Good Friday

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• Peter, James and John accompanied Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. They have difficulty staying awake (Matthew 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:39-45)

 

• Judas Iscariot, the money keeper for the apostles who stole money from the funds entrusted to him, the only apostle who did not come from Galilee, brings the Temple Guard to the Garden and identifies Jesus by a kiss. Jesus is arrested and taken to the Religious Leaders (Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:1-11)

 

• The Religious Leaders condemn Jesus (Matthew 27:1-2; Mark 15:1; Luke 22:66-71)

 

• 6am (Approximately); Jesus stands trial before Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14; Mark 15:2-5; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-37) and then is sent to Herod (Luke 23:6-12)

 

• 7am (Approximately); Jesus is returned to Pilate (Luke 23:11), Pilate has Jesus scourged, Jesus incurs a massive loss of blood due to the scourging, the crown of thorns is placed on Jesus’ head (John 19:1-3) and then He is sentenced to death (Near the Lions’ gate on the eastern side of the city, Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; Luke 23:23-24; John 19:16)

 

• 8am (Approximately); Jesus is lead away to Golgotha hill, Calvary. The road Jesus is forced upon is referred in Latin as Via Dolorosa, The Road of Grief. Given how much blood Jesus lost during the scourging He has trouble walking and carrying the cross they have forced upon Him. The Roman soldiers force Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus’ cross (Matthew 27:32-34; Mark 15:21-24; Luke 23:26-31; John 19:16-17); Jesus is prepared for Crucifixion.

 

• 9am “The Third Hour”; "It was the third hour when they crucified him" (Mark 15:25 NIV; The third hour in Jewish time would have been 9 am)

 

• Jesus is Crucified; Soldiers drove stake-like nails through Jesus' wrists and ankles, fixing him to the cross. An inscription was placed over his head that read, "The King of the Jews." Jesus hung on the cross for approximately six hours until he took his final breath. While he was on the cross, soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing. Onlookers shouted insults and jeered. Two criminals were crucified at the same time. At one point Jesus spoke to Mary and John. After that darkness covered the land. As Jesus gave up his spirit, an earthquake shook the ground and caused the temple curtain to rip in half from top to bottom

 

• “Father, Forgive Them” (Luke 23:34)

 

• The Soldiers cast lots for Jesus’ clothing (Mark 15:24)

 

• 10am (Approximately); Jesus is insulted and mocked:

 

• And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery (Matthew 27:39-40)

 

• The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus (Mark 15:31)

 

• The soldiers mocked Jesus too. They offered Him a drink of sour wine (Luke 23:36-37)

 

• One of the criminals who were crucified along with Jesus hurled insults at him (Luke 23:39)

 

• 11am (Approximately); Jesus and the other criminal speak (Luke 23:40-43; “today you will be with me in paradise”), Jesus speaks to his Mother Mary and apostle John (John 19:26-27; “behold your Son”, “behold your Mother”)

 

• Noon; ; (Mark 15:33; darkness remains until 3pm)

 

• 3pm; ; (Matthew 27:46), “It is finished” (John 19:30), “into Your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23:46)

 

• Events immediately following Jesus’ death:

 

• The earthquake occurs and the temple veil is torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51-52)

 

• The Centurion acknowledges “Surely He was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:47)

 

• The soldiers break both legs of the thieves (John 19:31-33)

 

• The soldier pierces Jesus side (John 19:34)

 

• Jesus is laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s unused tomb (Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42)

 

Jesus’ final word as human flesh while on the cross was tetelestai. Literally translated the word tetelestai means, “It is finished.” These words are found in John 19:30, the only place in the New Testament where they occur together:

 

John 19 (NIV)

30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.  

 

A dear friend and brother in the faith reminded me a few years ago of the dilemma some face when trying to reconcile the statement our Lord made about in Matthew 12:40 about being “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth“ if the crucifixion took place on Friday.

 

When quickly looking at Matthew, Mark and Luke’s “Synoptic Gospels” they seem to imply that the meal Jesus had with the disciples was the actual Passover meal.  However, John’s Gospel states that our Lord’s last meal with the disciples occurred the evening before that year’s Passover Feast.  Jesus had told the disciples to prepare for the Passover meal. 

 

This anomaly is resolved when you understand that there were two Passovers in the time of Jesus based upon two different methods to reckoning a day (sunrise to sunrise and sunset to sunset). Both Passovers were being held on Nisan 14 (of the Jewish calendar), but Nisan 14 fell on Thursday for the Galileans and Friday for the Judeans (remember, the calendar we utilize now was created by “Pagans”, and is such contaminated as evidenced by the Pagan worship of the “sun god”, we recognize as the day we call Sunday, and their worship of the “moon god”, which we refer to as Monday!).

 

Following the sunrise-to-sunrise definition the Galileans would have eaten their Passover (as would have Jesus and his disciples on Thursday, not Friday, which the Judean would have recognized given their sunset-to-sunset definition.  Irrespective of the day of the Passover meal which indicated the beginning of God’s amazing plan, the fact remains that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, the day we will celebrate as Easter Sunday in a few days.

 

I’ve chosen to not adjust this narrative to more closely associate with the Galilean timeline rather than what is celebrated by the majority of the Christian world these days as the significance of what we’re focusing on and remembering is far more important than any actual day or date for His blood is the only propitiation acceptable to the Father, the only means through which the Father’s wrath can be appeased thus allowing the sinful man to be reconciled to Him.

 

Without Jesus we are totally incapable of satisfying God’s justice except by spending eternity in hell. There is no service, sacrifice or gift that man can offer that will appease the holy wrath of God or satisfy His perfect justice. The only satisfaction, or propitiation, that could be acceptable to God and that could reconcile man to Him, had to be made by God. For this reason, God the Son, as Jesus, The Christ, came into the world, in human flesh, to be the perfect sacrifice for sin and make the only perfect atonement for the sins of all people.

 

Today is sobering but knowing how this will all end helps us deal with the sadness. We can only imagine what the apostles must have felt as they went through the overnight hours together more than 2,000 years ago. Everything had to begin at night because, as our Lord so stated;

 

John 3:20-21: “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” (nkjv)

 

Some of you may be familiar with the Good Friday message by that great Pastor S.M. Lockridge (“S.M.” stands for Shadrach Meshach). Here is one small portion of Pastor Lockridge’s message (I’ve added the complete three-minute section from his full sermon to the end of this email. I encourage you to read it out loud to your loved ones….spoiler alert; keep a box of Kleenex nearby):

 

It’s Friday
The Romans beat my Jesus
They robe him in scarlet
They crown him with thorns
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s comin’!

 

We are drawing closer to celebrating our Lord’s Resurrection on Sunday!!

 

The Good Friday Scriptures are as follows:

 

John 2: 19:  ...."Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (nlt)

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Luke 23 (NIV)

Jesus' Death

 

44It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." 48When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus' Burial

50Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea and he was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body. 53Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.

 

Thus fulfilling all of the prophesies made hundreds of years earlier; see examples of several below

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Isaiah 50:6 (NKJV) (history records that Isaiah prophesied from 740-680 B.C.; more than 700 years before the events of this week!)

6 I gave My back to those who struck Me,
And My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard;
I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.

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Isaiah 52:13-15 (NKJV)

13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
14 Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man, (this refers to what was done to Jesus during the entire ordeal)
And His form more than the sons of men;
15 So shall He sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.

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Psalm 22:16 (NKJV)

16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;

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Psalm 22:14-15 (NKJV) (crucifixion had not been invented by the Romans yet when this Psalm was penned)

14 I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

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Psalm 69:21 (NKJV)

21 They also gave me gall for my food,
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

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Amos 8:9 (NKJV)

9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in broad daylight; (once Jesus breathed his last on the cross, the skies darkened and the earthquake occurred)

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Psalm 22:7-8 (NKJV) (this is what the soldiers and others shouted at Jesus)

7 All those who see Me ridicule Me;
They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 “He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;
Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!”

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Psalm 34:20 (NKJV)

20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken. (they killed him, but they did not break any of his bones as they did the criminals located on either side of him)

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Psalm 22:18 (NKJV)

18 They divide My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots. (the solders took and cast lots for Jesus’ clothing)

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Isaiah 53 (NKJV)

1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth; (this refers to Jesus not defending himself at the illegal trials)
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they made His grave with the wicked—(this refers to being crucified with criminals)
But with the rich at His death, (this refers to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea where Jesus was laid)  
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

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The following is a three-minute section from a Good Friday message by Pastor S.M. Lockridge (I recommend that you read it out loud)

It’s Friday
Jesus is praying
Peter’s a sleeping
Judas is betraying
But Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
Pilate’s struggling
The council is conspiring
The crowd is vilifying
They don’t even know
That Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
The disciples are running
Like sheep without a shepherd
Mary’s crying
Peter is denying
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s a comin’!

It’s Friday
The Romans beat my Jesus
They robe him in scarlet
They crown him with thorns
But they don’t know
That Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
See Jesus walking to Calvary
His blood dripping
His body stumbling
And his spirit’s burdened
But you see, it’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
The world’s winning
People are sinning
And evil’s grinning.

It’s Friday
The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands
To the cross
They nail my Savior’s feet
To the cross
And then they raise him up
Next to criminals.

It’s Friday
But let me tell you something
Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
The disciples are questioning
What has happened to their King
And the Pharisees are celebrating
That their scheming
Has been achieved
But they don’t know
It’s only Friday
Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
He’s hanging on the cross
Feeling forsaken by his Father
Left alone and dying
Can nobody save him?
Ooooh
It’s Friday
But Sunday’s comin’!

It’s Friday
The earth trembles
The sky grows dark
My King yields his spirit.

It’s Friday
Hope is lost
Death has won
Sin has conquered
and Satan’s just a laughin’.

It’s Friday
Jesus is buried
A soldier stands guard
And a rock is rolled into place.

But it’s Friday
It is only Friday
Sunday is a comin’!