Good Friday 2022

[0:00] Welcome. I know some of you guys are coming in, finding your seats. My name is Donnie. I'm one of the pastors here at One Harbor, and welcome to our Good Friday service. We're so glad you're with us. Yeah, we love this night. We love it as a chance to fix our attention on specifically the death of Jesus on the cross.

[0:19] And I imagine that most of you here are followers of Jesus. Although some of you might be here, and you got here because it's family obligation or something that's going on in your life, and you're like, I just want to go see what this is.

[0:32] Wherever you're at with Jesus, we're really glad you're here. And I think for all of us tonight, we're going to have a real opportunity to see him and consider him in a really powerful way.

[0:43] And so I want to invite my good friend, Matt Hosier. Matt is a pastor at a church in Poole, England, and he's with us this week. And he's just a dear friend and a really, really great pastor.

[0:57] And so, yeah, Matt, lead us. Thanks, Donnie. Well, it is wonderful to be with you this week. We so enjoy coming out to Moorhead and being with our friends here.

[1:08] And it's certainly a tremendous privilege to be able to take part in and lead us through this time of reflection on Good Friday. Such an important day for all of us, for the world, especially for those of us who know and love Jesus.

[1:24] This is a day when we reflect on the fact that Jesus was crucified and buried. And Good Friday can feel like a strange day because it is a kind of a somber day.

[1:35] This is a kind of a somber moment that we're going to be in over the next few minutes. And so our reflections and our worship will necessarily have something of a somber tone to them as we reflect on the pain and death that Jesus endured.

[1:53] But, of course, the Christians, our minds cannot help but look forward two days to Easter Sunday when we will gather to celebrate the resurrection. And that hope, of course, will permeate everything that we do and say and sing in this service.

[2:09] So what we're going to do is take a journey through some of Jesus' final moments at the cross, pausing to reflect at different points and considering how the cross makes a difference in our lives.

[2:21] And so this service is probably going to be quite different from what you're used to. It's going to be quite different from how a normal One Harbour Sunday is. I'm going to lead us through.

[2:31] I'm going to lead us in thinking about what Jesus has done, a reflection on different elements of what he achieved at the cross. We're then going to pray together. I'd encourage us to pray.

[2:42] Somebody will lead us in prayer, but the words will appear on the screen. I encourage you to speak out the words at the same time. And we'll then have a moment of just quiet reflection to think about what we've heard and what we've prayed.

[2:53] We're then going to sing a refrain of a chorus. And we're going to do that seven times. And once we've done that, we're then going to take communion and finish by singing together again.

[3:06] The Gospels record seven sayings or words that Jesus uttered from the cross. They are measured and deep, giving us amazing insights into the very heart and purposes of God himself.

[3:19] And so we're going to spend the next 14 minutes or so reflecting on these seven words. Let's begin by settling our hearts before God. As the psalmist says, The first word is forgiveness.

[3:47] Jesus had already endured enormous amounts of abuse. He had been mocked by a crowd of soldiers, whipped and beaten, stripped naked and redressed in mock royal robes.

[3:59] A crown of thorns had been placed on his head. He'd lost blood. He was exhausted. And then he began the long walk towards the cross. By this point, Jesus was so weak, he was unable to make the journey unaided.

[4:13] The heavy cross beam was too much for him to carry. And so a man from the crowd was enlisted to carry it up the hill. And as he walked, Jesus was mocked, spat out, abused by the crowds, and he remained silent.

[4:26] But then here he arrives at the place called the skull. Nails are driven through his wrists and his ankles. And no doubt he's screamed out in agony.

[4:38] But then comes his first word, and it is an unexpected one. Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

[4:50] In the midst of his agony, his mind goes not towards his own situation, but towards those who put him there. And his cry to God on their behalf hints that there is a deep irony and mystery behind these bloody events.

[5:05] You see, Jesus' accusers knew exactly what they were doing. They had wanted him dead for a long time. They'd been plotting about how to achieve it. They had bribed Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, and orchestrated his arrest and faked evidence to incriminate him before the Roman authorities.

[5:24] It was a cruel and calculated plan. What's more, Jesus' executors, well, they knew exactly what they were doing. The Romans had made an art form out of crucifixion.

[5:36] It was a method of execution so brutal and so precise. Every element designed to inflict the greatest pain upon the victim. The torture and mockery, stripping, beating, spitting, whipping.

[5:48] Victims were elevated and left to die by the roadside. As a shameful public display and a deterrent other potential revolutionaries.

[6:00] And Jesus' mockers knew exactly what they were doing. Crucifixion was sadly commonplace in Roman-occupied Israel. And everyone would have witnessed it at some point.

[6:12] It was a public spectacle in which passers-by would unleash their scorn and mockery. It would become normalized. Many people probably even numbed the brutality of it all.

[6:26] Christ's suffering was intense and unparalleled. And everyone who was behind it knew exactly what they were up to. And yet Jesus cries out, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

[6:43] There is a deep mystery to the events of Easter. In which those who consider themselves powerful are shown to be powerless. And the one who is at the mercy of others dispenses mercy to his murderers.

[6:56] As accusers, executors, and mockers. Lined up to do their worst to Jesus. They had no idea that there was a deeper power at work. Which would soon overturn their evil schemes.

[7:08] They knew not what they did. Because they knew not what God was doing. As Jesus endured their mockery, scorn, and violence.

[7:21] He had the strength to extend forgiveness to them. If Jesus could pardon the very ones who colluded against him. Even as they drove nails through his limbs. There is nothing we could ever do that would put us beyond the reach of his prayers.

[7:35] So, let us pray together. And then take a moment in silent reflection. Thanking Jesus for his forgiveness. Let's pray together.

[7:50] Father, forgive us. For so often we know not what we do. Thank you that you endured the shame of the cross.

[8:01] And have revealed to us the mystery of your gospel. As we enjoy the forgiveness you extend to us. Would you also empower us to extend forgiveness to others.

[8:17] Amen. What can't wash away our sins?

[8:52] What can make us whole again? Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[9:13] What can wash us pure as snow, welcomed as the friends of God?

[9:27] Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[9:42] Oh, Jesus. The second word is salvation.

[10:02] Three crosses stood on Skull Hill, Calvary Hill that day. In the center hung Jesus, and on his left and on his right there were two other condemned men.

[10:15] They are often described as thieves, but they cannot just have been petty criminals. Crucifixion was such a barbaric form of execution that it was reserved for the worst offenders in society, for violent revolutionaries who dared to stand up against the power of Rome.

[10:32] Nobody could seriously think that was what Jesus was planning. It was absurd for him to be executed in this way. And yet it fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that Jesus would be numbered amongst the transgressors.

[10:47] So Jesus is crucified between two revolutionaries, sharing their fate, though he is innocent of their crime. One of the criminals hurled insults at him.

[10:58] Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us. But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence.

[11:10] We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

[11:21] On one side is a man so unable to see beyond the ugliness of the situation that he cannot believe Jesus is who he claimed to be. He was a failed revolutionary and nothing more.

[11:34] So the first criminal died as he lived, spewing forth violent curses. On the other side is a man who has come to terms with his guilt. Perhaps he heard Jesus' words, Father, forgive them.

[11:49] And found himself strangely moved, such that he was able to perceive a glimpse of beauty where his companions saw only ugliness. This man has spent his life pursuing a kingdom by violence.

[12:02] And now realizing where it has got him, he cries out to Jesus. And he asks, remember me when you come into your kingdom. With his final words, the first criminal tries to tear Jesus down.

[12:16] With his final words, the second criminal asks Jesus to raise him up. And with his second word from the cross, Jesus promises salvation.

[12:29] Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Here's the question. Where are you in this story?

[12:40] Which criminal do you identify with? When you look at the cross, do you see only the shame and the ugliness of it? Or can you perceive a glimpse of beauty in the midst of the horror? And so let's pray together.

[12:53] And then take a moment in silence to reflect upon Jesus' offer of salvation. Lord Jesus, thank you that you were numbered among the transgressors.

[13:09] To bring even the most distant people into your paradise. Thank you that you have made a place for me in your kingdom. I surrender to you, King of Kings.

[13:22] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. guitar solo guitar solo guitar solo

[14:27] Nothing but the blood Nothing but the blood Of Jesus Jesus The third word is relationship.

[15:00] Jesus' third word from the cross is a beautiful statement of relationship in which, once again, he's less concerned with his own suffering and more focused on those around him.

[15:11] Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, Woman, here is your son.

[15:29] And to the disciple, here is your mother. From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. This is a tender moment where Jesus cares for his mother, but the word he uses is unusual.

[15:44] He calls her woman, and in English that sounds rude. But in Jesus' culture, it was an acceptable word to use, but not the normal choice. But there's actually a deeper significance to this.

[15:57] For it's the second time in the Gospel of John where Jesus addresses Mary in this way. At the wedding at Cana, at the start of his ministry, Mary asks Jesus to intervene when the wine runs out.

[16:09] And Jesus replies, Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Do whatever he tells you.

[16:22] In that story, Jesus instructed the disciples to fill stone jars with water and serve it to the master of the banquet. As they do so, it is not just water that flows forth, but the finest wine.

[16:35] This was the first sign which revealed Jesus' glory. Three years later, Jesus is hanging on a cross, and again he speaks to his mother and a disciple. But there are differences between Cana and Calvary.

[16:49] At Cana, Jesus declared, Woman, my hour has not yet come. At Calvary, his hour had finally arrived. At Cana, Jesus instructed his disciples, and wine flown forth.

[17:03] At Calvary, Jesus instructed his disciples as his blood flowed forth. At Cana, this was his first sign through which his disciples saw his glory.

[17:14] At Calvary, this was his greatest sign through which his glory was made known to all people. Jesus said to Mary, Woman, here is your son.

[17:28] And to the disciple, here is your mother. These words are not just words to one woman and one disciple. Rather, the disciple and the woman are symbolic of the new family Jesus is creating.

[17:43] This is a family not tied together by blood lineage, but by participation in Jesus' own blood. Through the cross, definitions that kept us apart, social, gender, ethnic boundaries are torn down.

[17:56] And a new family is being forged. We are given to one another as mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters. And we are charged with loving and being loved.

[18:09] So let us pray and take a moment in silent reflection, thanking Jesus for the privilege of being welcomed into his family. Lord Jesus, thank you that you're unashamed to call us brothers or sisters.

[18:30] May we also be unashamed. Would you help me to treat my fellow Christian as family, preferring their needs to my own, and laying down my life for them as you did for us.

[18:46] Amen. Amen. What can't make us whole again?

[19:23] Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[19:34] Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[20:04] Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. The fourth word is abandonment.

[20:23] From noon until three in the afternoon, darkness came over all the lands. About three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lima sabachthani, which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[20:43] Although the accounts of Jesus' crucifixion include the abuse he suffered, the mockery, the beating, the pain of the execution, there is surprisingly little focus on his physical agony.

[20:55] The greatest sense of distress seems to come from what was happening at an emotional, psychological, spiritual level. Years later, in his letter to the Galatian church, the apostle Paul describes Jesus' death as the moment in which he became a curse.

[21:13] And there are two ways in which that happened. Firstly, he became a curse in a secular sense, as he was handed over to the curses of humanity. Crucifixion was not only designed to inflict enormous amounts of physical pain, it was accompanied by words and actions that inflicted wounds at a deeper level.

[21:33] Jesus was beaten and abused. His friends were scattered. Fellow criminals heaped insults upon him. Pastors by spewed forth mockery. They were invited to curse him as part of the entertainment.

[21:46] In this moment, Jesus became the focal point of the worst that humanity had to give. He was cursed by those who saw him.

[21:59] But secondly, he became a curse in a religious sense. For the people who passed by not only considered him worthy of their curses, but in the words of Isaiah, they considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

[22:14] And they weren't wrong. The Old Testament contained laws about those who should be put to death for capital offenses, one of which said that anyone who is hung on a pole, on a tree, is under God's curse.

[22:29] And that is the very thing Jesus is experiencing in this moment. If the curses of his fellow man were bearable, it was a curse from God that tipped him over the edge and called out this cry, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

[22:44] Something mysterious was happening to Jesus at this moment as he absorbed the curse of both man and God. All the evil and brokenness of the world, every way in which we have failed to live up to the law of God and the life for which he created us.

[23:02] All of our sin was being located in the body of Christ. But Christ's abandonment was part of a divine exchange in which he was abandoned so we might be accepted.

[23:15] He took our death and gave us life. As Paul concludes in 2 Corinthians 5, God made him who had no sin to be sinned for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

[23:34] So, let us pray and then take a moment in silent reflection, thanking Jesus for taking our curse so that we might become God's righteousness.

[23:44] Lord Jesus, thank you that you became cursed so I could be blessed.

[24:05] You were abandoned so I could be accepted. You were broken so I could be healed. As you became my sin and my curse, help me today to live as your righteousness.

[24:21] Amen. Amen. What can't wash away our sins and what can make us whole again Nothing but the blood Nothing but the blood of Jesus And what can't wash us pure as snow Lord, we're welcomed as the friends of God

[25:23] Nothing but the blood Nothing but the blood of Jesus King Jesus The fifth word is distress.

[25:53] Having endured torture, crucifixion, and prolonged exposure in the baking sun, Jesus' body was weak and dried up, and he said, I thirst.

[26:05] This was not simply a cry for refreshment. It was a calculated word uttered at a precise time when everything had now been finished, and for a particular reason, so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

[26:20] Even in his most powerless moments, Jesus knew what he was doing. He was fulfilling the prophecies of the Psalms. Psalm 22 speaks of his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth.

[26:32] Psalm 69 speaks of him being given vinegar to drink. This moment of thirst was fulfilling those verses, but we can't help but wonder if Jesus also had other fulfillments in mind.

[26:44] You see, on three occasions in John's gospel, Jesus appealed to thirsty people. To the Samaritan woman at the well, he promised living water that would bubble up to eternal life. At the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus declared, I am the bread of life.

[26:58] Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. And at the Feast of Tabernacles, he spoke of the promised Holy Spirit, saying, Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.

[27:12] Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. And yet, here at the cross, it is as though the source of living water has dried up.

[27:27] The one who promised to quench the eternal thirst of others is himself dying of unquenchable thirst. It is through Jesus' thirst that springs of living water will be opened up, made available to us all.

[27:43] So let us pray, and then take a moment of silent reflection, thanking Jesus for his promise to quench the thirst of all who come to him.

[27:57] Lord Jesus, I experience a thirst no fountain can quench. I turn to you, the fount of living water, trusting that you can satisfy.

[28:09] Would you fill me with streams of living water by your Spirit, that I may never thirst again, and may enjoy eternal life.

[28:21] Amen. Amen. Amen. Nothing but the blood of Jesus So what can't wash away our sins?

[28:51] And what can make us whole again? Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[29:08] And what can wash us pure as snow?

[29:21] Welcomed as the friends of God. Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[29:38] Jesus. Jesus. The sixth word is triumph.

[29:57] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, it is finished. And with that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Having endured excruciating pain, expressed his thirst and drunk sour wine.

[30:17] Jesus now utters his penultimate word. It is finished. To us, that phrase might sound ambiguous.

[30:27] It could mean it's over. I've given up. But the Greek means none of these things. It means it is completed.

[30:40] It is done. Jesus understands that all of his life and work had been building to this point. He had been obedient in everything his father had asked of him. And now he knew that all was completed.

[30:53] It was time for him to be glorified. It is finished. But Jesus did not only speak these words over the events of his life. He knew that all of Scripture had been pointing to this moment.

[31:06] From the day in the Garden of Eden, when humanity became estranged from our Creator, God has been initiating a rescue plan to free his people. The entire Old Testament was a series of signs pointing us to the coming of Jesus.

[31:20] The law and the sacrificial system were the shadows of which Jesus is the substance. Everything they promised and pointed to, but could not deliver at the cross, Jesus says now, it is finished.

[31:34] It is finished. He spoke those words over the law, which could never change us at a heart level. It is finished. He spoke those words over the sacrificial system, which could never truly deal with our guilt.

[31:47] It is finished. He spoke those words over the cries of the prophets who long for God to right the problems of the world. It is finished.

[31:58] He spoke those words over the powers of sin, evil, and even death itself. As he disarmed and defeated them once and for all.

[32:09] It is finished. And Jesus speaks these words over us today. Do you carry a sense of guilt that you cannot shake? It is finished.

[32:22] Are you plagued by feelings of shame or inadequacy? It is finished. Do you worry that you can never do enough to please God?

[32:33] It is finished. So let us pray and then take a moment in silent reflection, celebrating the completed work of Christ and allowing his sixth word to speak freedom into our hearts.

[32:48] Lord Jesus, thank you that through your death on the cross, it is finished.

[33:04] Shame is finished. Guilt is finished. Fear is finished. Where I sometimes feel unfinished, would you help me to trust in your once and for all sacrifice, knowing that you have made me holy and will continue to make me holy until you come again.

[33:26] Amen. Thank you.

[33:57] What can wash away our sin? What can make us whole again?

[34:14] Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[34:27] What can wash as pure as snow? Welcomed as the friends of God.

[34:43] Nothing but the blood, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

[34:54] He is Jesus. Amen. The seventh word is Reunion.

[35:13] And this final word is the loudest of the seven. Darkness had descended and the sun had stopped shining. And although Jesus is broken and breathless on the brink of death, he summons the energy to cry out with a loud voice, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

[35:35] It is a harrowing moment when God stops breathing. The Hebrew word ruach means both spirit and breath.

[35:45] In Scripture, the breath of God is a creative, powerful force. God formed the first humans from the dust and breathed his presence into them, bringing them to life.

[35:56] We are comprised of dust and breath. It is a presence of God's spirit and breath within us that makes us more than dust. It makes us human, people made in his image.

[36:11] So as Christ gives up his spirit and breath, it is like the final undoing of creation itself. Death is the ultimate dehumanizing act. Breath is gone.

[36:22] And he returns to the dust. In fact, the Psalms say the breath of God not only gives life to human beings, but to all of creation. By the word of the Lord, the heavens were made.

[36:33] Their starry host by the breath, the spirit, the ruach of his mouth. It's no wonder, therefore, that as Jesus stops breathing, the sun itself ceases to shine.

[36:47] But whilst the breathless silence of Jesus may seem like the end, it is actually the beginning. The final undoing of the old creation is paving the way for new creation. In two days' time, Easter Sunday will begin like Genesis in a garden.

[37:05] God will once more reach into the dust and bring forth the man, breathing into him his spirit and raising him to life. Jesus is the new Adam, the new head of the new creation.

[37:17] And all of mankind made in God's image, that fragile mixture of breath and dust, is invited to become part of God's new humanity.

[37:31] Though we will all face death and will one day give up our spirit and our breath, we too have the hope of resurrection. The last word is louder than any of the previous six, but the last word actually isn't the last word.

[37:49] For on Sunday, the words will arise louder and clearer than ever before. It is finished. New creation has begun.

[38:00] So let's pray together. And let us allow God to fill us afresh with his Holy Spirit. Lord God, who breathed your spirit into us and raised us to life, would you remake us again into your image, transforming us more and more to be like you.

[38:32] And would you fill us with hope in anticipation of the day when you will return to make all things new. Amen.

[38:42] Amen. We are going to take communion now, so get out the little cup that should be in the seat back in front of you.

[38:58] If you're in the front row, it should be under your chair. And you can open it, but we will take it together. On the night that, the night before all these things happened, Jesus is with his friends in an upper room.

[39:17] And he takes the bread and he breaks it. And what he says next, surely no one would have expected.

[39:28] I mean, these are people who had taken the same meal every year of their lives. And one of the things that they were doing is remembering that terrible night in Egypt all those years ago when the little lambs were slaughtered.

[39:46] The angel of death passes over the nation of Israel and they are miraculously saved under the blood of those little lambs. When you read the story of that meal, something that's conspicuously absent is that there are no lambs.

[40:02] These guys come together and Jesus takes bread, not meat. And he breaks it and he gives it to them and he says, this is my body broken for you. You no longer eat in remembrance of those little lambs.

[40:16] Eat this in remembrance of your great lamb. Eat this in remembrance of him. And then Jesus, he took a cup filled with wine.

[40:39] And in the Bible, wine stands for many things. There's a sense in which a cup of wine can stand for judgment or can stand for joy. So here you have Jesus on the eve of his execution, knowing full well that part of his grief is going to be that these friends within hours are going to abandon him.

[41:00] He is on the road to drink fully the cup of wrath, the cup of judgment, the bitter wine of death. And yet before he goes, he gives his same friends.

[41:14] He preempts their failure with a cup of forgiveness and a cup of joyfulness. Now, Paul said when we take this meal, we should be mindful of the body. So I want you just to take a moment and look around the room.

[41:27] Because the forgiveness of Jesus is offered to every single person here. There is not a person in this room that Jesus would not have died for. The cup of joy is forgiveness.

[41:41] That's what Jesus said. He said that the blood of the new covenant poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins. So take your cup of joy and drink it in remembrance of him.

[42:01] Why don't we stand together for our last song? Why don't we stand together for our last song? Why don't we stand together for our last song? cross on which the Prince of glory died my richest gain I count but lost and poor content all known by pride so see from his head his hands his feet see what sorrow and love flow down down there's such love and sorrow mean oh oh thorns come close to the bridge of oh oh oh oh the wonderful!

[44:18] oh the wonderful oh the wonderful cross cross! oh oh!

[44:30] oh! oh! oh! oh! oh oh! oh oh the wonderful cross!

[44:45] oh the wonderful cross! oh oh gather!

[44:55] oh my grace for me bless your name Lord the whole realm of nature mine that were an offering God to small oh so amazing so divine yes indeed that I yes indeed that is my oh my my my Lord oh my cross the wonderful cross oh the wonderful cross is becoming time to find

[46:17] I truly live oh oh the wonderful cross sing now sing all who gather here my grace draw near bless your name oh the wonderful cross oh the wonderful oh wonderful cross it's me coming and find that I may truly live in you Jesus oh the wonderful cross oh oh the wonderful cross oh who gather here by grace drawn near bless your name

[47:40] Jesus we bless your bless your man Jesus is amazing man amazing he's amazing thank you so much for reminding us hearts so we the cross friends maybe you're here and this is you like knew died on the cross but for the first time in your life it's hit you what he he did and you want to respond to him if that's you we would love a chance to talk with you and pray with you we'll hang out over here as long as it takes guys we've got a Sunday coming which we're so looking forward to I know there's different One Harbor sites represented but for the Morehead site we'll be back here 7, 9, and 11 a.m.

[48:28] on Sunday we would love to see you here consider bringing some friends or a neighbor or a co-worker but for the rest of us like tonight let's go out and let's live in light of what we've just heard God bless you guys have a great night