Good Friday Service

Reading from Matthew, chapter 27, verses 27 through 56.

Matthew 27:27–56

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they

gathered the whole battalion before him.

And they stripped him, and they put a scarlet robe on him, and twisted together a crown

of thorns.

They put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand.

And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews.

And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on

him and led him away to crucify him.

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.

They compelled this man to carry his cross.

And when they had come, or when they came to the place called Galgatha, which means place

of the skull, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall.

But when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus, the King of

the Jews.

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, You who would destroy

the temple and rebuild it in three days?

Save yourself.

Save yourself.

If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.

So also the chief priests and scribes and elders mocked him, saying, He saved others.

He can't save himself.

He is the King of Israel.

Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

He trusts in God.

Let God deliver him now, if he desires him.

For he said, I am the Son of God.

And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Ali, Ali, Lama, Sabah

Danati.

That is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And some of the bystanders hearing it said, This man is calling Elijah.

And some of them at once ran and took a sponge and filled it with sour wine and put it on a

reed and gave it to him to drink.

But the other said, Wait, let us see if Elijah will come and save him.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and healed it of his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

And the earth shook and the rocks were split.

The tombs were also opened.

And many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised, coming out of the tombs.

After his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake

and what had taken place, they were filled with awe and said, Truly, this was the Son of God.

There were also many women there looking on at a distance who also followed Jesus from Galilee,

ministering to him, among who were Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joseph,

and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

And Turned

you

If you want to grab one of those Bibles in front of you in the pew and turn to Matthew

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

chapter 27, we're going to be looking at a couple spots in Matthew chapter 27, starting

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

in verse 45.

But let me begin here.

As 21st century people, we have lost sight of how offensive crucifixion was.

In the first century, anyone who would hear the word cross would be thinking something

shameful, that this was not good, that there must be a criminal involved.

Today, we see crosses everywhere, and we think they're kind of part of the scenery.

We see crosses on necklaces.

I'm sure many of you in the room have a cross on your necklace tonight.

We see crosses on tattoos.

I've got a cross tattoo on my back.

I'm only kidding.

I don't.

Some of you may.

We see crosses on t-shirts, bumper stickers, on buildings.

When was the last time you were on 50 driving by St. Katz?

There is a huge cross on the top of St. Katz, a huge metal cross on the highest point of that

building.

We have gotten used to seeing crosses exalted.

They're somewhat normal.

We're not surprised to see them, are we?

But in the first century, crosses would have been despised.

In order to help you understand that, let's just imagine this.

Instead of on the top of St. Katz building being a metal cross, what happens if there's

this big metal electric chair?

Another means of execution.

How about driving that by that?

Or when your aunt visits you and on her necklace there is a golden electric chair?

You start thinking, whoa.

What's going on, Aunt Deidre?

When we hear the words electric chair, we think the death of a criminal.

Someone who probably deserved what was coming.

The way we think about the electric chair today in the 21st century gets at the way people

in the first century thought of the cross.

It was a shameful, shameful way to die.

It was a brutal, brutal way to die.

It was designed to inflict as much punishment and pain over as long a period of time as someone

could handle.

So here we are tonight gathered to bring to mind the death of Jesus who died the death of a criminal

on a cross.

What's the good in that?

Well, what happened that Friday afternoon between 3 p.m. or excuse me, noon and 3 p.m.?

What took place on that cross in that place called Golgotha, the place of the skull?

What took place is the old, old story.

And it never gets old.

It's the place where God showed His goodness to sinners to save them.

And so tonight we're just going to dwell upon five things in this passage.

Five ways God has demonstrated His goodness in Matthew chapter 27, 45 through 54.

Matthew 27 · chapter mention

So the first is this.

We see it in verse 45.

Now from the sixth hour, which is noon, there was darkness over all the land until the ninth

hour, which would have been three in the afternoon.

So up until this point, Jesus has already been crucified.

He's not dead yet.

So He's been crucified.

So He's been nailed to the cross.

And again, it's an awful way to die.

You die of asphyxiation.

You try trying to push up from your feet to hold open your lungs to take breaths.

And over time, you just collapse on yourself.

So you can't get enough breath.

And eventually, your heart fails.

It's a brutal way to die.

Very, very much designed that way.

And so Jesus has been crucified.

And what we read in verse 45 is that there was darkness all over the land, which is really

interesting.

Darkness at noon.

What is this darkness?

Some have said it's a solar eclipse.

But great minds have already debunked that because Passover, when this took place, happened

on a full moon.

And apparently, you can't have a solar eclipse when there's a full moon.

I didn't know that.

So what is this darkness if it's not a solar eclipse?

Well, it's a supernatural darkness.

It's God showing up in a particular way.

And so in what way is God showing up?

Well, we read elsewhere in the Old Testament that when there is darkness, there is this sense

of foreboding judgment from God.

The storms of God's judgment are gathering as the Son of God hangs on the tree.

How is this God's goodness?

Well, God is about to pour out His wrath, His justice in a way that's going to demonstrate

His goodness to sinners.

So God is there in His justice.

God the Son is there.

God the Son of God.

The second thing I want you to see is verse 46.

Darkness covers the land.

About the ninth hour, Jesus cries out.

So this would have been around 3 p.m.

He says, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.

He calls out, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.

He's quoting Psalm 22.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And so here's Jesus crucified, hanging on this cross.

And the darkness of God's judgment is come over the land.

And Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And so this is called the cry of dereliction.

And a derelict is someone who's been abandoned.

Someone who's been forsaken.

And so this cry of dereliction happens at a time when there is darkness come over the land.

And so we've got to ask the question, is there any kind of correspondence?

Is there any correspondence between this darkness and the crying out of the Son of God?

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

At this moment, Isaiah 53.6.

This ancient prophecy of Isaiah 750 years earlier.

At this moment, it's being fulfilled.

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

When we read Matthew 27, we get to see with our own eyes God's just wrath being poured out on the Son.

And Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Which is amazing.

As Christians, we believe in the Trinity.

Three gods, excuse me, three persons, one God.

God, this is the one time in the eternal existence of the Trinitarian bliss that something has been brought in.

That there is disruption of some sort.

Jesus doesn't cease to be the second person of the Trinity.

God the Father doesn't cease to be the first person of the Trinity.

But here we have in some mysterious way this separating effect.

This forsaking of the Son by the Father.

Because God in His justice is pouring out His wrath for our sin on the Son.

The cry of dereliction is the cry of God's forsakenness.

Jesus was forsaken by the Father on account of our sin.

He was sinless.

The storm clouds of God's judgment were storm clouds of God's judgment for our sin.

And what I want you to hear in this cry of dereliction,

my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Brothers and sisters, this is a loving cry of our Savior.

Because He is being forsaken so that we would be accepted.

He's doing it for us.

He was forsaken.

So that we would be welcomed in.

The cry of dereliction is a cry of great pain.

And a cry of great love.

And so what we see happening here is

God's goodness on display

with great pain involved.

Jesus bore the wrath and abandonment we would have had it not been for Him.

The next thing I want you to see is in verse 50.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit.

Now, when He cried out,

Eli, Eli, lame, sebachthani,

people thought He was calling for Elijah

because when He says Eli, Eli,

they think that sounds like Elijah.

So they think that He's calling upon Elijah to come.

So they get all excited about Elijah coming, maybe.

But then He cries out again.

And then He yields up His spirit.

And what I want you to know, see,

is that this is not someone taking His life.

This is Jesus voluntarily giving His life.

It's a voluntary death.

The yielding up of His spirit

was a laying down of His life for His people.

If you were to look at John 10,

between verses 11 and 18,

you would see Jesus talking about His future death,

what we're talking about tonight.

And He would be talking about it as this.

verse, the Son has been given authority

to give up His own life.

I give up my life.

I lay down my life for my sheep.

And so what Jesus was talking about,

John 10, is happening here in Matthew 27, 50.

He is voluntarily of His own accord

laying down His life.

He has full authority over His life right here.

It was not taken from Him.

He gave Himself up for you.

He breathed His last for you.

This is God's goodness on display.

The next picture of goodness we see happening

is verse 51.

As soon as He yields up His spirit,

the camera shifts from Golgotha

to inside the temple on the temple mount.

The curtain in the temple

is rend in two.

Look at verse 51.

And behold, the curtain of the temple

was torn in two from top to bottom

and the earth shook

and rocks were split.

So not only was the curtain in the temple

torn asunder,

but there was an earthquake

and there was rock splitting.

It was an epic event.

But back to this dividing of the curtain.

The curtain that Matthew is writing about

is in the temple

and it was of elaborate woven fabric.

It would have been 60 feet tall,

30 feet wide,

very thick

and it served as a barrier.

It served as a barrier

between the holy place

and the holy of holy places

in the temple.

And it was in the holy of holy places

that God dwelt.

And only one time a year

would one person be allowed

to enter the holy of holies.

It was the high priest

on the day of atonement,

Yom Kippur.

And He would go in

and make atonement

for the sins of the people.

It was the place where God dwelt.

And so this thick curtain

was a barrier

between a holy God

and His sinful people.

And so when Jesus yields up His Spirit

and He dies,

do you know what happens?

That barrier is torn in two

from top to bottom.

Do you know what that means?

Jesus' death

made the only way

for sinners

to come into the presence

of the holy God.

And did you notice

it was from top down?

God initiated this.

This act of love

to reconcile sinners to Himself.

Jesus voluntarily died

so that He would satisfy

God's wrath

and that was the catalyst

which tore the curtain in two

allowing us sinners

to come into the presence

of a holy God.

Jesus' death removed the barrier.

God wanted us to be

in His presence.

This is further evidence

of God's goodness

in the death of Christ

to sinners.

So through Christ's death,

God provided the one

and only way a sinner

could enter the presence

of God without fear.

Through Jesus.

Through His death.

We are forgiven

and made acceptable

in His sight.

But there's one more thing

I want you to see

and it's in verse 54.

When the centurion,

a centurion was a Roman soldier

and He was charged over 100 men.

And this particular centurion

had responsibility

for what was taking place

with these executions

on Golgotha.

And so this particular centurion

that we're about to read about

when the centurion

and those who were with Him

keeping watch over Jesus

saw the earthquake,

remember when Jesus died

and gave up His spirit,

and what took place,

they were filled with awe.

And so they've experienced

the darkness.

They heard the cry of dereliction.

They witnessed Jesus

giving up His spirit.

They felt the earthquake.

They heard the splitting of rocks.

And they were filled with awe.

Now surely the centurion

had seen a couple crucifixions before.

Who knows how many.

But let's just say

He was familiar with death.

How many crucifixions

had He witnessed?

But this one stands out.

The death of this man

stands out.

Wouldn't you love to ask Him,

Mr. Centurion,

when was the last time

darkness and earthquake

accompanied the death

of someone on the cross?

Do you know what the conclusion

of this centurion was?

Truly this was the Son of God.

Truly this was the Son of God.

The centurion recognized

what the Jewish establishment

of the time would not.

that this dead man

hanging on the cross

was who He claimed to be.

The Son of God.

Emmanuel.

God with us.

The perfect mediator

between God and man.

The one who came

to save His people

from their sins.

Jesus is God's goodness

to sinners

on Good Friday.

Oh, did He suffer.

Oh, did He suffer for us.

Not just physically,

but He was forsaken

that we would be accepted.

So tonight,

let me ask you this.

Tonight,

do you have eyes of faith

to see what the centurion saw?

That the one who died

on the cross

was the Savior of the world?

Your Savior

who gave Himself up for you?

Good Friday is all about

Emmanuel.

God with us.

The Son of God

who voluntarily bore God's wrath

and laid His life down

to remove the barrier

between God and sinners.

And now,

as we turn to the Lord's Supper,

be thinking this.

God's goodness to us.

He gave His body

and He shed His blood

so that we could enter

the presence

of a holy God

without fear.

This is God's goodness

to us on Good Friday.

This is what we

draw to our minds

and remember

on this day.

It's a day of sadness,

but it's a day of goodness.

And now,

let's prepare our hearts

to receive

the Lord's Supper.

would the greeters

come down,

please.

Please.

At Christ the King Church,

we reserve

the partaking

of the Lord's Supper

to Christians.

And so,

if you're a Christian,

you are welcome

to participate with us.

But if you're not

a Christian,

we would just ask you

to pass the elements by

and think about

what they represent.

We're going to pass out

the bread first.

And as you take

a piece of bread,

hold on to it

and we're going to

partake of it together.

I'm going to say

a couple things

before we do.

Thank you.

When you pay

you

a few

each

gesehen

and

a few

two

and

the

end

and

the

e

back

and

all

and

in

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Do you want?

Do you want?

Do you want?

Do you want?

Do you want?

Do you want?

on the night that Jesus was betrayed

he took bread

after giving thanks he broke it and said

this is my body

given for you this is God's goodness to you

this represents

God's goodness to you

take eat in remembrance

of me

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

thank you

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

In the same way, also after supper, Jesus took the cup saying, this cup is the new covenant

given in my blood, it's God's goodness to you.

Do this in remembrance of me.

Lord, come together in my blood, it's God's goodness to you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for coming tonight.

Thank you for gathering together and remembering together what our great God has done for us

in Jesus Christ on that cross.

And so as you go here, be thinking God's goodness to you in the cross.

But realize, three days from now, when we gather again, our focus will be going from the cross

to the empty tomb.

Because we have a Savior who is risen and alive.

So go now.

Go now sober, but go hopeful.

We'll see you on Sunday morning.

God bless you.

God bless you.

God bless you.

Moses has given me grace all over theAY way.

那我們 would see you on Sunday morning.

You're not there yet, Ben?

On Saturday morning of Sunday, at night, our home will be in Richard coming today.

You know what will to feel like it is.

That is cooler when there are two Sundays days.

So this is 눈물, there is was a mixture of you only ladies versus you facing,

who's gonna see him at the river and us, we go the season but we're going to NYT,

We go to two things days before the river, that is to kill

a.'

We're gonna lose.

On Saturday morning of theала gate.

So remember when there day is no backễING.

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& vice versa.