Scripture: Luke 22
Jesus Is Mocked
63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
Jesus Before the Council
66 When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said, 67 “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
Luke 23
Jesus Before Pilate
1 Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” 3 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 4 Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” 5 But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
Jesus Before Herod
6 When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. 7 And when he learned that he belonged to Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time. 8 When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. 9 So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. 10 The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. 11 And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. 12 And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.
13 Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. 15 Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. 16 I will therefore punish and release him.”
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
18 But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— 19 a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. 20 Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” 23 But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.
The Crucifixion
26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. 27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine 37 and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. 47 Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. 49 And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.
Jesus Is Buried
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. 54 It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. 55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
Good Friday devotional thoughts
With the events of Thursday taking a turn for the worse, Friday would be the downward spiral. Jesus would begin the very difficult and painful journey to the cross. Judas the one who betrayed Jesus would not be a witness to the fate of Jesus that he set into motion. Friday morning, Judas would attempt to change his mind and bring the money back to the Chief Priests and put a stop to Jesus’ punishment. However, some decisions require consequences even if there is remorse. Not being able to live with the guilt of his choices, he hung himself.
Jesus would continue down the path to the cross by enduring the shame of false accusations, condemnation, mockery, beatings, torture, and public humiliation. After multiple unlawful trials, he would be sentenced to death by crucifixion. The crowd would demand his death and the government would give them what they wanted. After being beaten with a cat of nine tails they placed a purple robe and a crown of thorns on him, mocking him saying, “All hail the King of the Jews!” They would continue to spit on him and beat him with rods. Then Jesus would be dressed in his normal clothing and given a cross that he was expected to carry to Golgotha. Jesus would get to a point where his body would not allow him to continue to carry his cross. Simon of Cyrene would be called out of the crowd to carry Jesus cross the rest of the way for him.
Once on Golgotha, Jesus would be offered wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused to drink it. Around 9 am they would strip him and nail him to the cross. The soldiers would cast lots to see who would get Jesus’ clothes. They nailed a sign above Jesus’ head that read “King of the Jews”. The whole time Jesus was fighting to breathe, the crowd was shouting and ridiculing him. There were no moments of rest, no moments to catch his breath. Every part of him was screaming in agony, but even so Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”.
Around noon, darkness fell over the land. At about 3 pm, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Fulfilling scripture he said, “I am thirsty”. They soaked a sponge, put it on a branch, and gave him a drink. Jesus then cried out “Tetelestai” or “It is finished!” and gave up his spirit. Immediately there was an earthquake and the curtain in the sanctuary of the temple was split from top to bottom. Bodies of Godly men and women who were dead were raised to life.
The next day was the Sabbath and they didn’t want to leave the bodies on the cross so they asked Pilot to break the legs of those hanging on the cross so they would die quickly. When they got to Jesus, they realized he was already dead so they didn’t have to break his legs. This fulfilled the prophecy that “not one of his bones will be broken” and “they will look on the one they pierced”.
Joseph of Arimathea would ask for permission to take Jesus’ body off of the cross and prepare it for burial. They placed spices on Jesus’ body and wrapped him in long strips of linen cloth. They laid Jesus in a new tomb and rolled a great stone at the entrance of the tomb.
There is no way to fully put into words all that our Savior endured on that day. If we were to spend the time to go into detail about the actual accounts of each bloody step Jesus took towards our redemption, each sin that we commit daily that weighed on his shoulders, each slur we yelled in his face, each time we spit on him, every lash he endured, we wouldn’t be able to tolerate it. It would sicken us to know what he actually faced. But he had a goal, eternity with you. We were the prize that he paid with the price of his life.
Even though we are responsible for the most horrific hours of Jesus’ life, He loved us anyway. It may seem like the darkest day in history but don’t lose hope because Sunday is coming!
Songs of Worship and Reflection
Man of Sorrows | Hillsong (Lyrics)
Phil Wickham – Sunday Is Coming (Official Lyric Video)
One thought on “Good Friday”
Comments are closed.