Good Friday Reflections

Friends, welcome to our Good Friday service from Becluse.

It's a very unusual situation for the Worldwide Church.

Normally Easter is such an important time for us.

We get together and we invite friends and family.

Usually our service, especially Good Friday, we'd have lots of people involved.

Whereas today, that's not the case.

It'd usually be a great time for us to invite friends and family to come and share with us Easter breakfast,

our Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.

And again, sadly, that can't happen this year.

But certainly, we absolutely still need the message of Easter.

We need to know about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

And its significance for us and for the world.

So it's good to spend a few minutes reflecting.

So Good Friday, so today, we'll think about the death of Jesus.

Easter Sunday, we'll think about the resurrection of Jesus.

And then Easter Sunday evening, we'll think about Jesus exalted, reigning in heaven.

And what each of those mean for us.

So let me, as well as welcoming you to Good Friday, let me invite you to Easter Sunday.

And to spread the word, whether it's through Facebook or WhatsApp or emails.

To spread the word, invite friends and family to come together digitally.

To hear about Jesus and the resurrection of hope.

We're going to begin our short time of reflection, singing the hymn,

Man of Sorrows.

And Kellen will lead us in our singing.

Man of Sorrows.

What a name for the Son of God who came.

Ruined sinners to reclaim.

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood,

Sealed my pardon with His blood.

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

Guilty, violent, helpless, weak,

Spotless Lamb of God was He.

Full atonement can it be.

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die,

It is finished was His cry,

Now in heaven exalted high,

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

When He comes, our glorious King,

All His ransomed home to bring,

Then anew this song we'll sing,

Hallelujah!

What a Savior!

Now I want to read from Mark chapter 15.

Mark 15 · chapter mention

So we finished a Christianity Explored course,

I guess fairly shortly before lockdown.

So I want to look at what Mark says

about the crucifixion and death of Jesus.

So we're going to read Mark chapter 15

Mark 15 · chapter mention

at verse 25 to verse 32 in the first place.

It was the third hour when they crucified Jesus.

The written notice of the charge against Him read,

The King of the Jews.

They crucified two robbers with Him,

one on His right and one on His left.

Those who passed by hurled insults at Him,

shaking their heads and saying,

So you who are going to destroy the temple

and build it in three days,

come down from the cross and save yourself.

In the same way,

the chief priests and the teachers of the law

mocked Him among themselves.

He saved others, they said,

but He can't save Himself.

Let this Christ, this King of Israel,

come down now from the cross,

that we may see and believe.

Those crucified with Him also heaped insults on Him.

Let's pray together.

Lord, we sang of Jesus, the man of sorrows.

We recognise in His life that though the Son of God

in human form, He didn't stay removed

from our experience of pain and suffering,

but rather He has experienced life

in a broken and fallen world.

He has experienced the pain of loneliness

and rejection and suffering

that we see most profoundly at the cross.

Lord, we thank you for Jesus coming to be

our suffering Saviour,

that He was willing to come

as part of your eternal plan to save sinners,

that Jesus would be that sacrifice

offered once for all to forgive our sins,

to wash us clean,

so that we could know you

and enjoy life with you.

Lord, we thank you

that you are not a God

who is unconcerned about the world

that you have made,

that we see in Jesus

how much you cared

for those who were hurting,

for those who were hopeless,

for those who knew sadness and trouble.

Lord, so much of our world

is experiencing sorrow and suffering,

and we ask that in mercy

you would be present

with those who need your help.

We again thank you

for those doctors and nurses

who are working around the clock

in order to save lives

and to bring healing.

And we ask that you would protect them.

Lord, perhaps in our minds

we think of those doctors and nurses

and health professionals

that we know personally,

and we pray that they would be aware

of your presence and help.

We thank you for other key workers

who are helping to keep our country moving.

Lord, we again commit our government to you,

asking that you would give them

all the wisdom that they need.

We pray that there would be unity and clarity,

and we pray that again in your mercy

we would see this virus being turned back.

We pray for a sparing of life.

And Lord, this would be a time

when many would go to church

in order to worship,

in order to hear words of hope,

but they can't.

We're so thankful for the internet.

And we pray that as people listen online

over this weekend,

that you by your spirit would speak to us

and would teach us again

the good news of Jesus.

And we pray in his name.

Amen.

Now, let's read again.

We're going to read another short passage

from Mark chapter 15,

Mark 15 · chapter mention

and then we'll think about it together

for a few minutes.

There at verse 33,

we read,

At the sixth hour,

darkness came over the whole land

until the ninth hour.

And at the ninth hour,

Jesus cried out in a loud voice,

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani,

which means,

My God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

When some of those standing near heard this,

they said,

Listen,

he's calling Elijah.

One man ran,

filled a sponge with wine vinegar,

put it on a stick,

and offered it to Jesus to drink.

Now leave him alone.

Let's see if Elijah comes to take him down,

he said.

With a loud cry,

Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple

was torn in two

from top to bottom,

And when the centurion,

who stood there in front of Jesus,

heard his cry

and saw how he died,

he said,

Surely this man

was the Son of God.

Today I want us to think

about Good Friday,

to recognise

that Jesus endures isolation

so that you and I

might enjoy intimacy

with God.

We have come to discover,

haven't we,

that isolation causes

hardship

and heartache.

Our news is filled

with heartbreaking stories

and maybe

your own story

has known

some of that heartache.

Funerals

where families

can't attend.

People having to be

buried

by themselves

with no one

to mourn

for them.

We have heard stories

of victims

of COVID-19

spending their last hours

alone

with loved ones

unable to visit.

We have heard

and read

of doctors

and nurses

brought to their knees

by the extent

of the suffering

that they are witnessing,

the exhaustion

as they spend

themselves

to care

for those

who are

seriously,

seriously ill

and dying.

Isolation

causes

heartache.

Whether your experience

today

is one of

heartache

and feeling

the weight of that

or whether you are

enduring,

as is common

to us all,

the hardships

and the inconveniences

of isolation.

This virus

is teaching us

some painful

lessons.

One of the things

it's reminding us of

is that as people

we are made

for community.

We are made

for relationships.

So that separation

and loss

hurt.

And into that

I want to say

that in this

darkness

that we're experiencing

not just nationally

but globally,

Good Friday

provides deep

resources

to provide

hope

and comfort

for you

and for me.

I want us to see

that on the cross

Jesus

endures

infinite

isolation.

Let me remind you

of the mocking

words of verse 31

that we read.

Some of the religious

leaders mocking

Jesus.

He saved

others

but he can't

save himself.

Now they are

profoundly wrong

in that.

Jesus could call

down

legions of

angels

to save

himself

but he

won't

because he

knows this

is the

father's plan

and he is

willing and

obedient to

that plan.

He has

come on

God's rescue

mission.

He is

God's Christ.

He is anointed

for the special

task of

saving

people.

And so

he has

come

as Mark

reminds us

to give

his life

as a

ransom

to pay

the price

to release

people from

slavery,

slavery to

sin as we

discover.

So Jesus

won't save

himself because

this is the

only way for

you and I

to be

forgiven.

It is the

only hope for

us to have

our guilt

before God

removed.

It is the

only way that

peace with

God can be

restored.

It is God's

means for

granting

eternal life

to us.

So Jesus

has come on

a rescue

mission as

our substitute

taking sin

and its

punishment.

And that's

what we see

on Good

Friday as

Jesus is

dying on

the cross.

And we

can connect

this with

the experience

of isolation

if we go

all the way

back to

the Garden

of Eden

beginning of

the Bible

as God

is surveying

as it were

his perfect

creation he

says there's

one thing

that's not

good.

He says

it's not

good for

the man

to be

alone.

So in

God's

eyes a

perfect

life is

a life

in which

we have

loving

relationships.

That

begins with

a loving

relationship

with God

our creator

and our

sustainer

but it

also includes

loving

relationships

with people.

We are

made for

families and

friendships and

for community.

And one of

the amazing

things about

what's been

happening during

the virus is

to see the

solidarity and

the community

that's emerged.

You know,

think about a

few months ago

all the division

and the tension

because of

Brexit.

That's all

forgotten now.

People are

pulling together.

So whether

that's

clapping for

the NHS,

whether it's

virtual choirs,

whether it's

people doing

PE with

Joe,

whether it's

digital church,

we are

being reminded

that we

need

others.

And technology

is making

those gatherings

possible and

we're so

thankful.

But it's

also a

reminder of

the problem

of sin.

So the

Bible says

to us

that one

of the

things sin

does is

it isolates.

It separates

us.

So when Adam

and Eve,

when they

sinned against

God,

they first

of all

rejected God,

so they

separated

themselves

from God

and when

God came

looking for

them,

they hid

from God.

So there

is that

isolation

between God

and people

because of

sin.

But then

sin also

causes separation

between us

in our

human

relationships

too,

doesn't

it?

You think

about the

impact of

anger or

gossip or

jealousy or

lies and

how that can

cause

relationships to

break down

and for

separation

to happen.

And

further,

isolation

also speaks

to us of

the punishment

due to

sin.

So God

announced to

Adam and

Eve,

and it

says it

in other

parts of

the Bible,

that the

wages of

sin is

death.

Spiritual

death,

which is

eternal

isolation

and separation

from God

and all

his goodness

and love.

Remember,

every good

thing we

have comes

from our

good God.

Eternal

punishment,

it is when

all that is

left of us

to experience

from God

is his

just

judgment

against sin.

That's a

very somber,

sobering

reality.

To

recognise

that without

Jesus,

your sin

and mine

separates

you from

the loving

relationship

with God

that you

are made

for.

But here's

the good

news of

Good

Friday.

Why do

we call

it Good

Friday?

Because here

we see

that despite

human evil

as they

put Jesus

to death

that is

God's

good and

loving

plan of

salvation,

Jesus has

come to

rescue us.

We read

of Jesus

when he's

on the

cross,

we read

of a

supernatural

darkness

coming.

Jesus

plunges

himself

into the

darkness

of God's

judgment

in order

to save

us.

Jesus

in love

for a

sinful

world

takes

the

exclusion

that you

and I

deserve

opening

the way

for us

to enjoy

God's

embrace

by faith

in him.

And that

takes us

to verse

34.

Verse

34,

what's

happening

here?

Jesus

cries out

in a

loud

voice

words

which

mean

my

God,

my

God,

why

have

you

forsaken

me?

Now

people who

have

studied

the

Bible

recognise

that

every

time

Jesus

prays

in the

Bible

he

calls

God

his

father

except

here

he

says

my

God,

my

God.

What's

happening

here?

Jesus

as he

is

bearing

our

sins

he

feels

forsaken

by

his

father

or to

put it

another

way

he

feels

isolated

from

separated

from

his

father

having

known

the

perfect

infinite

love

of God

for

all

eternity

here

on the

cross

going

under

God's

judgment

for sin

for the

very

first

time

he

loses

his

sense

of

his

father's

love

as

he

is

overtaken

by

that

sense

of

being

under

God's

wrath

and

judgment

on

sin

as

it

doesn't

fall

on

the

people

who

deserve

it

that's

us

but as

it

falls

on

Jesus

because

of

God's

grace

and

kindness

sin

why

did

he

endure

that

experience

why

the

isolation

and

the

only

answer

is

that

he

does

it

for

you

and

for

me

that

on

the

cross

Jesus

faces

the

exclusion

that

we

deserve

our

sin

should

separate

us

from

God

and

his

love

forever

because

we've

turned

our

back

on

him

and

we've

made

God

our

enemy

Jesus

takes

our

place

and

takes

our

punishment

so

the

price

for

our

salvation

is

Jesus

exclusion

and

he's

willing

to

pay

that

price

so

Jesus

does

that

so

that

you

and

I

might

enjoy

intimacy

and

embrace

when

we

read

the

death

of

Jesus

this

is

no

ordinary

death

this

is

not

an

ordinary

feeling

of

loneliness

during

a

time

of

suffering

and

we

have

heard

and

read

of

much

in

terms

of

people

suffering

and

dying

alone

this

is

more

this

is

deeper

and

more

profound

even

than

that

here

is

as

Turretan

puts

it

the

son

of

God

condemned

for

us

by

God

and

immediately

we

begin

to

see

the

effects

of

Christ

death

so

Mark

as

he

writes

his

gospel

he

takes

his

camera

lens

and

he

moves

from

the

cross

panning

over

towards

the

temple

in

Jerusalem

and

what's

happening

there

verse

38

the

curtain

of

the

temple

was

torn

in

two

from

top

to

bottom

what

was

this

curtain

it

was

the

barrier

within

the

temple

separating

holy

God

from

sinful

people

that

barrier

is

now

removed

the

no

entry

sign

has

been

taken

down

now

there

is

access

how

because

Jesus

body

has

been

torn

in

two

on

the

cross

that's

how

we

can

have

access

to

a

holy

and

a

perfect

God

now

through

Jesus

we

can

enter

God's

presence

and

experience

his

joy

and

all

because

Jesus

feels

excluded

by

his

father

so

that

you

and

I

by

trusting

in

Jesus

can

be

embraced

by

our

father

in

heaven

Jesus

felt

isolated

from

his

father

as

he

carries

our

sin

so

if

we

trust

Jesus

as

our

saviour

he

forgives

our

sins

so

that

we

can

enjoy

intimacy

of

knowing

and

enjoying

God

Father

Son

and

Holy

Spirit

so

this

good

Friday

let's

remember

with

thankfulness

Jesus

isolation

what does

it mean

for you

and me

today

as we

sit on

our own

and in

small

groups

as our

churches

lie

empty

when there's

so much

chaos

and fear

around

this

loving

sacrifice

Jesus

losing

a sense

of his

father's

love

means

that

you

and I

need

never

go

through

that

we

can

always

know

the

love

of

God

and

Jesus

who

is

God

with

us

it

means

for us

too

that

the

suffering

saviour

when we

look at

Jesus

dying

on the

cross

it's

proof

of

God's

love

here

is

God

in

love

satisfying

his

justice

as

Jesus

pays

for sin

on our

behalf

demonstrating

his

love

in the

cost

to bring

us

back

to

himself

for a

world

broken

by sin

the

cross

is

God's

loving

response

it's

a gift

for you

and me

to receive

by faith

and it

also means

for us

that we

have a

God

who

identifies

with us

Jesus

identifies

with us

in pain

in suffering

in isolation

and he

promises

just as

he was

with us

then

taking our

place

at the

cross

he is

with

his

people

now

and more

than that

he also

gives us

future hope

of an

end

to suffering

there is

this glorious

promise that

Jesus will

come back

and he'll

make all

things new

and he'll

take his

people

to be

with him

forever

and we

will live

those who

are trusting

in Jesus

will live

free of

sin

free of

suffering

free of

virus

free of

death

free to

enjoy the

loving

community

that we

were made

for

free to

enjoy

the eternal

embrace

of our

God

and Saviour

there is

good news

in Good

Friday

in our

isolation

now let's

sing

together

once again

the modern

hymn

the power

of the

cross

oh to

see the

dawn

of the

darkest

day

Christ

on the

road

to

Calvary

tried

by

sinful

men

torn

and beaten

then

nailed

to

a

cross

of

wood

this

the

power

of

the

cross

Christ

became

sin

for

us

took

the

blame

for

the

wrath

we

stand

forgiven

at

the

cross

oh to

see the

pain

written

on your

face

bearing

the

awesome

weight

of

sin

every

bitter

thought

every

evil

deed

crowning

your

blood

stained

brow

this

the

power

of

the

cross

Christ

became

sin

sin

for

us

took

the

blame

bore

the

wrath

we

stand

forgiven

at

the

cross

them

the

opf

his

God

me

you

and

bet

mad

bows his head curtain torn in two dead are raised to life finish the victory

this is the

the power of the cross christ became sin for us took the blame

for the wrath we stand forgiven at the cross

oh to see my name written in the word

for through your suffering i am free

death is crushed to death life is mine to live

one through your selfless love

this is the power of the cross

son of god

slave for us

what a love

what a cost

we stand forgiven

at the cross

what a love

what a cost

we stand forgiven

at the cross

now i wanted to close by reading psalm 22

this psalm which prophesied the suffering and the victory of jesus a psalm written by david hundreds of years

and before jesus came but speaking powerfully of his suffering and his victory

and so i'll read as we finish

my god

my god

why have you forsaken me

why are you so far from saving me

so far from the words of my groaning

oh my god

i cry out by day

but you do not answer

by night

and am not silent

yet you are enthroned as the holy one

you are the praise of israel

in you our fathers put their trust

they trusted and you delivered them

they cried to you and were saved

in you they trusted and were not disappointed

but i am a worm and not a man

scorned by men and despised by the people

all who see me mock me

they hurl insults shaking their heads

he trusts in the lord

let the lord rest in the lord

let the lord rest in the lord

let him deliver him

let him deliver him

since he delights in him

yet you brought me out of the womb

you made me trust in you

even at my mother's breast

from birth i was cast upon you

from my mother's womb

you have been my god

do not be far from me

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help

many bulls surround me

strong bulls of bashan encircle me

roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me

i am poured out like water

and all my bones are out of joint

my heart has turned to wax

it has melted away within me

my strength is dried up like a pot sherd

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth

you lay me in the dust of death

dogs have surrounded me

a band of evil men has encircled me

they have pierced my hands and my feet

i can count all my bones

people stare and gloat over me

they divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing

but you oh lord be not far off

oh my strength come quickly to help me

deliver my life from the sword

my precious life from the power of the dogs

rescue me from the mouth of the lions

save me from the horns of the wild oxen

i will declare your name to my brothers

in the congregation i will praise you

you who fear the lord praise him

all you descendants of jacob honour him

revere him all you descendants of israel

for he has not despised or disdained

the suffering of the afflicted one

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help

from you comes the theme of my praise

in the great assembly

before those who fear you

will i fulfill my vows

the poor will eat and be satisfied

they who seek the lord will praise him

may your hearts live forever

all the ends of the earth will remember

and turn to the lord

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him

for dominion belongs to the lord

and he rules over the nations

all the riches of the earth will feast

and worship

all who go down to the dust will kneel

before him

those who cannot keep themselves alive

posterity will serve him

future generations will be told about the lord

they will proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn

for he has done it

we will come

towards the earth

even around the pasapas

by which he trains the bells

he lurid

holler

but he reflecting

his presence

with the yester

with the might

Erin

in

this

one

one

i