Good Friday • Year A

Historical Collect

Almighty God, look with mercy on your family of faith who are gathered here and across the world, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and given over into the hands of sinners and to suffer death on the cross; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Thematic Collect

God of all mercy and grace, look with favor on your world for which your Son suffered death on the cross. Draw us to him, grant us your salvation, and bring us to eternal life; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Common Thread

Who would believe such a thing? A man of sorrows, crushed, pierced, marred—and all this because of our sins. It was God’s will to place the iniquity of all who ever lived upon this despised and forsaken man. Who could believe that in so doing, so many would be made righteous? Yet, we not only believe, but remember and repent. For it is he who we confess, confidently drawing near to him who had been rejected, but whom we cherish. We remember that on this dark day, he went to the cross so that we might receive mercy and grace and the forgiveness of all our sins. Who would believe such a wondrous thing?

First Reading • Isaiah 52:13–53:12

Surely Isaiah prophecies of the Christ here. He is depicted, at first, as an earthly king would like to be “high and lifted up.” Yet, when we read a verse further, we see what no king would wish. This lifted up servant of God, is “marred, beyond human semblance.” This mutilation, necessarily due to his having been lifted up, spatters the nations — the Gentiles. Though despised and rejected, in part because of his injured appearance, he has carried our griefs while bearing his own. The servant Messiah, “pierced for our transgressions,” has the iniquity of the whole world placed upon him by God.

Here, the text turns from sadness to joy; for “out of the agony of his soul,” the servant is satisfied. Having been counted with us sinners, his sacrifice will make many righteous.

Psalm • Psalm 22:1–31

From a New Testament perspective, today’s psalm could be considered messianic. At the very least, Jesus saw himself in the psalm. God’s servant is more like a worm than a man. He is despised, and the people mock him. Worse still, he feels as if God has forsaken him (Matthew 27:46). What can he do but speak his lament and then turn to prayer?

Here, whether we read the psalm in its Old Testament setting alone or look back on it with the knowledge of the gospels, we may learn something from David. He does not pray for deliverance so much as for presence. The mockers cry, “Let God deliver him!” But the psalmist prays not just for deliverance, but for nearness (v. 19). Too often we pray for God to deliver us from our troubles when we might have instead been asking him to be with us through the troubles.

Alternate: Psalm 31 – Our piddling devotion cannot deliver us from our sins. Rescue and redemption come through the righteousness of Christ alone. The righteousness of Christ becomes our own when we appropriate it by faith in him. Our best strengths fail us because of our sin, but Christ is more powerful in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9–11). His loving mercy is stronger than all our iniquities. Put your trust in the Lord’s righteousness and his righteousness is yours. Trust in your own righteousness and you have none at all.

Second Reading • Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:7–9

When we carry the weight of our sin, we often feel as though we are forsaken. When he bore the burden of the sin of the world, Jesus felt the same way. It is natural to feel separated from God when a load of sin is pressing us deeper down, making us feel further and further away from heaven. At such times, we must remember that we have Jesus. We should confess what we know to be true. When we feel far away, we must cling to what we know by faith, instead of what we feel. What we know is that despite our turpitude, our Great High Priest is the source of our eternal salvation. Let us hold fast to this confession: It is Christ who has carried the weight of our sin.

Gospel • John 18:1–19:42

This necessarily long pericope springs from the preceding verses that take up the entirety of chapter 17: the High-Priestly Prayer of Jesus. Chapter 18 begins, “When Jesus had spoken these words ...”. Once he prayed his prayer of consecration over his disciples, it was as though all of hell and heaven broke loose. His prayer was a threat to the powers of darkness. Just so, our first scene begins in the dark, with lanterns brought in for some illumination. It seems ironic that the forces of darkness had to bring lanterns to accomplish their task. The text makes no mention, however, of the disciples having any need of light. There in the darkening evening of a garden across the brook, they are content with another Light (Revelation 21:23).

Without force, and without allowing further violence by his disciples, Jesus guaranteed even Peter’s safety (after Peter had taken his sword to a Temple guard) and went bound with the soldiers to Caiaphas, the high priest. The irony is heavy here. Jesus was secretly interrogated (the darkness is thick in our text) by the father-in-law of Caiaphas, something of a surrogate high priest, and responded that he had already openly stated the answers to Caiaphas’ questions. For his seeming impudence, one of the very soldiers Jesus had just saved from violence struck him. Jesus defended his statements as true and was then bound over to the actual high priest.

As Jesus was trundled from Annas to Caiaphas to Pilate, Peter denies his Lord. Next, it was Pilate who denied his own authority, wishing from the start of the affair to wash his hands of what he saw as a Jewish matter. But the truth would be heard. Seeing to the heart of the issue, Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus spoke to the reality of his kingdom — that it is a realm beyond this world, and that in this world, his purpose is to bear witness to the truth.

Next, a most perverse lie was perpetrated: An actual criminal was freed while a guiltless man was led away to be flogged and crucified. Simultaneously, Pilate found Jesus innocent and sentenced him to death. Jesus made it clear that this was only permitted by the sovereignty of God and then went silently to his judgment (Isaiah 53:7).

Jesus, an exceptional man, was crucified between two common criminals. Hanging on the cross, his thoughts were not for himself; they were for those he would leave behind, just as they had been in the garden for his disciples. He made sure his mother would be provided for, even as he was dying. And dying, he secured our lives as well.