Good Friday 2016
Reader 2
Welcome and prayer
This past week started out with the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem - the crowd shouting and praising God, laying their coats before Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem.
The Bible says that when He entered into Jerusalem the whole city was stirred.
It was EXCITING!
Hosanna, Loud Hosanna by - Jeannette Threlfall sung to the tune from I Sing the Mighty Power of God
a Capella
Verse 1
Hosanna loud hosanna - The little children sang
Through pillared court and temple - The lovely anthem rang
To Jesus who had blessed them - Close folded to His breast
The children sang their praises - The simplest and the best
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Verse 2
From Olivet they followed - 'Mid an exultant crowd
The victor palm branch waving - And chanting clear and loud
The LORD of earth and heaven - Rode on in lowly state
Nor scorned that little children - Should on His bidding wait
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Song - “The Name of the LORD” with lyrics revised for Palm Sunday
Verse
Blest is He who comes in the name - Blest is He who comes in the name
Blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord
Blest is He who comes in the name - Blest is He who comes in the name
Blest is He who comes in the name of the LORD
Chorus
We cry Hosanna! To the Son of David - We cry Hosanna! To the King
We cry Hosanna! To the Son of David - We cry Hosanna! To the King
Verse
Blest is He who comes in the name - Blest is He who comes in the name
Blest is He who comes in the name of the Lord
Blest is He who comes in the name - Blest is He who comes in the name
Blest is He who comes in the name of the LORD
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Reader 2
Yes, it was EXCITING … but … things have changed …
Video - House Lights off - Crucifixion (from Sermon Central) - Keep House lights off
Reader 1
How did we get from celebration and “Hosanna In The Highest” to
“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”?
The Last Supper - The upper room and the Passover Supper have been prepared - The Lord is eating with His disciples - In the past He had told them that He would be betrayed but now He tells them that the betrayer is actually one of them. Then Jesus takes the bread and the cup and does something that they had never expected.
Reader 2
Luke 22:14-22
“When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. And He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.’
“After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, ‘Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’
“And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’
“In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you. But the hand of him who is going to betray Me is with mine on the table. The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!’
“They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.”
Reader 1
(Give Communion Directions)
Reader 2
1 Corinthians 11:23b-24 NIV
“The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
Receive the bread with thankful hearts and remember His suffering for you.
1 Corinthians 11:25-26 NIV
“In the same way, after supper Jesus took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.”
Receive the cup with thankful hearts and remember the death of Jesus.
Song
Lead Me to Calvary
King of my life I crown Thee now - Thine shall the glory be
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow - Lead me to Calvary
Lest I forget Gethsemane - Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me - Lead me to Calvary
Reader 2 - Please read with us
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Song:
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us
How deep the Father's love for us - How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son - To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss - The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One - Bring many sons to glory
Behold the man upon a cross - my sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice - Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there - until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life - I know that it is finished
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Reader 2
Mark 14:32-42 NIV
” They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled.
“My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” He said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’
“Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him.
“Abba, Father,” He said, “everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will.”
“Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Simon,’ He said to Peter, ‘are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’
“Once more He went away and prayed the same thing. When He came back, He again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to Him.”
“Returning the third time, He said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes My betrayer!’”
Reader 1
Just try to imagine this, Jesus, the Word Who became flesh, the Creator of all that exists, through Him all things were made and without Him nothing was made that has been made … OK … got that image in your mind? Here He is falling face down on the ground in prayer.
What is He feeling? “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death!”
This is Jesus, fully God who is overwhelmed.
If you apply the dictionary definition of overwhelmed to this situation it means that Jesus was covered or buried beneath a mass of sorrow, as by floodwaters or debris or an avalanche!
Jesus had anticipated this overwhelming sorrow.
In John 12:27-28a He says, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour … Father, glorify Your name!’”
Song (a Capella)
How Great Thou Art
And when I think that God His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die I scarce can take it in
That on the cross my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin
Song (a Capella)
When I survey the wondrous cross - On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss - And pour contempt on all my pride
See from His head His hands His feet - Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet - Or thorns compose so rich a crown
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Reader 2
The Torture of Jesus by the guards of the Jewish Sanhedrin
Matthew 26:67-68
“They spit in His face and struck Him with their fists. Others slapped Him and said, ‘Prophesy to us, Messiah. Who hit you?’”
The torture of Jesus by Pilate’s Soldiers
Mark 15:16-20
“The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. And they began to call out to Him, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’
“Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him. And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.”
Reader 1
Here’s the amazing thing. When reading this account in the Bible it’s easy to get pulled off into what the soldiers are doing instead of remembering Who they are doing it to.
When they spit in the face of Jesus they weren’t just spitting, they were hacking up the most evil stuff within them out of pure malice and then they were spitting into the face of the One who came from Heaven, born of a virgin, celebrated in the Temple on His eighth day of life. They were spitting into the face of the Son of God. They were spitting into the face of the One who had spit on the ground to make mud to heal the eyes of a man born blind.
When they blindfolded Him and punched and slapped Him and said, “Prophesy, who hit You?” they were punching and slapping and mocking the One who knew the thoughts of the Pharisees when they thought evil thoughts about Him. He knew their thoughts then and He knew who was punching and slapping Him then but He spoke not a word.
When they knelt before Him and mockingly called Him the king of the Jews they were kneeling before the King of Heaven. And if they had any sense whatsoever they would one day kneel before Him and ask forgiveness.
When they hit Him over the head again and again and again with a staff they were hitting Him with a tool that would be used by a shepherd. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, being beaten with a tool that a shepherd would use to protect His flock.
If we were to line up around this room and come up here one by one and take hold of this staff and hit this block of wood as if it was the head of Jesus, knowing that He was taking the beating for our sin, most of us would refuse to do so even though it’s only a block of wood and not the Messiah. And, if we were forced to do it many would be weeping because it would be all too real; Jesus being beaten for our sins. Would you beat Jesus for your sins? We might as well have because that’s why He took our punishment!
Finally, when He was whipped He was near death. Many who were headed to the cross died before they even got there because of the incredible wounds caused by the whips that would tear the flesh from the body of the one being whipped. The wounds were so severe that in some cases you could even see the persons internal organs through the gaping holes.
Jesus did that for me and for you.
The beating was so severe that many could not even look at Him.
Song (a Capella)
Wounded For Me
Wounded for me wounded for me - There on the cross He was wounded for me
Gone my transgressions and now I am free
All because Jesus was wounded for me
Dying for me dying for me - There on the cross He was dying for me
Now in His death my redemption I see - All because Jesus was dying for me
Song (a Capella)
At The Cross
Alas and did my Savior bleed - And did my Sov'reign die
Would He devote that sacred head - For sinners such as I
Was it for crimes that I have done - He groaned upon the tree
Amazing pity grace unknown - And love beyond degree
Well might the sun in darkness hide - And shut His glories in
When Christ the mighty Maker died - For man the creature's sin
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Reader 2
Mark 15:20 says, “Then they led Him out to be crucified.”
Isaiah 53:1-6 says,
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem.
Surely He took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Reader 1
Does that sound familiar? Yet it was written hundreds of years before Jesus came to earth as a Son of Man. Perhaps it would do us good to memorize Isaiah chapter 53 for it show the intent of God to send His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for our Sin by being despised, rejected, suffering, punished, stricken, afflicted, pierced, crushed; for you and for me.
Reader 2
Now, He will be crucified for us. Listen to this description of the crucifixion from over 1,000 years before Christ.
Psalm 22 says
All who see me mock Me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue Him. Let the Lord deliver Him, since the Lord delights in Him.”
Reader 1
In Matthew 27 it says;
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked Him. “He trusts in God. Let God rescue Him now if He wants Him, for He said, ‘I Am the Son of God.’” The Son of God was mocked and ridiculed for me and for you.
Reader 2
Psalm 22 says
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within Me.
Reader 1
Because the weight of the body is unable to be supported by the nails in the hands/wrists and feet the shoulders, elbows and wrists soon become disjointed and due to the blood loss the heart begins to beat extremely fast causing the heart muscle to become fatigued. This happened to the Son of God for me and for you.
Reader 2
Psalm 22 says
My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue sticks to the roof of My mouth; You lay me in the dust of death.
Reader 1
John 19:28 - Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
Reader 2
Psalm 22 says
Dogs surround Me, a pack of villains encircles me
Reader 1
At the time of Jesus it was common for the Jews to refer to non-Jews as dogs, this would be the Roman soldiers. A pack of villains encircles Me is a reference Jewish leadership who had broken just about every one of their own laws in order to achieve the desired result of Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus allowed this to happen for my sin and for yours. For my salvation and for yours.
Reader 2 - Psalm 22 says
They pierce My hands and My feet.
Reader 1
This method of execution was not even invented until 700 years after this Psalm was written. Yet, He was pieced through the hands and the feet for my sin and for yours; for my salvation and for yours.
Reader 2 - Psalm 22 says
All My bones are on display; people stare and gloat over Me.
Reader 1
We always see depictions of Jesus hanging on the cross with some sort of little diaper on. That is only for our comfort. Jesus was crucified naked and that was on purpose in order to cause the maximum pain and shame. He did this for my sin and yours; for my salvation and yours.
Reader 2 - Psalm 22 says
They divide My clothes among them and cast lots for My garment.
Reader 1
John 19:23-24
When 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.
“Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”
Do you know what excruciating means? It literally means, “Out of the cross.” It was a word that did not exist before crucifixion existed. Crucifixion was the most painful death imaginable.
Do you remember when I spoke about all of us coming up here and hitting this block of wood with this staff as if we were hitting Jesus Himself over the head?
That hit on the head would be like a vacation compared to the pain of the cross and He did it for my sin and for yours; for my salvation and for yours.
Ending Video - The Cross (from Sermon Central) -
Truly this Man was the Son of God
Reader 1 (conclusion)
A truth discovered just a little too late … or was it?
No. Actually for the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of our sins it was perfect timing!
For the Centurion it could have been perfect timing as well. Can you imagine surrendering your life to the Son of God who you have just crucified?
It’s possible. Wow! What an awesome salvation that would be!
What about you? What about the confrontation between you and the Son of God Who died on the cross of Calvary almost 2,000 years ago?
He made the provision for the forgiveness of your sins. Have you asked Him for that forgiveness?
Jesus said to Nicodemus when He was trying to explain salvation:
John 3:16-18 (quote)
There is no better time to come to peace with God than right now.
Is it possible that you could you make peace with Jesus, confess your sins and turn away from your sinful life and place your faith and trust in Jesus for salvation tonight? Absolutely!!!
How about Easter Sunday? Sure. Will you see Easter Sunday? I don’t know that I will.
Let’s bow our heads for a few moments.
Reader 2
Closing prayer
