Welcome. Introduce guests.
Instructions: Tonight is going to be a little different from most services that you are used to. A solemn occasion. It commemorates the crucifixion, the death, and burial of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As we begin our service, I emphasize that as the service progresses, it will become darker and darker in the sanctuary, to the point of being almost a complete blackout. The Lord’s Supper is the last event.
As you can see from the bulletin, this will be a very solemn service. After all, the death and burial of Jesus was not a festive event. It was on this day of the week that Jesus was crucified, died, and was laid in the tomb. So, we must leave here tonight with that thought in our minds. Believe me, it will make the Sonrise service on Sunday morning so much more meaningful.
At the end of the service, we will be participating in a silent Lord’s Supper. I will give you instructions now so you will understand how it will be done. The Lord’s Supper this evening will be done in a way that you may have never experienced.
• Just before the Lord’s Supper, we will be involved in centering prayer. That is a time of complete silence. It will give you the opportunity to sit quietly and listen to God’s still small voice. Focus on the cross. Centering prayer is not a time to go to the Lord with YOUR requests. It’s a time to totally focus on Jesus Christ. Call out His name to yourself. Anytime you are distracted, or your thoughts began to wander, call out His name in your mind again and regain your focus. Let the Lord communicate with you during this special time. Since the number 7 in the Bible is the number of completeness or the number of perfection, we will spend 7 minutes in centering prayer.
• At the end of the centering prayer, I will lead in a verse of Amazing Grace. Then we enter a time of Silent Lord’s Supper. After the verse of song, there will not be another spoken word.
• When we get to the Lord’s Supper, there will only be one candle that will be lit. This candle represents Jesus Christ as the Light of the World.
• As we begin, I will come to the table and receive the elements.
• Then I will invite you to do the same and sit down. At some point, I take the elements.
• Then I will dismiss myself.
• There will be no words spoken and the bread and cup will not be served to you.
• After I have come to the table and receive the bread and the cup, whenever you are ready, you may come to the table and take the bread and the cup, return to your seat, and then it’s up to you.
• What I would like for you to do to receive the full experience, is to sit down with the bread and the cup, focus on the light of the candle, (representing Jesus Christ). I want you to sit in complete silence and remember what Jesus has done for you.
• Then when you’re ready, at any time, you can take the bread and the cup.
• Your worship service is then completed. Drop your empty cups from the Lord’s Supper into the foyer trash can as you exit.
• Please exit the sanctuary in silence out of respect for those who are still in their worship moment. I can’t stress this enough. Do not say anything until you have cleared the building. Please do not even stand near the glass doors just outside and talk. If you must talk, go to the center of the parking lot and do it. The less the amount of distractions, the more worshipful the experience. The faintest voice heard will cause someone to lose focus.
Do you have any questions?
With that said, let’s begin our Tenebrae experience with a word of prayer.
PRAYER
Video Music – “Were You There?” (Stop after 3rd verse)
Video Music – “It’s About the Cross” by the Ball Brothers
Light all the candles. Lights go out. Person that will be extinguishing the candles will sit close to the candle table.
ONE STEP CLOSER TO THE TOMB
At the supper. Tonight, I want you to go on a journey with me. This journey is a solemn one. It’s not one that will be that enjoyable. It’s not a happy journey but it is an important one. It’s important because this journey was necessary for us to be able to have hope beyond the grave. The journey takes the form of a play, but, believe me, this is no play. It’s part of God’s divine plan. Tonight, our focus will be upon one man, His name is Jesus.
Even the angels are silent throughout this journey because they know this is no ordinary journey. They know that this journey opens the door to eternity. Jesus knew what lie ahead and yet He took the steps to complete His walk. He took the steps that slowly led to the tomb. Come with me now.
Our journey begins in an upper room. The table had been prepared for Supper. Much like this table is prepared. We now refer to it as the Last Supper. It was here that some extraordinary events took place. The evening meal was being served and Satan had already prompted the disciple Judas to betray Jesus.
Jesus got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, took a towel and a bowl of water and began to wash His disciples’ feet. It’s been a long day. The streets of Jerusalem have been packed with people. The sun has dried the streets to fine powder. Their feet were obviously covered with dirt. Normally the job of washing the feet was the lowliest of servant’s job. Any of the disciples could have offered to do the job, but none did. Jesus took on the responsibility. Hands that created the universe are now washing dirty toes. Hours before His death, Jesus simply wants His disciples to know how much He loves them.
Jesus knows what these disciples will do in the next few hours. Can you imagine Jesus lifting the feet of Judas, the one who will betray Him, and washing his dirty feet? Yes, Jesus knows what each of these disciples will do. In the morning, they will bow their heads in shame. Jesus just wants them to remember how he bowed on His knees before them to humbly serve them, openly exhibiting His grace and His mercy before they even asked for it. And all the while, He was coming one step closer to the tomb. (extinguish 1st candle)
In the Garden. After the supper, they made their way to the garden of Gethsemane. Jesus told the disciples to “stay here while I go to pray.” He took Peter, James, and John with Him and they could sense that Jesus was deeply distressed. Go with me now to what might be described as the foggiest night in history. It’s a simple scene. Twisted olive trees growing through rocky ground. A dark, dark night. Now look closely with me through the shadows. You see that solitary figure over there? He’s flat on the ground. Face stained with dirt and tears. Eyes wide with a sense of fear. His hair is matted. Is that blood on His forehead? That’s Jesus. Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane. You’ve probably seen the pictures that have been painted of this scene. Jesus in a white robe. Kneeling by a big rock. Hands folded in prayer. A look of serenity on His face. A halo over His head. The painter certainly didn’t use the Gospel of Mark as a pattern.
Mark used phrases to describe this scene such as “horror and dismay came over Him”, “my heart is ready to break with grief,” “He threw Himself on the ground.”
What we see if we look close enough is an agonizing man of sorrows. He is struggling with fear and yearning for some sort of release. If we look close enough, we see a broken heart.
Hebrews 5:7 – “During his earthly life, he offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence.” This is an expression of Jesus that confuses us. We’ve never seen His face like this. We’ve seen Jesus smiling, Jesus weeping, even Jesus stern, but nothing like this. Anguish, tears, sweat.
Jesus asks His Father to take away this cup of suffering if it be His will. Notice that He goes first to His Father with His tears. Not His mother, not His disciples. His Father. How did Jesus endure the coming crucifixion, we might ask? He went first to the Father with His tears. He could have refused to go through any of this, yet He knew it was one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 2nd candle)
The Betrayer and the betrayal. Matthew 26:48-49 – “His betrayer had given them a sign: “The one I kiss, he’s the one; arrest him.” 49 So immediately he went up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.”
How did Jesus confront this betrayer, this one who expedited the continued progression to the cross? Jesus told Judas, “Friend, do what you came to do.” He called him friend. We certainly would have thought of a few other choice things to call Judas, but definitely not friend. Jesus had always treated Judas with respect. He had no problem with Judas serving as the treasurer for the disciples’ group.
He treated the betrayer as a friend. Did you ever notice that the religious authorities never sought Judas. Judas sought them. He propositioned them.
Why did Judas use a kiss to betray Jesus? Why did he call him teacher or Rabbi? That’s a title of respect. With all that Judas did to Jesus, I would have never called Judas friend, yet that is exactly what Jesus called him. Why? Because Jesus could see something we can’t. He knew that Satan had seduced Judas. He knew the power that caused him to do all this. He knew it wasn’t Judas that was doing all of this.
Judas came with a group of soldiers and some guards from the leading priests and the Pharisees. You might have always pictured that it was a hand full of soldiers that came to the garden that evening to arrest Jesus. If so, you were wrong. At a minimum, 200 soldiers came to deal with a single carpenter and his 11 friends. The temple police also came. These guards were the ones assigned to guard the holiest of places in the Temple. They must have been among Israel’s finest.
And then there was Judas, one from the inner circle. Satan used every means he could to carry out his plan against Jesus. He had every exit sealed. He anticipated every move except for one. Jesus didn’t have any desire to run. He was no coward. When He spoke to the mob and said, “I am He,” He revealed that He was a conqueror. How can I say that? Just His words caused an entire regime of soldiers to fall flat into a noisy pile of shields, spears, and lamps. When Jesus speaks, Satan falls. And yet Jesus still yields to being arrested because He knew that this was just
another step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 3rd candle)
Peter’s Denial. And then there’s Peter’s denial. “Every one else may stumble, but not me.” Peter was pretty sure of himself. He bragged, yet he fell. He did what he swore he wouldn’t do. When the moment came, his instinct to survive was in conflict with his allegiance to Christ. For a moment, his allegiance won. He stepped out of hiding and followed the noise that led to the courtyard of Caiaphas. He stopped to warm his hands in the fire. Others recognized him. “You’re one of His followers.” “You were with Him.” “You were with the Nazarene.” Three times they confronted him. Three times he denied it. And each time, Jesus heard it.
Understand that the main character in this scene is not Peter, it’s Jesus. Jesus, who knows the heart of us all, knew and felt each time that Peter denied Him. How do I know that Jesus knew? Because of what He did. Luke recorded that, “Then, the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.” When the rooster crowed, Jesus turned and searched for Peter and He found Him. At that specific moment, there were no soldiers, no accusers, no priests. At that moment in the early dawn morning, there were only 2 people. Jesus and Peter. Peter would never forget that look. The look that lasted only a moment, actually lasted forever. But Jesus knew this was all in God’s plan as He took one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 4th candle)
On Trial Before Pilate. Now Jesus stands before the governor who asks, “Are you the king of the Jews.” Jesus answers, “It is as you say.” The most famous trial ever recorded is about to begin. Pilate takes his seat on the magistrates throne a few steps above the floor. Jesus is brought before him below. The religious leaders huddle off to the side. Pilate looks down at Jesus and asks that question. Jesus lifts His eyes to look at Pilate without lifting His head and answers, “Those are your words.” No defense, no explanation, no panic.
How many times has Pilate sat in this same place looking into the eyes of the accused and listening to the pleas for mercy, the begging for acquittal, seeking a reprieve of some sort. But the eyes of Jesus are calm, silent. Pilate searches for anger but he doesn’t find it. This man is not afraid.
And Pilate is correct. Jesus in not afraid, angry or on the verge of panic. None of the above. That’s because Jesus knows His hour has come. So Pilate asks openly, “What should I do with Jesus, the One called the Christ?”
Three times Pilate asks, “Why? What evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him. I will therefore chastise Him and let Him go.” But they were insistent demanding that He be crucified. But then the ALMOST creeps into the picture.
Pilate ALMOST performed what would have been history’s greatest act of mercy. He ALMOST pardoned the Prince of Peace. ALMOST. He had the power to do it. But others’ voices prevailed and so Pilate’s pride prevailed. His fear prevailed. His power hunger prevailed. He could have heard the voice of Jesus. He could have heard the voice of his wife who warned him. He could have heard his inner voice that saw no evil in Jesus. But he didn’t. Satan’s voice prevailed. Oh yes, and another thing prevailed—the fact that Jesus was one step closer to the tomb.
(Extinguish 5th candle)
Let’s pause for a moment now and reflect on Jesus’ character and why He did what He did during His ministry. Jesus was:
• Angry enough to purge the Temple.
• Hungry enough to eat raw grain.
• Distraught enough to weep in public.
• Fun loving enough to be called a drunkard.
• Winsome enough to attract kids.
• Weary enough to sleep in a storm-bounced boat.
• Poor enough to sleep on dirt.
• Radical enough to get kicked out of town.
• Responsible enough to care for His mother.
• Tempted enough to know the smell of Satan
• Fearful enough to sweat blood.
Why? Why would Jesus go through all of this? He did it so that we can know that we can run to him anytime we are tempted, and tried, and tested and know that we have a Savior who will fight for us to help us overcome any of the darts that Satan hurls at us. Yes, He did it all for you and me. But back to our journey.
The soldiers wanted Jesus’ blood. Jesus was handed over to the soldiers to be crucified. The soldiers took Jesus into the palace and they gathered around him. They took off his clothes and wrapped a royal robe around Him. They made a crown of thorns and pushed it onto His head until the sharp tines poked into His scalp and drew blood. They put a stick in His hand. Then they bowed before Jesus and mocked Him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews.” They spat on Jesus. Then they took the stick and began to beat Him on the head. When this was finished, they took off the robe and put His own clothes back on Him.
Jesus was then taken back to the yard and beaten with whips. The whips were made of leather straps with lead balls and barbs woven into the strands. They were designed to rip flesh with each strike. The order was given to beat Jesus within an inch of His life and then stop. 39 lashes were allowed but seldom needed. A centurion monitored the lashings. No doubt Jesus was near death when his hands were untied and He slumped to the ground.
The whipping was the first deed of the soldiers. The crucifixion was the third. We don’t fault the soldiers for this. They were just following orders. It’s what happened between these two deeds that is hard for us to understand. Their assignment was simple; take the Nazarene to the hill and kill Him. But they had another idea. They wanted to have some fun first.
The scourging was commanded. The crucifixion was ordered. But who could get pleasure out of spitting on a half-dead man? Spitting isn’t intended to hurt the body. It’s intended to damage the soul. And it does. The soldiers were just elevating themselves at the expense of Jesus. They made themselves look big by making Jesus look small. And yet even this was in the plan to bring us one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 6th candle)
Then they led Him away to be crucified. Jesus being so near death was forced to carry His cross through the streets of Jerusalem to the hill we call Calvary, Golgotha, the place of the skull.
On the way, Jesus collapses under the weight of the beam. A farmer by the name of Simon was in the crowd that day watching in horror as Jesus comes by. Jesus stops as He comes in front of Simon. He winces for air. He sees the rough beam digging into the already raw back of this man. He sees the blood dripping down His face. He sees Jesus’ mouth hanging open out of pain and out of breath. Jesus can’t carry the beam any further. He collapses to the ground as His face mashes into the dirt.
Simon is commanded to take the beam and carry it. Simon objects and says, “Sir, I don’t even know the man.” The soldier shouts back, “I don’t care. Take up the cross.” Simon balances the cross on his shoulder and carries it the remainder of the way as we draw one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 7th candle)
Now come with me to the hill. Watch as the soldiers shove Jesus to the ground and stretches His arms across the beams. One soldiers presses his knee against Jesus’ forearm, and places a spike against His hand. Jesus turns to look at the nail just as the soldier lifts the hammer to strike it. Could Jesus have stopped him. Of course, He could have. But He knew God’s plan included this torture as well. This is the same hand that stilled the sea and summoned the dead. But Jesus doesn’t stop the soldier. The mallet rings and the skin rips and the blood flows. Why didn’t Jesus resist? We say, “Because He loved us.” Yes, that’s part of the reason but not all. Jesus saw something that made Him stay. He saw the list of our sins. And He knew if He didn’t take the punishment for them, that we would be separated from Him and He couldn’t bare the thought. So, He took the nails for us as He took another step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 8th candle)
Show video – Via Dolorosa by Sandi Patty
So, Jesus hangs on the cross between two criminals that deserved their punishment. Yet, in His agony, Jesus still pardons on of the criminals who asked to be remembered. Even in His pain, His torture, His ridicule, His humiliation, Jesus still had compassion on another.
During this time, Jesus looked to heaven and said to His heavenly Father, “Father, forgive them. For they don’t know what they are doing.” When you think about it, they really didn’t know what they were doing. You have this angry mob mad at something they couldn’t see. So, they took it out on God. But they didn’t know what they were doing. But as we look at what Jesus is going through, suddenly, any of our pains seem small, don’t they?
The cross. Let’s now turn to the cross. Can you go most anywhere without seeing one. On top of a chapel. Carved into a headstone. Engraved in a ring or suspended on a chain. It’s the universal symbol of Christianity. Kind of an odd choice. The symbols of torture and pain and execution is our symbol of hope. Why is that? It’s not so much the cross itself as it is what Jesus did on that cross.
As Jesus looked down from the cross, he sees Mary with John at her side. She is older now. A little gray in her hair. Wrinkles have begun to show on her once youthful face. She has raised a house full of children and now she watches the crucifixion of her firstborn. I wonder what memories are going through her mind. A long ride to Bethlehem. A baby’s bed made from cow’s hay. Being a fugitive in Egypt. At home in Nazareth. Panic as they lost Jesus in the crowd. Carpentry lessons. Dinner table laughter. And then the day when He took off His apron and dusted off His hands and said goodbye to His mother. They both knew it would never be the same.
“Woman, behold your son.” He was referring to John at that moment. But in that moment as they shared a glance, they also shared a secret, and they said goodbye.
Bringing us one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 9th candle)
Then from noon until 3pm, the sun refused to shine. There was darkness over all the land. Jesus has given his killers grace and his mother a son. He answers the prayer of a thief. Then the sun grows dark. This is a supernatural darkness. A three hour blanket of total darkness. Candles and torches are lit. Jesus looks into heaven and spends His final energy pleading with heaven. “Eli, Eli, Lama Sabachthani” which means, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me.”
We ask that same question. Why Jesus? Because He carried our sins. God, not being able to look upon sin, turned away. Jesus screamed those words so that you and I would never have to. One step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 10th candle)
Jesus now grows thirsty. Our Savior is thirsty. Lips cracked and mouth like cotton, throat so dry He couldn’t swallow. Voice so hoarse He could barely speak. It had been 12 hours since Jesus had tasted the wine in the upper room. Since then He has been beaten, spat upon, bruised and cut. No liquid has quenched His thirst. We ask why Jesus endures thirst. While we’re at it, let’s ask a few more questions”
• Why did He grow weary in Samaria and stop at the well to talk to the woman?
• Disturbed in Nazareth when His family and friends didn’t believe who He was.
• Angry in the Temple.
• Why was He sleepy in the boat on the Sea of Galilee?
• Sad at the tomb of Lazarus.
• Hungry in the wilderness.
• Why, 6 hours earlier, had He refused a drink?
They had offered Him wine mixed with myrr but He didn’t take it because that remedy was used as a sedative. Jesus refused because He refused to be stupefied by the drug. Opting to feel the full force of His sufferings. And so He refused the drink drawing one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 11th candle)
Now we come to Jesus’ last words on the cross. At 3 o’clock, He had screamed into the heavens and asked God why He has been forsaken. Now the hill is quiet. Not still but quiet. For the first time all day, the hill is quiet. It all began to quiet down when the darkness fell. No more ridicule. No more taunts. No more mockers. The crowd begins to disperse back down the hill. We hear the hoarse groans of the dying men. But then even the groans diminish. If it were not for the belabored breathing, you would have thought they were dead already. Then, Jesus screams out. Jesus throws His head back as if yanked by His hair from behind the cross.
He stands as straight as He can as His whole body straightens in a final attempt to draw one last breath, and He screams with all His energy, “It is finished. Father, into Your hands, I commit my Spirit.” He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit bringing us yet one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 12th candle)
IT IS FINISHED! What was finished?
• God’s redeeming plan for man’s salvation was finished.
• The message of God to man was finished.
• The works of Jesus on earth as a man was finished.
• The task of selecting and training ambassadors was finished.
• The job was finished.
Everything that God had planned was now finished. This wasn’t a cry of despair. It was a cry of victory. A cry of completion. A cry of fulfillment and yes, even a cry of relief. God, take me home. All the while, it brings us one step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 13th candle)
At that moment, the earth shook with a violent earthquake, the veil in the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the public was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion was commanded to go to the hill and if there was any life left in the crucified men, that he was to breaks their legs. This would have stopped them from supporting themselves in order to breathe and they would have died of asphyxiation. But when He came to Jesus, He saw that He was already dead. But for a final surety, he thrust his spear into Jesus’ side, and water with blood flowed from Jesus’ body. Jesus had died of a broken heart. Seeing it for himself and witnessing the day’s happenings, the centurion simply stated what all the others were probably thinking, “Surely, this was the Son of God.” One step closer to the tomb. (Extinguish 14th candle)
When it was all finished, Joseph of Arimathea, goes to Pilate and asks for Jesus’ body and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Soldiers work together is dismantling the cross and bringing Jesus’ body to the ground. The nails are pulled from the timbers and the body is handed over to Joseph. “He’s all yours.” Joseph kneels behind Jesus’ head and tenderly wipes His face. With a soft wet cloth, he wipes the blood that came from the garden, that came from the lashings, that came from the crown of thorns. He closes Jesus’ eyes. Nicodemus unrolls some linen sheeting and helps to wrap Jesus’ body. They carry His body to a tomb that had been hewn out of a rocky cliff. Actually, this was meant to be Joseph’s tomb.
----------Pause----------
So, we take our final step as we lay Jesus’ lifeless body in the tomb. As far as we know and from what we have seen, His life is over. He is dead. Our Savior, our Messiah is dead. So, we help roll the huge stone over the opening in the tomb, bow our heads walk away, wondering where do we go from here.
(Extinguish last White candle)
Cross is covered
Set up the Lord’s table and light the white candle again.
And so we end where we began, at the Lord’s Supper table. As we silently partake of this meal, let’s focus on tonight’s journey. Let’s remember all that Jesus went through for our sake. He gave all He had, His life, so that we might have HOPE that can only come through Him.
Let’s take 7 minutes now, the number of completion, the number of perfection, and let’s focus on all we have witnessed on this journey tonight. Focus on the lone candle symbolizing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let God draw your thoughts towards all that has been done for us.
Join me as we sing together the first verse of Amazing Grace and then come to His table.
Lead in singing Amazing Grace. Then take the elements and gesture for others to come. People can take the elements, return to their seat, partake as they feel led and then dismiss themselves quietly.
