Good Friday Service – April 14, 2006
Welcome; instructions
Invitation to worship; time of silence
“Message of the Cross”
“A Dark Passover” – Kids’ sketch
Lazarus: John 11:37-44
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"
41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."
Do You Want To Be Free? (brief meditation)
Do you want to be free?
There is a story in the Gospels, where Jesus comes to a particular pool where the sick would go in hopes of experiencing supernatural healing. He meets a man there, who had been paralyzed for 38 years, and asks him: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6).
I ask the same question this morning – do you want to be free, to get well?
The first answer is perhaps, “why wouldn’t we want to be free?” To which I’ll respond with yet another question: “if we want to be free, then why aren’t we?” Perhaps you are – completely free, totally free, abundantly free. Most aren’t. Why aren’t we? It is certainly not because God doesn’t have the power to set us free. It is certainly not because God doesn’t have the will to set us free. It is certainly not because God hasn’t done everything possible so that we could be free.
It has nothing to do with God, and God’s ability or desire or action in our histories.
Perhaps it has to do with us. Perhaps we are afraid to let go. Perhaps we have gotten comfortable with our chains, gotten used to our cages, befriended the darkness. Perhaps we have become accustomed to, even fond of, going through life half asleep, not engaging, not risking, not feeling, not thinking. Perhaps we are lazy and complacent and have bought into the lie that this imprisonment is all that there is.
Jesus death on the cross is intended to prove otherwise. It is intended to bring life, abundantly. It is intended to bring love, unconditionally. It is intended to bring forgiveness, continually. It is intended to bring freedom, completely. “This is the message of the cross: that we can be free. To live in the victory, and turn from our sin, To lay all our burdens here, at the foot of the tree, To hunger for heaven, to hunger for Thee.”
Today could be just another service. Or it could be the discovery of freedom. If you will come to the cross, look upon Jesus’ suffering, admit that your sin crucified Him, allow yourself to know and to feel the pain and cost that Jesus went through so that you could be free, and then simply ask for forgiveness, Jesus will set you free.
But you have to come. You have to listen, when like Lazarus you hear Jesus voice calling you to come out of the tomb. You might have to struggle because you are tightly bound, you might have to get up off of the cold earth, you might have to feel your way along the walls while all you can do is hear Jesus’ voice, you might have to stumble out of the darkness towards the open door, you might have to shield your eyes at first against the brightness, you might have to let others peel and unravel and cut off the smelly grave clothes.
Compared to what Jesus went through for us, that is not too much. Especially because, when we listen to Jesus and come out from death and sin, we will be alive, and we will be free. Do you want to be free?
Sanhedrin/Ciaphas’ prophecy: John 11:47-52
47Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.
"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. 48If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place[c] and our nation."
49Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, "You know nothing at all! 50You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish."
51He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
“The Passion”; John Milton
For now to sorrow must I tune my song,
And set my harp to notes of saddest woe,
Which on our dearest Lord did seize, ere long,
Dangers, and snares, and wrongs, and worse than so,
Which He, for us, did freely undergo:
Most perfect Hero, tried in heaviest plight
Of labours huge and hard, too hard for human wight!
Palm Sunday: John 12:12-15
John 12
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
"Hosanna![c]"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"[d]
"Blessed is the King of Israel!" 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written,
15"Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt. "
Good Friday: The Third Nocturn
Good Friday: The Third Nocturn
Alone to sacrifice thou goest, Lord,
Giving thyself to death whom thou hast slain.
For us thy wretched folk is any word,
Who know that for our sins this is thy pain?
For they are ours, O Lord, our deed, our deeds,
Why must thou suffer torture for our sin?
Let our hearts suffer for thy passion, Lord,
That sheer compassion may thy mercy win.
This is that night of tears, the three days’ space,
Sorrow abiding of the eventide,
Until the day break with the risen Christ,
And hearts that sorrowed shall be satisfied.
So may our hearts have pity on thee, Lord,
That they may sharers of thy glory be;
Heavy with weeping may the three day pass,
To win the laughter of thine Easter Day.
Peter Abelard – taken from the Lion Christian Poetry Collection
Foot washing: John 13:1-5
John 13
1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a]
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Corporate confession
Most holy and merciful Father,
We confess to you and to one another,
that we have sinned against you
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our
whole heart and mind and strength –
instead, we have demanded our way, criticized, gossiped, harboured bitterness, and have had hearts of judgement instead of compassion, blame instead of grace, selfishness instead of generosity. We have loved grudgingly and sparingly instead of freely and abundantly.
We have not always had in us the mind of Christ.
You alone know how often we have grieved you
by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways.
Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father;
And free us from our sin.
Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit,
for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.
(adapted, Psalter Hymnal: CRC Publications, 1987)
“Do not be afraid”: John 14:23-27
23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
25"All this I have spoken while still with you. 26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Prayers of the people
to be written and brought to the foot of the cross
during this time, “Humble King”, and “I will never be the Same”
Jesus will be abandoned: John 16:31-32
31"You believe at last!"[b] Jesus answered. 32"But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
Friday
by Calvin Miller
On with Friday’s grisly business!
Let the broad arm raise the sledge!
Let the hammer ring out upon the nails.
I must not flinch with the crimson flows-
He’s only a carpenter – a craftsman who claimed too much.
“I need a black nail, soldier.”
Give me your hand, carpenter. What a strange man you are!
You stretch forth your hand too eagerly – woo willingly, as though I was going to shake it, not nail it to a tree.
Steady, man. The first stroke of the hammer is easiest for me and hardest for you.
For me the first blow meets only the resistance of soft flesh.
The hardwood beneath drives much slower.
For you the first blow is the worse.
It brings the ripping pain and the bright gore.
The wood beneath your wrist does not feel and bleed as you do.
Jesus arrested: John 18:1-5
1When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.
2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.
4Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
5"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.
"I am he," Jesus said.
A Quiet Roar
A Quiet Roar
one
he lays his left hand along the beam
hand that moulded clay into fluttering birds
hand that cupped wild flowers to learn their peace
hand that stroked the bee’s soft back and touched death’s sting
two
he stretches his right hand across the grain
hand that blessed a dead corpse quick
hand that smeared blind spittle into sight
hand that burgeoned bread, smoothed down the rumpled sea
three
he stands laborious
sagging, split,
homo erectus, poor bare forked thing
hung on nails like a picture
he is not beautiful
blood sweats from him in rain
far off where we are lost, desert dry
thunder begins its quiet roar
the first drops startle us alive
the cloud no bigger
than a man’s hand
Veronica Zundel - taken from The Lion Christian Poetry Collection
Jesus before Pilate: John 19:10-16
10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"
11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."
12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."
13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.
15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"
"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.
"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.
16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
“O Sacred Head” #178
Jesus crucified: John 19:16-27
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
19Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:|sc JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write ’The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
22Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
24"Let’s not tear it," they said to one another. "Let’s decide by lot who will get it."
This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,
"They divided my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing."[a] So this is what the soldiers did.
25Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Book of Nicodemus: chapter 15-16
The following passage is taken from chapters 15 and 16 of the Book of Nicodemus, one of the manuscripts circulated early in the life of the Christian Community. It is not, of course, accepted as canonical, but is rather in the style of the medieval mystery plays which teach through recounting the stories dramatically. This section, which may be used as a spur to meditation during the strange period of waiting between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, vividly illustrates the statement in the creeds that Jesus descended into hell, and imagines what happens when He gets there!
Satan, the prince and captain of death, said to the prince of hell: ‘Prepare to receive Jesus of Nazareth Himself, who boasted that He was the Son of God, and yet was a man afraid of death and said, “My soul is sorrowful even to death.” Besides He did many injuries to me and to many others; for those whom I made blind and lame and those also whom I tormented with several devils, He cured by his word; yea, and those whom I brought dead to thee, He by force takes away from thee.”
To this, the prince of hell replied to Satan, ‘Who is that so-powerful prince, and yet a man who is afraid of death? For all the potentates of the earth are subject to my power, whom thou broughtest to subjection by thy power. But if be so powerful in His human nature, I affirm to thee for truth that He is almighty in his divine nature, and no man can resist His power. When therefore he said He was afraid of death, He designed to ensnare thee, and unhappy it will be to thee for everlasting ages.’
Then Satan, replying, said to the prince of hell, ‘Why didst thou express a doubt, and wast afraid to receive that Jesus of Nazareth, both thy adversary and mine? As for me, I tempted Him … I sharpened the spear for His suffering; I mixed the gall and vinegar, and commended that He should drink it; I prepared the cross to crucify Him, and the nails to pierce through His hands and feet; and now His death is near to hand, I will bring Him hither, subject both to thee and me.’
Then the prince of hell answering, said, ‘Thou saidest to me just now, that He took away the dead from me by force. They who have been kept here till they should live again upon the earth, were taken away hence, not by their own power, but by prayers made to God, and their almighty God took them from me. Who then is this Jesus of Nazareth that by His word hath taken away the dead from me without prayer to God? Perhaps it is the same who took away from me Lazarus, after he had been four days dead, and did both stink and was rotten, and of whom I had possession as a dead person, yet He brought him to life again by His power.’
Satan answering, replied to the prince of hell, ‘It is the very same person, Jesus of Nazareth.’
Which, when the prince of hell heard, he said to him, ‘I adjure thee by the powers which belong to thee and me, that thou bring Him not to me. For when you heard of the power of His word, I trembled for fear, and all my impious company were at the same time disturbed. And we were not able to detain Lazarus, but he gave himself a shake, and with all the signs of malice, he immediately were away from us; and the very earth, in which the dead body of Lazarus was lodged presently turned him out alive. And I know now that He is almighty God who could perform such things, who is mighty in His dominion, and mighty in His human nature, who is the saviour of mankind. Bring not therefore this person hither, for He will set at liberty all those whom I hold in prison under unbelief, and bound with the fetters of their sins, and will conduct them to everlasting life.’
And while Satan and the prince of hell were discoursing thus to each other, on a sudden there was a voice as of thunder and rushing of winds, saying, ‘lift up your gates, O ye princes; and be ye lifted up, O everlasting gates – and the King of Glory shall come in.’
When the prince of hell heard this, he said to Satan, ‘Depart from me, and begone out of my habitations; if thou art a powerful warrior, fight with the king of Glory. But what hast thou to do with Him?’ And he cast him forth from his habitations.
And the prince said to his impious officers, ‘ Shut the brass gates of cruelty, and make them fast with iron bars, and fight courageously, lest we all be taken captives.’
But when all the company of the saints heard this they spake with a loud voice of anger to the prince of hell. ‘Open thy gates that the King of Glory may come in!’
“King of Glory” ?? (end each verse after “who is this king of glory” and leave it hanging)
Jesus’ death: John 19:28-30
The Death of Jesus
28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
