Good Friday Service 2006
1. Introduction – The Wounds of Christ
Song – Lead Me To Calvary
2. His Head
Song- Judas’ Kiss
3. His Body
Song – Above All
4. His Hands & Feet
Song - The Old Rugged Cross
5. His Heart
Song – When I Survey
6. Conclusion - Anticipation
Song - Oh To See The Dawn (The Power of the Cross)
Oh to see the dawn, of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.[i]
1. Introduction – The Wounds of Christ
Read Isaiah 53
“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.” That final phrase is an interesting one. “By his wounds we are healed.” In his days on the earth, Jesus healed people by many means – a word spoken to a lame man “rise, take up your mat and walk!” – a muddy touch upon blind eyes – even an incidental touch of a woman who reached out “just to touch the him of his garment” brought healing.
But in this passage written by the prophet Isaiah 6ooyears before Jesus’ birth, we are told that it is “by His wounds” that we are healed. Not his words, not his touch, not his presence. His wounds.
On Good Friday, we pause to consider the death of Jesus. We remember the awful price that was required of our sins. We remember that Jesus paid that price in His own body, with his own blood. Jesus established the ordinance of Communion so that we would not forget. As we gather here tonight, let’s not forget Gethsemane, let’s not forget His agony, let’s not forget His love for thee, let’s go to Calvary.
2. His Head
They put a purple robe on Him, then wove a crown of thorns and set in on Him. And they began to call out to him, ”Hail, King of the Jews!” They spit on His face and struck Him with their fists. Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. They blindfolded Him and demanded, “Prophecy to us, Christ! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to Him. (MT 26:67-68 / MK 15:17-19 / LK 22:64 / JN 19:2)
The wounds of Jesus’ head were numerous. The crown of thorns dug deep into his scalp, the blows to his face started with slaps, which became fists, but soon degraded to a club. Isaiah tells us that they pulled his beard out of his face.
But the wounds to Jesus’ head were internal as much as external. They blindfolded Him, to increase the fear. They humiliated Him by spitting on Him. They mocked His royal title and His divine powers. John’s writes, “He came to His own but His own rejected Him.” The humanity that He created, the people He loved, rejected Him, mocked Him and hated Him. The rejection, the humiliation, the hate was a terrible wound.
But perhaps the harshest blow to the face of Jesus that night came in the form of a kiss.
One of His own.
One of those whom He loved and had poured His life into for three years betrayed Him with a sign of respect and honor. With all the speculation and talk about Judas this year, it is clear that while Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him, the kiss caught Him by surprise. But before we turn with disgust away from Judas, let’s think about our own lips.
Ø The same lips that sing His praises later criticize our neighbor.
Ø The same lips that lift His Name on High, later destroy the esteem of our kids or spouse.
Ø It must sometimes feel just like Judas’ kiss.
3. His Body
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
(JN 19:1 / MK 15:15)
Roman flogging, which was so vividly portrayed in The Passion of the Christ, was a particularly brutal torture. A whip containing several strands was used. Each strand contained several knots containing pieces of metal, shards of glass or bone. Many did not survive this form of punishment due to shock or loss of blood.
Isaiah tells us that, “by His stripes we are healed.” The stripes upon Jesus’ body were delivered with malice, but were borne with mercy. They were conceived in the cruel mind of sin-filled men, but carried on the back of a holy, loving God.
Like a rose trampled on the ground, He took the fall, and thought of you above all.
4. His Hands and His Feet
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the Place of the Skull (Which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified Him, and with two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle. (JN 19:16-18)
The Romans designed Crucifixion with the intent that it be a prolonged, agonizing, humiliating death.[ii] People who were crucified were either tied or nailed to a cross and allowed to hang there until they died either from shock, dehydration, loss of blood or suffocation. Death could come in hours or in days, depending on the condition of the person prior to their crucifixion. It was intended to be such a repulsive form of punishment that typically the bodies were not permitted to be removed from the crosses, but left in plain view to serve as a further humiliation and deterrent to crime.
It is no wonder that Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, makes a point of proclaiming that Jesus was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” In the death of Jesus, Satan unleashed all the power and hate of hell – No worse death can be imagined.
We know that Jesus was nailed to the cross because He asked Thomas to place his finger in the wounds in His hands and feet.
The hands that had touched the children, and blessed them,
Were now pierced by rough iron spikes.
The hands that had formed mud from the dust of the ground and spittle and caressed blind eyes,
Were now caked with blood from hours of torture.
The hands that just the evening before had replaced the severed ear of his enemy,
Were now torn and shredded by the weight of his body against the nails.
The feet that had walked with determination into forbidden and rejected Samaria to seek out and save a sinful shame-filled woman,
Were now held fast to a rough wooden cross, the symbol of rejection and shame.
Song - The Old Rugged Cross
5. His Heart
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? All who see me mock me; they hurl insults shaking their heads: “He trusts in the Lord, let the Lord rescue Him, Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him.” I am poured out like water, all my bones are out of joint, my heart has turned to wax, it has melted away within me.”
But when they came to Jesus and found that He was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side, with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the Scriptures would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another Scripture says, “They will look on the One they have pierced.”
As if the physical wounds and the mental horror were not enough, Jesus died of a broken heart. The anguish, fear and humiliation were eclipsed by His love for His Father. When His humanity cried out for deliverance from the death He knew was coming, His heart submitted to the will of the Father He loved and obeyed.
And yet as deep as His love for the Father was, He was willing to be separated from the Father out of His love for you. When He took your sins – your lies, your lust, your greed, your anger, your bitterness, your doubt, your selfishness – on Himself, he faced the most cruel wound of all – In that instant, bearing the sins of the entire human race, the fellowship He had enjoyed from eternity past was torn from Him as God could not look upon Him.
His body writhed in agony, crying out from every muscle, every joint and every nerve for deliverance, but His heart of love silenced the cries for deliverance, and replaced them with words of compassion – “Today you will be with me in paradise!” “Father, forgive them!” “Behold your mother!” and finally, “It is accomplished!”
When that great heart stopped beating, life began for you. His death brought us life. His life brings us victory!
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?
Song – When I Survey
6. Conclusion - Anticipation
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”
It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. (MK 15:37-39 & 42-47)
And so came dusk to the darkest day in history. The gathering darkness on this Good Friday evening does not begin to match the deep, dark void of that night.
Grief, shock and post-traumatic stress overwhelmed the followers of Jesus. They had seen their leader, their deliverer, their MESSIAH, The One they knew was “The Christ, the Son of the Living God” betrayed, arrested, falsely accused, tortured, abused and murdered!
None of us can imagine the sense of loss and confusion that filled the disciples of Jesus that night. Some gathered together behind locked doors in fear that they would be the next to face Jesus’ fate. Judas committed suicide in guilt, shame and remorse. Peter, who had denied the Lord three times, was last seen weeping bitterly and wouldn’t even be counted among the disciples.
Utter despair. Overwhelming hopelessness. Unfulfilled dreams. Complete abandonment.
Could we but for an instant place ourselves in their’ stead that night, we would forever view this day differently. Never have such lofty dreams encountered such crushing reality. Of course, we can not begin to imagine their state that night, because our perspective has forever been altered by our knowledge of the coming Sunday morning. The morning when death was swallowed up in victory, and the sting was forever removed from the grave. In our celebration of that victory, let us never forget the price that was paid. May we never forget the wounds of Christ.
Oh to see my name, written in the wounds
For through your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death
Life is mine to live
Won through your selfless love!
Song - Oh To See The Dawn (The Power of the Cross)
[i] Kieth Getty and Stuart Townend, Oh To See The Dawn © 2005 Thankyou Music
[ii] From Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifixion