the blood of the Lamb who was slain for you awaits you. Come, receive what He accomplished upon the Cross: the forgiveness of your sins, everlasting life, and eternal salvation. 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.

✠ Soli Deo Gloria ✠

Footnotes:

1. John 19:30c

2. See Genesis 3:21. Disregard The Lutheran Study Bible note on the verse, which is contradictory, at best, and heretical, at worst. Yes, this verse does not explicitly state that God killed the animals, and yes, this verse is not (directly) treated as messianic elsewhere in the Bible. However, their supposition contradicts what they later quote from Luther! Besides, how could an animal die of natural causes immediately after the Fall? What higher-critical garbage! 

3. See Genesis, chapters 6 through 9.

4. For the plague of blood, see Exodus 7:14-24. For the plague of hail (which is a form of solid precipitation, i.e., water), see Exodus 9:13-35.

5. See Exodus 12: 7 and 14:21-29.

6. See Exodus 30:18-21 and Leviticus 1:3-5 (not to mention practically all of Leviticus).

7. See John 1:14a, Luke 2:6-7, and 21.

8. See Matthew 3:13-17 and 27:26-30.

9. 1 John 1:11b-c

10. See 1 John 1:6 and 8. Verse 7, which reads, “for there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.” is known as the Johannine Comma, and is not included in modern translations as it does not appear in any Greek manuscript before the fourteenth century. Modern scholars dismiss it as a spurious interpolation into the text. Luther, however, retained it in his translation of the New Testament. For further reading, see Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture – 1–3 John. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2012. pp. 511-512, notes 118-121.

11. See Genesis 2:21-22.

12. See 1 Corinthians 15:45.

13. See John 3:3 and 5. Most translations bear a textual note regarding the word “again” in verse 3, mentioning that the Greek word can also mean “from above”.

Nota Bene: Unless otherwise indicated, the Scripture contained within this sermon is from the New King James Version.