What is the Good in this Friday?

Good Friday, March 29, 2013
Ps 22, 40, 54, 95 Lam 3:1-14, 19-33; 1 Pet 1:10-20; Jn 13:36-38; 19:38-42

David wrote, and Jesus, from the cross, cried out: Eloi, Eloi—lama sabachthani? (My God, My God, why have Your forsaken Me?) Why are You so far from helping Me, from answering the my groaning? I cry by day and by night, but You do not answer; I find no rest. Yet, You Are holy, the Trust of our ancestors, their Deliverer. But I Am a worm, not a man; scorned by humankind and despised by the people. Those who see Me mock Me; they wag their heads at Me, and taunt: 'He committed his cause to YHWH; so let YHWH deliver him. If God delights in this man, let God rescue him.' You, Lord, took Me from My mother's womb; You preserved me on her breasts, and I was cast upon You from My birth; from everlasting You Are My God. I Am surrounded by the bulls of Bashan, I Am savaged by ravening and roaring lions. I Am poured out like water; all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax, melting in my chest; My strength is dried up like a potshard; My tongue cleaves to the roof of My mouth; and You lay Me in the dust of Death. I am compassed by dogs and encircled by evildoers; they have pierced My hands and feet; I can count My bones; they stare and gloat over Me; they divide My garments and cast lots for My robe. O Lord, don't be far from Me! Hasten to help Me now! Deliver My soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog! Save me from the maw of lions, my soul from the horns of the wild oxen! I will speak of Your Name to My brothers and sisters; I will praise You in the midst of the congregation. Let all who fear YHWH praise Him now! Let all the sons of Jacob glorify our God; let the seed of Israel stand in awe of Him. He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the Afflicted; He has not hidden His face from Me; He has heard My cry! And so from You comes My praise in the great congregation. I pay My vows before those who fear our God. The Afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall praise our God; He rules! Posterity will serve Him and future generations will hear about the Lord and proclaim His deliverance to a people yet unborn, for He has done it!

I waited patiently for the Lord, and He inclined to Me and heard My cry. He drew me up from the pit and set me high and secure on a Rock. He put a new song in my mouth, praises to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in YHWH. Blessed are they who make YHWH their Trust; who do not turn to the proud or stray after false gods. Lord God, You have multiplied Your wondrous deeds and thoughts toward us. You have not required further sacrifice or offering, but have given me an open ear. I delight to do Your will; Your law is within my heart. I will tell the good news of deliverance; I will not hide Your saving help in my heart. I reveal Your steadfast love and faithfulness to the great congregation! So let me have Your mercy, my God; preserve me by Your steadfast love and faithfulness. And let Christ's enemies be put to shame and confusion, turned back in dishonor, appalled by their shame. And may those who seek You rejoice and be glad, saying 'Great is the Lord!' Hurry to my aid, great Lord!

Lord, save Me by Your name and vindicate Me by Your might. Hear My prayer, the words of My mouth, O God. Insolent mortals arose against Me; ruthless men demand to end My life; they have no reverence, no heed, to God. But God is My Helper, the Upholder of My life. He will answer My enemies and put an end to them. I sacrifice Myself freely to You, my God. I give thanks to Your Name, for it Is good. You have delivered Me from every trouble, and I look in triumph over all My enemies.

Let us sing and rejoice to our God, the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and sing songs of praise to our God. For YHWH is the great God; a great King above all spiritual beings. He holds the earth in His hands, heights and depths are His alone. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, then: let us worship, bowing down to YHWH our Maker. He Is our God, and we are His people, the sheep in His flock. Don't harden your hearts toward God, as they did who perished in the wilderness. For God swore they would never enter His rest!

Jeremiah wrote: I Am the Man Who has seen affliction under God's wrathful rod. He has driven Me down to darkness; He turns His hand against Me, and now I dwell in darkness like the ancient dead. He has walled Me in; I cannot escape. I cry and call for help, but He shuts out My prayer and blocks My way with hewn stones; He has made My paths crooked. He is to Me like a lurking bear or hiding lion, waiting in ambush to tear me to pieces. God has desolated Me and shot His arrows into My heart. I have become the laughingstock of all people; God has filled me with bitterness, salted me with wormwood.... So, Lord, remember Me—My affliction and bitterness, the wormwood and the gall. Meanwhile, I hold fast to this: Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed. His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness! YHWH is My portion—so says My soul. And I will wait upon Him, with hope. YHWH is good to those who wait upon Him; and it is good to wait patiently for the salvation of the Lord. It does mortals good to bear the yoke in youth; to sit alone in silence, under God's yoke; to be prostrate in the dust­--for hope never fails. Let the godly man offer his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. For the Lord will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love. For our God does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.

The prophets who spoke of the grace that is to be your have inquired into God's way of salvation. They inquired concerning the person and time indicated by the Spirit of the Messiah within them when predicting the Messiah's suffering and His subsequent glory. They discovered that they were serving not themselves, but those who would put their faith in the risen Jesus, in the things you have heard announced by those who preached the good news to you through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things even angels long to explore. So gird up your minds; be serious; set your hope squarely upon the grace coming to you through the revelation of Jesus the Messiah. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He Who called you Is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct. For it is written: 'You shall be holy, for I Am holy.' If you invoke as Father Him Who judges each one impartially according to our deeds, conduct yourselves with godly fear throughout the time of your exile in flesh. You know that you were ransomed from futile ways inherited from your ancestors; and the ransom was not by perishable silver or gold, but with the precious blood of the Messiah, like that of a lamb without spot or blemish. Hew was destined before the foundation of the world, but manifest at the end of times for your sake.

Before the crucifixion, Peter asked Jesus: 'Lord where are You going?' And Jesus said, 'Where I Am going, you cannot follow now; you will follow later.' Peter asked, 'Lord, why can't I come now; I will lay down my life for You.' But Jesus answered, 'Will you do this? I tell you most solemnly, the cock will not crow until you have denied Me three times.'

After the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted his request. So Joseph, with Nicodemus who had come to Jesus by night, came with a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes. They bound the body in cloths with the spices, as was the Jewish burial custom of their day. And in the place where He was crucified, there was also a garden, in which there was a new tomb, never used. In this the two men laid the body of Jesus, because of the Jewish Day of Preparation, since this tomb was close at hand.