(This is not a word-for-word manuscript except for the "readings". The pastor or leader is expected to elaborate on different points as the Lord moves him or her to do so. God bless you.)
Opening Prayer
Introduction to the evening: Just as the Jews recount the Passover on this night we will be remembering the night before Jesus’ death. It is vital that we remember this night and the events which took place. Many times we hear a sermon but we won’t tonight, we’ll just be remembering …
John 13:1-2
It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Jesus was returning to the Father! But this night and the next day would be anything but wonderful.
Tonight we will be remembering the strangest event in the history of the universe:
The night the Creator died for His creation. The creation was in full rebellion. Even those He had chosen had turned their backs on Him and their hopes, their great longing was that the LORD would send the Messiah to free them from their enslavement.
Usually we start out each gathering with music but, do you think there was music in heaven that night, the night that the Son of God was brutalized and murdered? The night that the Creator Himself was in such agony and despair that an angel needed to be sent to minister to and to strengthen his own God? I wonder …
One thing that God knows about us is that we forget more readily than we remember. That is why He gave us four accounts by different people of this series of events and that is why He gave us communion, to remember His body that was broken for us and to remember His blood that was shed for our forgiveness.
This is what took place
--------------------------- Reader #1 ---------------------------------------------
Matthew 26:17-30
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with My disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, He said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray Me.”
They were very sad and began to say to Him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?”
Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with Me will betray Me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
Then Judas, the one who would betray Him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?”
Jesus answered, “You have said so.”
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is My body.”
Then He took a cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
---------------------------- End of first reading ----------------------------------
Let us take communion together at this time … We will see from further Scripture that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was talking about.
Yes, they heard Him say that someone would betray Him, but, what did that mean?
Would someone start spread rumors about Him?
Would someone simply abandon Him?
Did it even enter into their minds that He would be betrayed in a way that would have Him dead in the next 18 hours?
Yes, they drank from the cup and yes they ate the bread but … did they realize what He meant by a new covenant and the cup being His blood and the bread being His body?
Jesus says in Luke 22:19 - “Do this in remembrance of Me.”
Prayer for Communion and invite the people to participate:
As each person takes the bread and dips it into the cup repeat:
“In remembrance of Christ.”
The account of the Last Supper in Matthew and Mark are just brief outlines of what took place over those hours but John gives us a much more exhaustive look at what Jesus was teaching the disciples in His last hours with them before the crucifixion.
In that time:
Jesus washes the feet of the disciples
Jesus comforts His disciples
Jesus shows them the way to the father
Jesus promises the Holy Spirit
Jesus settles an argument about who is the greatest in the kingdom
Jesus predicts Peter’s denial and the scattering of the other disciples
They sing a hymn and leave for the Mount of Olives
When they reach the Mount of Olives Jesus continues to teach:
He teaches them the parable of the Vine and the branches
He explains why the world with hate them
He tells that the Holy Spirit will make the truth about Him known
He tells them of the coming persecution
He tells them that their grief will turn to joy
Then Jesus begins to pray
He prays that He will be glorified in order to bring glory to the Father
He prays for His disciples
He prays for all believers
And then, leaving eight of the disciples there Jesus takes Peter, James and John with Him to pray in the garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus is in agony of spirit at this time.
---------------------------- Reader #2 ----------------------------------
Matthew 26:36-46
Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and He said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with Him, and He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then He said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.”
Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with Me for one hour?” He asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done.”
When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So He left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes My betrayer!”
---------------------------- End of reading #2 ------------------------------
Listen to this phrase from the lips of Jesus,
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with Me.” But the disciples slept.
Prayer that we will not be found sleeping when Jesus calls us to “wait with Him” over a kingdom need.
Then the mob arrived
Judas - one of the 12 gives Jesus a kiss of greeting as a signal that Jesus is the one they want to arrest.
Peter pulls out his sword and cuts off the ear of the servant of the high priest. Jesus heals the ear of the servant of the high priest.
Jesus is hauled off to the home of Annas the high priest for an illegal night time trial.
Who could tell us about the trials that Jesus went through?
(The person playing Matthias must prepare himself by thoroughly reading all of the Gospel accounts of this night and be familiar enough to discuss the events from a first person point of view.
These links might be helpful:
http://www.godlygames.com/biblebread/jctrials.htm
http://www.agapebiblestudy.com/matthew_gospel/Matthew_Lesson_25_Handouts.pdf
http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/trial-jesus.html )
--------------- Interviewing Matthias, a Chief Priest ----------------------
Matthias, you were a chief priest in Jerusalem at the time when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified?
Where you the High Priest?
Why did you have Jesus arrested at night away from the crowds?
So, you were afraid of the followers of Jesus?
Was it a typical arrest or did anything unusual occur?
What did you think when Jesus healed the ear of the servant of the High Priest?
Where did you take Him first?
Who was Annas?
Were you able to accomplish anything there?
Where did you go from there?
Was the entire council there?
What happened when the entire Sanhedrin came together?
What did they decide?
So, you decided to take Him to Pilate? Why didn’t you just take Him outside and stone Him?
What do you mean you couldn’t legally put Him to death! You were all ready to stone the “woman caught in adultery” and we know that you had no problem stoning Stephen the first martyr for Christ!
OK. Anyway, did Pilate listen to what you had to say?
So, what was his decision after he questioned Jesus?
So, Pilate tried to pass the buck by sending Him to Herod?
Did Herod give Him a thorough questioning?
Jesus never said one word to Herod? What did He do?
OK. So, once you all got back to Pilate was he happy to see you again?
Was Pilate convinced by your accusations?
Is it true that you said, and I quote, “We have no King but Caesar?”
That is astounding! And, it is also reported that when Pilate said, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood.” That you all replied, “Let His blood be on us and on our children?”
So, by the time Jesus left the royal palace how many times had He been beaten?
What physical condition was He in?
If you could go back would you do it all over again?
-------------------- End of interview with Matthias ---------------------------
When you read the accounts of these trials in the Bible some things just seem to leap off the pages, at least to me.
How brutally and despicably Jesus was treated in addition to the crucifixion
“We have no king but Caesar!” A man who had set himself up as God!
Let His blood be upon us and upon our children!
Then, they led Him away to be crucified.
----------------- Reader #3 -----------------------------------
Down the Via Dolorosa
In Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The man condemned to die on Calvary
Down the Via Dolorosa
Called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah
Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road
Out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary
He was bleeding from a beating
There were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with ev'ry step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death
The blood that would cleanse
The souls of all men
Made its way
Through the heart of Jerusalem
Down the Via Dolorosa
Called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah
Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road
Out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa
All the way to Calvary
--------------------- End of reading #3 ----------------------------------------
Something incredible takes place as the procession winds its way through Jerusalem. Jesus stops and takes time to give words of comfort and prophecy to the women who are following Him. Even now He is ministering.
Jesus finally arrives at the place of His execution - Golgotha - a word that in the language of that day meant “the skull”.
He is nailed to a cross and a sign is placed above His head on the cross which reads, “Jesus of Nazareth - King of the Jews”.
The cross is raised and it slams down into the hole prepared to keep it upright until He dies. He hangs there naked and bleeding.
The Jews, the Roman soldiers and the criminals being crucified on each side of Him insult and ridicule Him.
Soon after, darkness spreads over the land. It is the hand of God! This is not a solar eclipse. They only last a few minutes and at Passover time the moon is just in the wrong position for this to happen. Multiple non-Christian historians record this event from places far distant from Jerusalem. They say that it became so dark that you could see the stars, in the middle of the day!
Jesus prays for those responsible.
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!”
Is He praying for the Jews? The Romans? Both?
He hangs there in silence. There is silence for a period of time after Jesus prays for those crucifying and mocking Him. But the mockery begins again. Only this time there is one difference.
As the one thief continues to mock Him the other one rebukes the mocker saying, “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this Man has done nothing wrong.”
Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Jesus says, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”
Jesus is giving eternal life to a repentant thief even while Jesus Himself is being executed!
The hours pass … one o’clock … two o’clock … now … it’s almost 3:00 and Jesus cries out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
The Jews misunderstand what He has said and mock Him some more.
Jesus says, “It is finished.”
Then He cries out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.”
And with that pronouncement He dies. Just like that He dies.
These soldiers have witnessed dozens or perhaps hundreds of crucifixions and the people all die the same way; they slowly die from suffocation. They wilt and their death is almost imperceptible.
But not Jesus! It seems as if He has the power over life and death!
He cries out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.” And then he dies!
The soldiers and the crowd have never seen such a thing. And, while they are pondering this incredible death the earth starts to shake and there is a violent earthquake. (describe)
Matthew 27:54 says,
“When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, ‘Surely He was the Son of God!’”
Jesus is dead.
Permission is granted to take Jesus down from the cross.
He is placed in a tomb with embalming spices. It is a quick burial. They will have to come back in order to finish the embalming properly.
A huge stone is rolled up against the mouth of the tomb to prevent anyone from entering the tomb. This will not be a joyful Passover.
The light of Jesus has gone out … or has it?
What did Jesus say to the thief on the cross? Today you will be with Me in paradise? Today? Paradise?
Paradise … the place of the righteous dead who died before Christ. We know Abraham was there, his faith was counted to him as righteousness. And the poor beggar Lazarus was there as well. And, so was the repentant thief on the cross.
Jesus wasn’t just in some limbo or death sleep. He was working!
This was graduation day for all those who had lived by faith in God before the time of Christ!
Jesus was saying to the devil and his hoard of demons! You lose!
I have paid the price!
Jesus was saying to all those from the Old Testament times who had followed God by faith! Well done! I Am your salvation.
You think Paradise was good! Wait until you get to Heaven. I have come to take you there!
For them this disastrous Friday really was a Good Friday, no, a GREAT Friday!
That’s why we can sing …
The Wondrous Cross (D)
Jesus Messiah (G)
Agnus Dei (Ab)
Closing Prayer
