GOOD FRIDAY 2025

Well, Good Evening everyone. It’s great to be here with you today. If you have a Bible (or a device) go ahead and turn to the book of Mark. Mark chapter 15 is where we’re going to be for just a few moments tonight.

Before I start let me just thank Pastor Mark, and those of you who are part of the Northfield Baptist Church family, thank you for your hospitality and welcoming us into this place of worship with you tonight. This has been a blessing and has been for the past couple years, so I’m thankful for this relationship we have between our churches.

Those of you who go here know this, but you are blessed to have Pastor Mark as your pastor...he has been a tremendous encouragement and mentor to me over the years, and I’m glad we could do this service together.

Mark chapter 15...I’m gonna read starting in verse 24, so if you’re able and willing, would you please stand for the reading of God’s word.

24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

Jump down to verse 33.

33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Praise be to God for the reading of his Word.

Would you remain standing as I pray.

PRAY

Well like I said, I just want to spend a few moments tonight talking about why we’re here and what all this means...and to do so, I want to introduce to you a literary term that I recently learned.

The word is anagnorisis (ANNA-NOR-ASIS] (repeat and have people repeat)

Sounds like the name of a dinosaur or something, but no actually anagnorisis is n ancient Greek literary device that was used mostly in Greek tragedies, but its been used all throughout the history of writing...Shakesphere used it a lot in almost all of his plays, and we see it a lot in the Bible as well particulary in the Gospel accounts.

Because, what happens in anagnorisis, is a moment of recognition.

The word anagnorisis comes from two words in Greek, ana – which means again...and gorsis, which comes from gnosis which means knowledge.

So... anagnorisis...means to know again...or to recognize.

And so anagnorisis in literature usually comes in two ways...either the main Character comes to really discover or to know themselves and accet their true ideneity. Think Lord of the Rings and Aragorn accepting his role as King. Or... anagnorisis is seen when other characters recognize who another character actually is.

My kids have been watching Tangled on repeat lately, and so both of those are seen in that movie when the main character Repunzel rezlizes who she is AND she realizes who her step mother really is, right?

Well whats anagnorisis have to do with Good Friday and the reason we’re here?

Well, the account we just read of the crucifixion, culminating with the centurions declaration of who Jesus is...is one of the most clear examples of anagnorisis in the Bible.

It’s far from the only one. If you know you’re Bible you know that in the gospel accounts we see many remarkable declerations of Jesus’ true identity. From John the Baptist, to Peter’s great decleration.

But Mark...in writing this Gospel account, his goal is made clear at the beginning of the book. You don’t have to turn there, but Mark starts his gospel account by saying:

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In other words, I’m about to tell you the good news of Jesus...that he is the Son of God.

And, again, through this book...some have recognized...some haven’t...even in the account that we read, most had not recognized who Jesus truly was, right?

Look again at verse 24 of chapter 15.

24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.

So, he’s being mocked...he’s being made fun of. Some scholars estimate there may have been as many as 600 soldiers there just for this cruxifiction just mocking Jesus....they didn’t know who he was. (pause) Verse 26 says...

26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”

So...in God’s divine sovereign plan...the mockers actually did make an accurtate declaration...but they didn’t KNOW who he was.

27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left.

Other gospel accounts share how one of the robbers did come to know who Jesus was while on the cross. That’s amazing. But at the start they’re both mocking Jesus. They didn’t know who he was.

Then Jesus makes his loud cry...God why have you forsaken me! He’s quoting Psalm 22, and what happens.

35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”

Now, time won’t allow us to dive all the way into this tonight, but what’s interesting is commentators are split on the intentions of this individual and these bystanders. (pause) Because when we read this, it’s easy to think oh they’re mocking Jesus...they’re like the Romans soldiers teasing him. But the Bible doesn’t specifically spell out the intentions of the individual who gave him the sour wine does it?

Many scholars, and I’m inclined to agree with them here, actualy think that thesei bystanders and the one who gave Jesus the sour wine were actually doing so out of compassion for him....and because they really were curious about if Elijah would save him.

See, it had become a semi common belief at that time...a superstition of sorts fo the Jesus of the day that the Old Testament prophet Elijah could show up to help you if you were in trouble.

And so, I think it’s very possible that this individual was motivated by compassion and curiosity see whether Elijah would come and save him. But either way...he didn’t truly know who Jesus actually was.

And what happens? Verse 37....Jesus yells out. Mark doesn’t tell us what he said, but other gospels shows us that he yelled out IT IS FINISHED!! Tetelestai! This was an accounting term used to say something’s paid...it’s like when you go to the store and swipe or tap your card and it says approved. It was also a judicial term used to say a sentence had been carried out. And it was a military term as well!

So Jesus yells out...he dies...the curtain is torn from the top to bottom (There’s significance in that)....but then what happens? You’d think that’s the climax of the story....but look at verse 39..here comes the anagnorisis moment.

39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

Did he know what he was saying in a fully salvific sense? I don’t know? I’d love to hpep that he eventually was saved and will be in heaven, and that this is the first conversion post death of Christ...but that’s conjecture, I don’t know.

But what we do know is that he had a recognition that this man that died was not normal...that something was different about him...and he realized – unlike all the others so far – that he was not just a man, but divine!

Now here’s my question...this is why this matters for us...Have you realied who Jesus is...and...have your realized you you are?

Friends, many of us have grown up in church and heard these stories longer than we can remember, and if we’re not careful we can forget not just how significant the events we’re reading about are...that these are the most important events to have ever taken place in human history, but we can forget who we are in the story!

The reason we started with the creation narrative tonight and walked through the fall, and then the promise, and the Passover, and the prophets and all of that was to show that Jesus....the whole Bible’s about him!

All the way from the sin problem in Genesis 3, Jesus was the one who was coming to fix the problem...and so when we read the whole Old Testament it’s pointing to Jesus...then he gets here and we’re like ahh how could the people not recognize him...how could they make fun of him...how could the religious leaders want to crucify him...and the thieves on the cross how could they make fun of him.

But, brothers and sisters then must come our anagnorisis moment when we realize all those bystanders...the mocking thieves, even the curious guy with the sponge..that’s us!!

The hymn writer William Cowper says:

The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day...

And there go I thou vile as he!!

Or as Townsed would say

Ashamed I hear my mocking voice cry out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held him there!!

Brothers and Sisters, Good Friday is only Good when we realie who we are in the story...that’s what makes this day so meaningful year after year because we get to come again...to know...to remember...who Jesus is...and who we are. And the fact that despite who we are, he died to save us.

Is that personal to you. Or is this just another story we hear year after year.

If you’d like to talk more...we’re gonna sing in a second and then leave in silence, but if you’d like to know more about what it means to know Jesus and what makes this day so Good for the beliver – Pastor Mark and I would love to talk to you after service.

Let me pray.