Friday—Awed
Call to Worship
Hear God call you to worship through his word:
Revelation 19:6-7
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory.”
Confession
Isaiah 53:4-6
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Respond by confessing your sins to God.
Assurance
Receive these words of comfort from God:
Romans 5:6–8
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Devotion
Daily Reading: Luke 23:1–24
Children will often confuse Good Friday and Black Friday. In a way, there is a rightness to a child’s mix-up. Black Friday seems to signify death and Good Friday might better describe a shopping day full of financial savings. Trying to explain the difference between these two (very) different Fridays can be a challenge. Parents might attempt to clarify that Good Friday is when Jesus died on a cross. Inevitably, a child will respond with, “And that is a good thing?!?!”
What makes Good Friday so good? After all, an innocent man lost his life on that day and the method was inhumane. Death on a cross has been described by many as the most excruciating death invented by humanity. How could this be good?
The answer can be found, at least in part, at the final trial of Jesus on the day he was condemned. On that day, Jesus actually participated in three trials. The first trial was held at the hands of the religious folks, namely the chief priests and the scribes, the second was with Pilate, and the third was in the court of Herod.
During the first prosecution, the highest religious officers adopted formal charges against Jesus and took him to Pilate. The accusations they leveled against Christ were untrue, and the penalty for the false allegations was grossly heavy handed. They wanted Jesus to die, but they had a major problem: the religious leaders did not have the authority to issue a death sentence.
As a result, the mob of Jewish leaders took Jesus to Pilate, who was capable of condemning their prisoner to death. Pilate, according to history, was a ruthless man and he had no compassion. He took his job very seriously and would not have appreciated Jesus bringing competition for power and fame in his territory. The religious group knew this, and they would play on Pilate’s weakness at the expense of Christ.
As the story in Luke 23 unfolds and Pilate hears the case against Jesus, he senses something is amiss with the situation. Pilate found the accusations groundless, and he had absolutely no reason to sentence the innocent man to death. Eventually, he hands Jesus off to Herod, who ultimately returns Jesus to Pilate’s jurisdiction.
Pilate, who was traditionally a strong leader, emerges hesitant in this story. His conscience told him Jesus was completely innocent,c but the public thought otherwise. The traditional role for Pilate was to be judge and jury, not an advocate for the accused. Yet in this particular situation, Pilate seemed to have Jesus’ back.
The mostly religious crowd listening in to the proceedings of the trial was relentless. In a bizarre twist of irony, the mass of people who were shouting “Hosanna” just a few days prior had turned against Jesus. Now their cries were to “Crucify him!” No matter what Pilate said, the crowd wanted Jesus dead.
It is one thing for a crowd to shout and demand death, but it is quite another thing for them to cry out for crucifixion. John Stott says, “Crucifixion seems to have been invented by ‘barbarians’ on the edge of the known world, and taken over from them by both Greeks and Romans. It is probably the most cruel method of execution ever practiced, for it deliberately delayed death until maximum torture had been inflicted.”
The crowds were in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and it was customary for Pilate to release a prisoner during this time (Mark 15:6). Perhaps as a symbol of the exodus from Egypt, when the people of God were released from bondage, Pilate would free whichever prisoner the people demanded. Naturally, it would have made sense for Jesus to be the one released on this occasion.
However, the crowd had reached its own verdict: they did not want Jesus. Instead, they all asked for someone else. Luke 23:18 says, “…away with Jesus, and release to us Barabbas.” Barabbas? Who is Barabbas?
If readers of the story of Barabbas were reliant upon Barabbas’ words to know his identity, then history would know nothing of the man, as he never makes a peep. However, readers are told about his life, specifically the criminal side of his life. Luke describes Barabbas as a man thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder, and the gospel of John says he was a thief!
Despite having an inglorious rap sheet, the unrelenting crowd wanted Barabbas pardoned and not Jesus. David Gooding notes the irony here: “The situation was beginning to become crazy. Here were priests demanding the execution of Jesus on the ground that he was attempting to overthrow political authorities. Yet these very priests would not themselves bow to the political authorities; and what is more, they were calling for the release of a known political activist who in a recent civil disturbance in the city committed murder.”
Sure enough, Pilate caves, the crowd gets what it wants, Barabbas is set free, and Jesus would be crucified. From a human perspective, such injustice seems outrageous. Given the option between the pardon of a righteous man and a murderous criminal, the crowd chooses the latter. The one deserving death gets freedom, and the one deserving freedom gets death. It defies logic and appears to be completely unfair.
At the heart of these events is a theological message that explains what makes Good Friday good and what causes us to be AWED by our Savior. Barabbas represents the position we are all in as a result of Jesus’ death: we are able to live because Jesus died. In the midst of all the injustice, the grace of God shines through. The message of the cross is that Jesus overcomes evil and injustice, even while in the midst of it.
The story of Barabbas, in a real sense, is every Christian’s story. Jesus Christ, the perfect one, freed us by his death, just as guilty Barabbas was freed. As sinners, we are not only guilty but we deserve death as a penalty; nevertheless, Jesus went to the cross for us.
The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” In 1 Peter 3:18, the Apostle Peter says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.”
You see, this great exchange is what makes Good Friday so good. In the story of Barabbas, Christians are reminded once more that God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. In Christ’s death, God allows us to go free. My sin on Christ; his righteousness on me.
If this does not stir the heart towards worship, then what will? On this Good Friday will you give praise to Jesus for what he did in your place? Will you praise him in your heart and with your life?
“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, helpless, lost were we;
blameless Lamb of God was he,
sacrificed to set us free:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
He was lifted up 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!”
Man of Sorrows, What a Name, by Philip P. Bliss
Benediction
Go into the world with this blessing from God:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
May the God of peace
himself sanctify you entirely;
and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound
and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.