A GOOD FRIDAY TENEBRAE SERVICE
INTRODUCTION: Good evening and welcome to what I hope and pray will be a very special and meaningful time of worship for all of us as we gather in God’s house on this Good Friday to recall and dare I say to celebrate the tragic events that took place nearly 2000 years ago on a skull-shaped hill just outside the city of Jerusalem. In our mid-week Lenten services this year we focused upon the theme “Eyes on Jesus.” We looked at those who were present during Jesus’ Passion and how they viewed Jesus through betraying eyes, sleepy eyes, denying eyes, murderous eyes, and so on. Tonight I want to shift gears and try to give you an idea of what Jesus saw from the perspective of the cross. Many people were gathered there that day for a wide variety of reasons and as we examine them this evening, we will be forced to look at ourselves to determine whether we are following in their footsteps. Let’s begin with prayer:
PRAYER: Father, once again we find ourselves gathered at the cross. We have come here tonight, not just to observe the humiliating and excruciating death of your Son and our Savior, but we also want to see things through His eyes in order that we might understand in perhaps a new and fresh way the magnitude and extent of all that He was willing to go through for us, just so that we could be Yours for all eternity. Help us to achieve that goal, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
CHOIR ANTHEM
- SCRIPTURE READING: Luke 23:33-34
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
MEDITATION #1: The Unknowing Soldiers
The first group we want to look at this evening that Jesus saw from the vantage point of the cross consisted of his executioners – Roman soldiers whose job it was to affix him and the other 2 criminals to their respective crosses and then preside over this gruesome event until its desired goal had been achieved – the death of all 3 of them. As they went about their business, the first words from Jesus’ mouth must have stunned them. For rather than cursing them, as they were no doubt most accustomed to, words of forgiveness flowed from the swollen and bloodied lips of Jesus. “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
But did they know what they were doing? I guess in one sense they did. They had been ordered to carry out the crucifixion of these 3 criminals and they were simply following orders. But in another sense, no, I’m sure they didn’t know what they were doing. They didn’t know that they were putting to death the only perfect man to ever live. They didn’t know that they were crucifying their Creator. They didn’t know that they were killing their sin-bearing Substitute. And because they didn’t know that, they missed the greatest opportunity that had ever come their way – the opportunity to be delivered from the damning and eternal consequences of their sins and to live in the glorious presence of God forever. Sadly, that describes many people today, many of whom we might know. So let’s pray for them right now:
PRAYER: Father, there are many in our world today who are like those soldiers, completely ignorant of the One who died to save them. There may even be some within our circle of acquaintances, perhaps even in our own families, who know little or nothing about Jesus. Tonight we pray for those people. We ask that you would love them through us and speak to them through us so that they might one day come to know and receive all that Jesus did for them. In his name we pray. Amen.
HYMN – #119, vv. 1,2,4 (LW)
II. SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 27:39-40
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
MEDITATION #2 – The Uncaring Multitudes
The second group Jesus saw from the cross was perhaps the most obvious and definitely the most numerous, namely, the uncaring multitudes. During the 6 hours that Jesus hung from the cross, hosts of people would have passed by – some out of curiosity, some out of a sick sense of satisfaction to see Jesus getting what they felt he deserved, but most, surprisingly, out of necessity. For remember, this was Passover week in Jerusalem and tens of thousands of people were streaming into and out of the city on a daily basis to observe this important festival.
Many of those people were like the soldiers, completely ignorant of who Jesus was and indifferent to what was actually transpiring there that day. But then there were those who were just downright cruel. These people hurled insults at Jesus and scoffed at previous claims he had made. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down! That’s what they were doing. And that’s what we sometimes do too when we skip church for the flimsiest of excuses, when we allow our Bibles to gather dust and go unused, when we are indifferent to the spiritual needs of those around us, when we fail to give Jesus the place of honor and preeminence in our lives that he deserves. And so we pray:
PRAYER: Lord, as difficult as it is, we confess to you the times that we have been like those uncaring multitudes – the times we have failed you, the times we have been indifferent to you, the times we have not honored and loved you above all things. Forgive us, Jesus. Wash us in your cleansing blood. And through the power of your Holy Spirit change us to be more like you. Amen.
HYMN – #116, vv. 1,2 (LW)
III. SCRIPTURE READING: John 19:25-27
Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
MEDITATION #3 – His Mournful Mother
As we continue to look through the eyes of Jesus tonight, we see the one sight that must have broken his heart more than anything else. We see his mother, Mary, weeping at the foot of the cross, barely able to lift her eyes and gaze upon the bloodied and disfigured countenance of her precious Son. Surely Mary’s mind must have gone back about 33 years to the time when she and Joseph had brought their 8-day old son to the temple and an old man named Simeon had appeared out of the shadows with perhaps a hint of a smile on his face. Simeon had told them that he had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he beheld the promised Messiah. Instantly, the Holy Spirit had revealed to him that Jesus was that Messiah. And Simeon proclaimed his readiness to die now that that promise had been fulfilled.
But he also added something else on that occasion. Turning to Mary, he spoke these mysterious words that she must have pondered over and over again: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Mary felt that sword now as she finally understood what Simeon meant by those words. Let’s pray:
PRAYER: Father, like Mary we feel that sword tonight too as we watch our Brother and our very best Friend dying, not for wrongs he had done, but for all the sins that we are guilty of. Though it isn’t fair that the righteous should suffer for the unrighteous, nor the just for the unjust, we know that there was no other way for you to accomplish our redemption. And so with sword-pierced hearts we thank you for a Savior like Jesus. Amen.
HYMN – 75, vv.1,2 (HS)
IV. SCRIPTURE READING: none
MEDITATION #4: “A Faithful Disciple”
Along with his mother, we’re told in the last passage of Scripture I read to you that the disciple whom Jesus loved was also present at the foot of the cross. This, of course, was John. Which automatically brings up a question: Where were the other disciples? Where was Peter who had boasted the night before that he would be willing to go to prison for Jesus and even die for him if that became necessary? Where was Thomas who at one time had said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him,” when Jesus was contemplating going to Jerusalem, knowing full well the danger that awaited him there? Where were Matthew, Philip, Bartholomew, Andrew, and the rest? Though we’re not told for sure, my guess would be that they were in the same place we find them on Easter evening – in an upper room, hiding behind locked doors, scared to death that the Jews might try to do the same thing to them as they’d done to Christ.
And oh how it must have hurt Jesus that his closest companions in whom he had invested so much of himself did not have the courage to show up and offer him support. But oh how it must have warmed his heart to see the familiar, tear-streaked face of John looking up at him.
May I ask you a question? Which of those two do you most resemble? The fearful disciples who failed to show up or the beloved John who would be there for his Lord even if everyone else deserted him? Let’s pray:
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, you know how much we want to be like John, but how often we fail and instead end up resembling the other disciples. We are sorry for the times we’ve deserted you and disappointed you, the times we’ve been embarrassed or ashamed to be known as one of your followers. Forgive us and give us the courage and love of John that will keep us true and faithful to you even if all others should forsake you. Amen.
HYMN – #115, vv. 1,3,4 (LW)
V. SCRIPTURE READING: I Peter 1:18-19
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
MEDITATION #5: His Own Blood
Thus far this evening we have focused upon some of the people that Jesus saw from the cross. Now we want to turn our attention to something most of you probably would not have thought of if you had just been pondering on your own what he beheld from that perspective. And that is his own blood. Blood that trickled down his forehead and into his eyes from the crown of thorns. Blood that flowed from the nails that pierced his hands and feet. Blood from his scourged and shredded back that soaked the wood of cross.
When I think of that precious blood, I’m reminded of a man I visited many years ago who was a shut-in at a vacancy congregation I was serving. When I brought him Communion the first time in his home, he asked that I place only a tiny amount of wine in the small glass because his hands shook so much and he didn’t want to spill any of it. Then he said something that I’ve never forgotten. He said, “One drop would save the whole world.” How true! How true! For as John tells us in his 1st epistle, it is only the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, that can cleanse us from all sin. Let’s pray:
PRAYER: Lord, through your servant Isaiah you told us that though our sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Nothing we could ever do could accomplish that. And so we thank you that you did it all for us and that through the precious, priceless, perfect blood of Jesus our sins are completely washed away and we have peace with you. Amen.
HYMN – #125, vv. 1,2 (HS)
VI. SCRIPTURE READING: Matthew 27:45-46
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
MEDITATION #6: His Father Turn Away
Forsaken by his closest companions, rejected by the Jewish religious leaders, mocked and vilified by the uncaring multitudes, Jesus now experiences the greatest rejection of all as he beholds a sight that only he could see from the cross. He sees his own Heavenly Father turning away from him and basically subjecting him to the horrors and agonies of hell.
In her book entitled Just Like Jesus, Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy Graham, describes what was actually happening at this point of Jesus’ Passion. She says: “For the first time in eternity, the Father and Son were actually separated. They were separated by all of your sins and my sins, which came between them. And Jesus, suffocating physically, was smothered spiritually by a blanket of loneliness such as He had never known.”
Why would the Father do that to his only Son? Simply because at that point Jesus was shrouded in and burdened with all the sins that had ever been committed and that ever would be committed. From the Father’s perspective it was a sight that was so disgusting, so detestable, so
abhorrent that he could not bear to look upon his Son. So the Father forsook him, abandoned him, and punished him, all so that you and I would never have to know what that is like. Did we deserve that? No! That’s why we call it GRACE…AMAZING GRACE! Let’s pray:
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we can’t even begin to comprehend what it must have been like for you to have your own Father turn away from you. And yet we know that it was all done out of a love that is even more difficult to comprehend – a love for sinful, stubborn, unworthy, unlovable creatures like us. And so from the bottom of our hearts and the very depths of our beings, we say Thank you. Thank you for such amazing grace. Amen.
HYMN – #5, vv. 1,2,5 (HS)
VII. SCRIPTURE READING: John 3:16-17
“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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
MEDITATION #7: You and Me
The final group that Jesus saw from the cross that day was a group of people not visible to anyone else because it was a group of people yet to be born. And the good news for us this evening is that included in that group were you and me. Did you know that you were very much on the mind of Jesus both before and after his death on the cross? That’s right. The night before Jesus died, as he met with his disciples in that upper room and prayed for them, he added these words: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.” That would include you and me for have we not believed in Jesus through the life-giving, soul-saving message of the Gospel?
But there’s more. You were also on Jesus’ mind when he rose from the dead. When he appeared to his disciples in the upper room the week after his resurrection and this time Thomas was with them, Jesus said to the one who had doubted: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
Again, that’s you and me, isn’t it? Though we have not seen or touched the nail prints in his hands and the spear wound in his side, we still believe everything the Bible tells us about Jesus. So rest assured, you were very much on his mind and very much in his sight when he hung from the cross that dark Friday so long ago. And so we pray:
PRAYER: What a comfort it is to know, Jesus, that when you were on the cross, we were on your mind. And that even though you knew in advance every sin we would ever commit, every offense that would drive those nails deeper into your hands and feet, you still loved us enough to die for us. May every person here tonight be moved by such love, inspired by such sacrifice, and changed by such grace. In your name we pray. Amen.
CLOSING CHOIR ANTHEM
CLOSING POEM: Through the Eyes of Jesus
POEM: THROUGH THE EYES OF JESUS
Through the eyes of Jesus, we see so much that day:
The soldiers who were present and felt he had to pay
For crimes he’d been accused of, but which he hadn’t done.
Yet all of that was needed so the victory might be won.
Then there were the multitudes who scorned and scoffed and mocked.
Looking at his bloody frame, they were not even shocked.
Instead they only laughed at him and took the time to jeer.
“Why don’t you come down from there and then you’ll hear us cheer?”
But Jesus remained there firmly anchored to the cross
And then looked down to see and feel his greatest loss.
For Mary, his beloved mother, looked up with tear-filled eyes
At this precious Son of hers who had touched so many lives.
And as she felt that sword of pain pierce her grieving soul,
She understood what Simeon meant so many years before.
But Jesus loved his mother still, even while on the cross,
And gave instructions to faithful John to help her through this loss.
But why was John the only one who showed up there that day?
Where were James and Andrew, and Peter who had so much to say?
Hiding behind locked doors and fearing for their lives,
They were frightened that the Jews would do to them what they’d done to Christ.
What else did Jesus see that day but his very own blood that flowed
From nail-pierced hands and thorn-crowned brow, each drop of which showed
That we have a Savior whose love for us we simply cannot measure.
So let us take that love to heart and cherish it forever.
Then came the darkest moment that happened on that day.
Burdened with the sin of the world, his Father turned away.
Why have you forsaken me!” Jesus cried alone.
Yet in that dismal cry of woe, the grace of God was shown.
For the final group that Jesus saw as he hung on the cross that day
Was you and me and all who’d believe that he alone is the way.
So give to him your heart, your love, as we leave this place tonight,
Looking through the eyes of Jesus to see a most glorious sight.
That sight consists of multitudes of saints before the throne,
Washed clean in the blood of Jesus, who will never again be alone.
For his sacrifice on Calvary has won for you and me
A perfect home in heaven where with him we’ll forever be.