Finally, Jesus is dead. Finally, things can get back to normal. What they didn't realize is that normal was the problem. Normal is what God did not want. So He sent His Son. And finally, the promise made to Adam and Eve was fulfilled. Finally, the Lamb is sacrificed. It is finished. And finally, all will be right again. Finally, a very Good Friday, indeed.

It was bloody. Very bloody. The Old Testament Tabernacle and later the Temple. They were not clean and sanitary places like our churches and homes. Because they were places of sacrifice. Animals were slain there. And their blood was poured out, splashed, sprinkled, thrown against, and wiped upon people and things. And it was important to do so because, as we heard tonight, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Fear not. We heard those words at the beginning of the service this morning, in the Palm Sunday Gospel. It was a quote from the prophet Zechariah, that the Lord was coming to set things right. So fear not. With the Lord there is hope. Jesus enters with the people crying out Hosanna, which means save us. And He will. By not saving Himself.

Those who mock Jesus do so by acknowledging the truth -- He saved others. And look -- He cannot save Himself. Well, that's not quite the truth. He could, but would not. But to those mocking, that's the same thing. To them, if He could, He would. That He doesn't is proof that He can't. Because first and foremost in this world and life you take care of yourself. That's true of a sinful world, a world curve in, bent in on itself.

Today we've reached the Fifth Sunday in Lent. It is the start of Passiontide, the last two weeks of this Lenten season. So what have you learned this Lenten season? If you had to sum up the Lenten season in one word, what would it be? Hope. Lent is so I might have hope.

Thy kingdom come, Jesus taught us to pray. But how often it is MY kingdom that I want to come. And I would like God to help me make that happen. But if MY kingdom comes, that makes ME the king, not God. And that is not good. And so it was with the Jewish leaders, and Pilate, and Herod. They all had their own kingdoms. You see this clash of kingdoms isn't really a clash at all. There is really only one king, and He is in control.

Who can see? Who is blind? That isn't just a question for Jesus' day. Today, this debate rages on as well. Both in the world and in the church. Consider the economy and inflation. Some say spending more will improve things. Others say spending more will just make it worse. But while important, these are questions that pale in comparison to questions that concern eternal life. And so the account we heard today -- a story not so much of a man born blind who can now see, but of how we see Jesus. And how Jesus sees us.

Truth and consequences. That's what we heard in the Passion reading tonight. First up in the reading tonight were those false witnesses against Jesus. But Jesus tells the truth. Though He knows there will be consequences for it. But, He is willing to suffer the consequences. This is why He came, God in the flesh. To be life in the midst of a world of death. To be love in the midst of a world of hate. To be truth in the midst of a world of lies.

They would all be offended and scattered. The Shepherd would be one me. Alone. Jesus was one man against the power arrayed against Him. One man from whom a simple spoken word conquered all the might of man. Until He gave Himself into their hands. To fulfill the word that of those you gave me I have lost none. Tonight we see all the weakness of men, and the strength of one, of Jesus.

Have you ever been in a conversation where you're just not communicating? You're talking about the same thing, you're using the same words, and yet, somehow, you're not connecting. That's what's happening with Jesus and Nicodemus in the account we heard today. Nicodemus needs what we all need -- not just facts or information or a checklist of what to do or do better. What Nicodemus needs, and what we all need, is a new way of thinking. A God doing for us way of thinking.