Good Friday Gathering

Good Friday Gathering

First Word

Read: Luke 23:34: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (ESV)

Theme: Forgiveness

Meditation: At the core of the Gospel lies the profound understanding that Jesus willingly embraced the cross as His divine mission. The crucifixion was not an unforeseen event, and even the wicked individuals who participated in it were compelled by the will of God. While this does not absolve them of their sins, God used them to bring about forgiveness through the cross. Even their forgiveness and eternal life were ultimately made possible by the very cross they intended as a form of punishment. As Isaiah eloquently stated, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5; ESV). The only question was, would they trust in this crucified savior? On this Good Friday, we are reminded of the profound forgiveness of sin that is found at the cross of Jesus.

Prayer: Father, we thank you that you ordained the cross as the only way for us to be forgiven of our sin. We confess that our sin has been against you and that sin deserves death. But in your grace, you sent Jesus to pay the penalty of our sin that we may be forgiven. May you empower of us to live daily in light of that forgiveness that we may freely offer forgiveness to others.

Second Word

Read: Luke 23:43: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise." (ESV)

Theme: Salvation - Pastor Wayne

Meditation: The first person to benefit from the salvation made possible by the cross was one of the men crucified with Jesus. Initially, it seemed impossible for him to benefit from this salvation as both Matthew and Mark record that both thieves initially reviled Jesus during their crucifixions. However, as the hours passed, God worked in the heart of one of these men. As he hung in the presence of the Savior and watched Jesus, his heart was transformed. He no longer saw a criminal like himself but a man in whom he could place his faith and the last of his hope. “One of the criminals who was hanged railed at Jesus, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” Jesus revealed that His confession was enough to save him. On this Good Friday, we remember that it is our confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord that saves us and gives us confidence in eternal life.

Prayer: Father, we thank you that the initial state of our unbelief does not need to be our last chance. We thank you that you are able to soften the hardest of hearts with your love and compassion for your people. The cross was enough to save us from our sins. May we all put our trust in Jesus and may hearts be transformed by the power of the Gospel.

Third Word

Read: John 19:26-27: When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (ESV)

Theme: Relationship

Meditation: Hanging on the cross, enduring unimaginable pain, one might assume that Jesus was solely preoccupied with His own suffering. However, He gazed out from the cross and noticed His mother and His disciple John. Even in death, He demonstrated sufficient care to consider His mother’s well-being after His departure. He understood that this experience would be profoundly traumatic for her as well as His disciples. In His divine and human nature, Jesus recognized that relationships are an integral part of life. While the cross symbolized forgiveness of sin and salvation from eternal punishment, it also underscored the significance of maintaining and restoring healthy relationships. It represented God’s desire to permanently restore our relationship with Him and mend any broken connections between us and others. This Good Friday, we are reminded that God has extended an invitation to us into a relationship with Him, facilitated by the cross. And we are encouraged to live out this relationship by cultivating peace with others.

Prayer: Father we thank you that you made a way for us to have a relationship with you. That cross was enough for us to be permanently reconciled to you. Help us to live daily in light of that reconciliation. And may you give us the strength to be at peace with others in our lives.

Fourth Word

Read: Matthew 27:46: "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?...My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (ESV)

Theme: Abandonment

Meditation: On the cross, Jesus quotes only the first line of Psalm 22: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” It may appear that Jesus feels abandoned in His most vulnerable moment. However, if Jesus is invoking the entire Psalm, it only begins with feelings of fear and abandonment. But the entire Psalm narrates the experiences the Messiah would undergo on behalf of His people. Psalm 22:15 states, “For dogs surround me; a group of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.” Verse 18 continues, “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.” Jesus is asserting that this Psalm is about Him, and He is embracing it because the Psalm goes on to say that this experience will lead to praise and glory for God as people from all corners of the earth “remember and turn to the Lord” (Psalm 22:27). The Psalm concludes not with feelings of abandonment but with unwavering trust in God’s control. This Good Friday, we remember that God has never and will never abandon us. We live daily in light of the promise from Jesus, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

Prayer: Father, we thank you that you will never abandon your people but are always with us. No matter what we might experience in this life, may we always remember that you are with us and that you are moving all of history towards the redemption of your people.

Fifth Word

Read: John 19:28: "I thirst." (ESV)

Theme: Distress

Meditation: Hunger and thirst are the most fundamental human urges. Many have attempted to interpret Jesus’ words here in a way that goes beyond their literal meaning. Why did Jesus say, “I thirst”? John attributes this to fulfilling a scriptural prophecy. The most likely scriptural reference is Psalm 69:21, where the Psalmist states, “and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.” In Jesus’ anguish and suffering, He experienced thirst. We often overlook Jesus’ humanity in our desire to protect His divine nature. However, Jesus was fully divine and fully human. Only a human being could bear the penalty for the sins of humanity. Jesus is often referred to as the “Second Adam,” the one who perfectly fulfilled the Law of God. Yet, Jesus demonstrated that His humanity was not weak or frail. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, He was sustained to the end. This Good Friday, we are reminded that Jesus shared our humanity. As Hebrews 4:15 say, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Prayer: Father, we thank you that Jesus paid the penalty of our sin on the cross. That in His darkest hour (and ours) His humanity did not fail, but You sustained Him until all was finished. Because of this, we are grateful that we have forgiveness of sin, salvation from eternal punishment, and a restored relationship with you.

Sixth Word

Read: John 19:30: “It is finished.” (ESV)

Theme: Triumph

Meditation: Why did Jesus come to Earth? Jesus provides several reasons. He came to preach the good news of the kingdom, proclaim liberty to the captives, heal the sick, blind, lame, and demon-possessed, bear witness to the truth, and give His life as a ransom for many. In Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, He confidently declared, “I have accomplished the work You gave Me to do.” Only one thing remained—to die on the cross. As Jesus neared His final breath, He uttered, “It is finished.” This wasn’t a surrender or giving up; rather, it signified Jesus’ greatest triumph. What seemed like a defeat was actually a victory for Him and all of His people. Today, because of that victory, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). This Good Friday, we are reminded that there is victory in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and everyone who calls on the name of Jesus will be saved!

Prayer: Father, we thank You that “It is finished!” Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have eternal life with Jesus. What we could not accomplish on our own, in Your grace you did for us! May we live every day in light of the victory won for us at the cross. And may we point others to the cross that they might come to know Jesus as well.

Seventh Word

Read: Luke 23:46: Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (ESV)

Theme: Trust

Meditation: There is this idea that the Father turned His face away from Jesus on the cross because He couldn’t bear to see sin. But the truth is, Jesus, throughout the entire events leading to the cross, really His whole earthly life, he trusted Himself to the Father’s Care. Psalm 22:24 says, “For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.” What a beautiful picture of trust that God will come through for His Son.

But here is the crazy thing. We know that the wages of sin is death. And Jesus never sinned, so Jesus should never have died. And beyond that, this is the God who is about to die and be buried in a tomb. So what’s about to happen is going to be completely out of the ordinary. Jesus, the 2nd person of the Trinity, in human flesh, is about to die.

And his final words on the cross are about the relationship that He has with His Father. In essence, Jesus is saying, “Father, I trust you.”

Because all of this was for a purpose. The cross was about saving His people from their sins.

And Jesus models for us what we are to do. Trust God.

One day we all will face our own mortality and pass from this life into the next. And for many, that is a time of fear and trembling, wondering, “What comes next?” No matter what you believe, it will take an incredible amount of faith to die. For those outside of Christ, believing that this life is it and there is nothing more is an incredible act of faith. It’s foolishness, but still requires faith because you don’t know what’s coming.

And for those of us who have put our faith in the person of Jesus, we follow the example of our Lord when we say, “Father into your hands I commit my spirit.”

And it is because of what Jesus had done on the cross that we can have that trust in God. With that is the promise that we have from Him…eternal life.

John 17:1-4: When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. (ESV)

Prayer: Father, as Jesus prayed, “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” we trust that you will protect us as well. As we live, we live in light of our salvation. And should you call us to be with you and we take our last breath in this life, we will do so with the hope of salvation and the eternal life that is promised to us. Father, we are so grateful for the cross which paid it all. May we never take it for granted or in vain. My you be glorified through us, as we live for you and tell the world of your great love and mercy for us.