Good Friday For You

In this Lenten series, The Greater Jonah, we trace the familiar story of the reluctant prophet and discover how it ultimately points beyond itself to Christ. We’ll explore themes of running, mercy, judgment, repentance, death, and resurrection—seeing how the sign of Jonah finds its completion in the crucified and risen Savior. This is not just a story about a prophet and a fish. It is about the God who pursues the runaway, enters the storm, descends into the depths for us, and brings life where there was only death.

To follow along each day with the companion devotional, you can purchase it here:
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GLJ635Z3?&linkCode=sl2&tag=jessicatschne-20&linkId=5f6b03b3594566f49a84144c1e011020&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

Join us as we journey into the depths—and discover the mercy that meets us there.

Transcript

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In Matthew 28, Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. He calls you to be that disciple. To hear his word, to receive his promises, to repent, to believe. That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. And that by believing you have life in his name. Now here are the good news of Jesus for you. The night starts in a garden. Jesus is praying all by himself. His disciples are elsewhere sleeping. He's in agony, imagining all that is about to take place, all that lies ahead. And that's when the torches begin to flicker in the distance. You can hear the weapons clanking together. The crowd is growing louder. They're moving with purpose as they get closer and closer. And Jesus doesn't hide somewhere behind a bush or a tree. He steps forward. Whom do you seek? Of course, he knows the answer. Jesus of Nazareth, they say. And he responds, I am. Earlier in his ministry, he said those words just like that in the same way. And when he said that in that moment, they picked up stones to throw at him because they wanted to kill him for such boldness for saying something like that. But in this instance, they don't pick up stones. Instead, they fall back and they fall to the ground, it says. You see, this is not weakness, even in the garden. This is not someone being overpowered by these soldiers or overpowered by this crowd. Even here, Jesus is the one in control. He's the one calling the shots. He steps forward and he gives himself over. He tells them to let the others go. Of course, he doesn't really have to because they are eager, they are ready to run away at a moment's notice, but not Peter. No, Peter doesn't run, at least not yet, anyway. He reaches for his sword, he pulls it out, and he starts swinging with reckless abandon. And in the chaos, he strikes the servant of the high priest and he cuts off his ear. And so for a moment, it looks like there might be a change of events that this might turn into something. Resistance, defiance. There's going to be a fight here. All right. But Jesus stops all of that. He says, put your sword away. He's not resisting. He's not trying to escape. He's not fighting against these soldiers or this crowd. His fight is so much bigger than any of that. No one is taking anything from Jesus. And then they bind him. And just like that, any potential struggle is over. And they lead him away. First to Annas and then to Caiaphas and then to Pilate. Back and forth, the questioning, the inside, and then outside, and then the accusation. But Jesus is just silent. Peter follows at a distance, warming himself by the fire. And while Jesus is being questioned, Peter is being questioned as well. Are you one of his disciples? I'm not, he says, with a kind of defiance of vigor, even. They even had evidence. One of those who asked him the question was a relative of the guy who had his ear cut off just a few hours earlier in the garden. But still, he claims zero association with Jesus. Three times the same answer. And then the rooster crows. Meanwhile, they bring Jesus to Pilate early in the morning. They don't want to enter the governor's quarters because they want to remain clean for the Passover. How ironic that is. They won't enter into a building, and yet they are extremely willing to hand over the Son of God and to put him to death. Pilate goes back and forth. What accusations do you bring against him? What have you got that made this come to here today? Of course, their answers are all nonsense. And then he finally gets to Jesus. What have you done that would make this happen? And you and I, we know that answer. Nothing. There's nothing Jesus has done that would have really brought about this circumstance. Are you the king of the Jews? Well, we know that answer too. Of course he is. He's not the king of the Jews, he's the king of everyone. And Jesus does finally speak up. And when he does, he doesn't defend himself. He says, My kingdom isn't of this world. And Pilate says, Oh, then you are a king. Yeah, but not that kind. Well, eventually he says, I find no guilt in this man. And yet he he hands him over. But first he he flogs him, which is not a simple beating, but it was the kind of beating that would tear open a person's flesh. And so right there, his body already begins to break, even before he gets to the cross. And then, if that's not enough, the soldiers begin to take over. They twist together a crown of thorns and they press it into his head, and likely blood starts flowing down his head, and they wrap him in a purple robe and they strike him again and again. Hail the king of the Jews. It's a kind of game for these soldiers who have been accustomed to this kind of brutality day in and day out because that was their job. Mocking, spitting, laughing. Finally, Pilate brings him out. Behold the man. Just look at him. Here he is. Look at what he looks like now. Bloodied, beaten, broken. But he's still silent, as silent as ever. And the crowd sees this and they respond. We would expect maybe a hint of sympathy, compassion, pity, but none of that. It's just anger, contempt. And then they give another demand crucify him, crucify him. It's loud, it gets sharper. They are unrelenting. Pilate hesitates because he still can't make sense of what this man has done wrong. It doesn't make any sense. But they put pressure on Pilate. If you release this man, you're not a friend of Caesar's. And that's enough. He hands Jesus over and they take him. He carries his own cross, at least for a little while, through the streets, past the crowds that are watching, step by step, until he can't carry it anymore. Because he's tired and he's weak. And they bring him to the place called Golgotha to crucify him. Nails and his hands, his feet. Wood suspended in the air. They divide his garments. They put a sign over his head just to make a mockery of the whole thing. Jesus, King of the Jews. And at the foot of the cross, his mother stands. And now he speaks. And he speaks. And we're reminded that as he speaks, he's not distant from any of this. He's in it fully. Woman, behold, your son, son, behold your mother. I mean, these are people that he really cared about. His own mother, his beloved disciple. Even as he's dying, you can hear and you can see the heartbreak. And he now asks them to care for each other. And then he thirsts. Of course he does. After the day he has had, who wouldn't be thirsty? And finally it's over. It's finished. He bows his head and gives up his spirit. Of course, you know the story. We only usually go through the whole story on this night once a year. Because we typically like to rush past all the different parts of this story and all the details. And we like to rush to the conclusion that Jesus dies on the cross, and so that we can get to the next part of the story as well. But we're not meant to rush past this story. Although we'd like to, we'd like to rush past this story because it's not easy to look at. The garden, the betrayal, the arrest, the questioning, like Jesus is some kind of criminal, denied by his most loyal disciple, the angry crowds demanding that his blood be spilled. And all the while Jesus doesn't say a word when he should speak up, right? He should speak up and say something. But nothing. Just silence. Then there's the beating and the mocking, the crown of thorns, the cross. You can hear this story year after year. And it still feels surreal. On your way in tonight, you should have picked up one of these, a nail. I'm going to encourage you to take it out and hold it just for a few moments. You can feel the weight of the nail. It's not small. It's not decorative. It's heavy. It's cold. It's a real nail. This is the kind of thing that would do damage if this was nailed into someone's wrist, which is where it would have been. Or into their ankles. These nails, they didn't just appear on Good Friday. There's a reason. There's a reason behind all of this. And it's not because things spiraled out of control. It's not because Jesus lost. Or because evil won. Every moment of this night is happening according to a plan. A plan that goes all the way back. Back to the beginning when sin entered into the world. When humanity turned away from God. When we chose our way over his. And from that moment on, something broke. Not just out there, but something in here. Something broke in us. And it's been broken ever since. Because sin is not small, it's not harmless. It's not something God can just ignore or brush aside. Sin separates, it destroys. Sin brings death. And that creates a problem. Because God is holy. He's perfect and just and righteous. And that means that he can't overlook sin. He has to judge it. And yet at the very same time, we know that God is merciful. He loves. He desires to save. And so, how do the two things come together? How can God be just and yet still forgive? And how can sin be punished and yet sinners somehow be saved? That's why Jesus has to die. This is not an accident. This isn't a tragic ending. This was the plan. From the very beginning, God had determined that sin would have to be dealt with, not ignored. But it would have to be placed somewhere. It'd have to be placed on someone. And so God placed it on his beloved Son. He placed it on Jesus. And everything you heard tonight, the betrayal, the arrest, the silence, the suffering, the cross, it's all moving toward this moment where the weight of sin, the weight of your sin is laid on him. Again, not just the sins of people way back when, but your sin, your envy, and your malice, and your hatred, and your jealousy, and your selfishness, and your pride, and your bitterness, and your lust, and your deceit, and your gossip, your revenge. You can feel that way now, can't you? And God doesn't pretend that it isn't there. He takes it seriously. So seriously. That he sends his own son to carry it. This is what was planned. Jesus standing in your place. Jesus taking what belongs to you. Jesus bearing the judgment and the punishment. The death that sin demands. That's why he stays silent. Because if he speaks, if he stops it, then this doesn't happen. And if this doesn't happen, then your sin is still yours. So he says nothing. He endures it. He walks straight to the cross. Because this is the only way. The nails that you hold in your hand. This is what sin does. And this is where sin goes. Not ignored. Not excused. But nailed. Nailed to Jesus. For you. You're going to be invited during this next hymn to come forward. And you're going to be invited to place your nail. Don't take it with you. Because it doesn't belong to you anymore. It belongs to Jesus. And so you're going to be invited to come forward and place your nail in the baptismal font. Romans 6 says that we were baptized into Christ Jesus. We were baptized into his death. It's for you.