Manuscript for Good Friday Service

 

Good Friday

 

St. Paul=s Lutheran Church

The Lutheran C Church Missouri Synod

Fredericksburg, IA

 

            O Lord, open my lips.

            And my mouth will declare your praise.

            Make haste, O God to deliver me.

            Make haste to help me, O Lord.

:          

            Christ has humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death:

            Even death on the cross.

 

            Hear my prayer, 0 Lord

            And let my cry come unto you.

 

COLLECT OF THE DAY

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death on the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

The sentiment of this collect sets the tone for our prayer and meditation tonight. God would have us be his family. That should be a nice warm thought. But because of our weakness and sin, we must with caution ask God, “behold this your family.” God is holy. We are not. Tonight we are struck with what it took to make up this difference. Jesus, the true Son of God, had to die.

 

440 JESUS, I WILL PONDER NOW

1     Jesus, I will ponder now
    On Your holy passion;
With Your Spirit me endow
    For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
    May the image cherish
Of Your suff’ring, pain, and death
    That I may not perish.

2     Make me see Your great distress,
    Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
    And Your crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
    Spear and nails did wound You,
How for them You died, O God,
    Who with thorns had crowned You.

3     Yet, O Lord, not thus alone
    Make me see Your passion,
But its cause to me make known
    And its termination.
Ah! I also and my sin
    Wrought Your deep affliction;
This indeed the cause has been
    Of Your crucifixion.

4     Grant that I Your passion view
    With repentant grieving.
Let me not bring shame to You
    By unholy living.
How could I refuse to shun
    Ev’ry sinful pleasure
Since for me God’s only Son
    Suffered without measure?

5     If my sins give me alarm
    And my conscience grieve me,
Let Your cross my fear disarm;
    Peace of conscience give me.
Help me see forgiveness won
    By Your holy passion.
If for me He slays His Son,
    God must have compassion!

6     Graciously my faith renew;
    Help me bear my crosses,
Learning humbleness from You,
    Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give You love for love!
    Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heav’n above
    Sing Your praise forever.

Text: Public domain

 

THE OLD TESTAMENT READING: 

Isaiah 52&53. 13 See, my servant will act wisely ; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him ‑‑ his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness‑‑ 15 so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 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. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, 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.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descen­dants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the trans­gression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was num­bered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  (NIV) 

 

The Passion according to St. John.

John 18:1-11

    When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the Kidron Valley, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. [2] Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. [3] So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. [4] Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" [5] They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. [6] When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. [7] So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." [8] Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." [9] This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one." [10] Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) [11] So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

 

It had to be this way. It was the cup set before Jesus to drink. As awful as it seemed at the time, the death of the Son of God was planned by God from the beginning. Isaiah foreknew it and preached about it saying “by his wounds we are healed.. . . The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” We can’t look away from these heart wrenching scenes, because there is God’s love for us, in a glorious presentation.

 

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, and receive our unending thanks for your plan of salvation through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

 

 

John 18:12-27

    So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. [13] First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. [14] It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

    [15] Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the court of the high priest, [16] but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. [17] The servant girl at the door said to Peter, "You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." [18] Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.

    [19] The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. [20] Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. [21] Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." [22] When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" [23] Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?" [24] Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

    [25] Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, "You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am not." [26] One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" [27] Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.

 

If only there was some easier way to save us from our sins. Is there some side way around that we could just sneak by, unrecognized? Is there a way we could avoid coming face to face with the suffering and death of our beloved Lord, Jesus. Can’t we just deny our sins -- deny the need for so much fuss -- deny our problems and our sorry state? Peter would have liked to try to avoid the truth and hide who he truly was. To truly behold the cross and the death of the Son of God means to truly understand and admit who we are as sinners and what part we play in the Lord’s condemnation.

 

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, and teach us to be continually honest with ourselves, honest to others, and honest to you. Amen.

 

John 18:28-40

    Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. [29] So Pilate went outside to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" [30] They answered him, "If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you." [31] Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death." [32] This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die.

    [33] So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" [34] Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" [35] Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?" [36] Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." [37] Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." [38] Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"

    After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him. [39] But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?" [40] They cried out again, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a robber.

 

Jesus the holy innocent one is condemned and punished. Barabbas the criminal is set loose, scot free. That little incident was for us. It was recorded to let us feel the shame for what was done to Jesus. And for us to feel the joy of the prisoner set free, the condemned pardoned, the sinner absolved.

 

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, and take away our guilt and sins. Amen.

 

John 19:1-15

    Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. [2] And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. [3] They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands. [4] Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him." [5] So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Behold the man!" [6] When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him." [7] The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God." [8] When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. [9] He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. [10] So Pilate said to him, "You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?" [11] Jesus answered him, "You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin."

    [12] From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, "If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." [13] So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. [14] Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, "Behold your King!" [15] They cried out, "Away with him, away with him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar."

 

Things seem so wrong, so disturbing, so out of whack. The Son of God who came from heaven to earth ought not to meet his end so. The Lord of Life isn’t supposed to die. The King of the Universe ought not be treated so by such an insignificant prefect and his brute squad. In the family, there’s got to be a great deal of trust. When things seem so wrong, the family trusts that there is love and goodness and that the Father wants what’s best for us. And our Father is surprisingly good at using the strangest things, the unfair things, even the horrible things of sin and death, to work out His will for our good.

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, and, as you have promised, so work out all things for our good. Amen.

 

 

John 19:16-24

    So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

    So they took Jesus, [17] and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. [18] There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. [19] Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." [20] Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. [21] So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but rather, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' " [22] Pilate answered, "What I have written I have written."

    [23] When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, [24] so they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be." This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots."

So the soldiers did these things,

 

When Jesus talked about the cross, he often said things like this: “When I am lifted up I will draw all people to myself.”

 “Now is the Son of Man glorified.”  To the unthoughtful and the uncaring, Jesus on the cross looks inglorious, defeated, a loser. But to us, His family, we are never so proud, so awed, so thankful as when we behold the cross and our salvation there. There is our beloved Jesus fulfilling all Our Father’s promises. There is our beloved Savior and brother making all things right for this dysfunctional family.  There is our King giving us the Kingdom.

 

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who endured the cross, scorning its shame. Amen.

 

 

John 19:25-30

    but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. [26] When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" [27] Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

    [28] After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." [29] A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. [30] When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 

Jesus gave up his spirit. No one took his life from Him. He was in control throughout and willingly did what His Father had willed for him to do. He did it and we benefit. Because there is certainly nothing we could have done anything about it ourselves. It had to be he who would give up his spirit for us; it would have to be he who would take care of our sins for us; it would have to be he who would beat death for us; it would have to be he who would bring us into his holy family.

 

Almighty God, graciously behold this your family, for whom your Son Jesus gave up His Spirit. Amen.

 

John 19:31-42

    Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. [32] So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. [33] But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. [34] But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. [35] He who saw it has borne witness— his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth— that you also may believe. [36] For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken." [37] And again another Scripture says, "They will look on him whom they have pierced."

    [38] After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. [39] Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. [40] So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. [41] Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. [42] So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

 

The Lord=s Prayer.