Good Friday?

Friday Mark 14:32-15:47

32 And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, "Sit here while I go and pray."

 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress.

 34 He told them, "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me."

 35 He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by.

 36 "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine."

 37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. "Simon!" he said to Peter. "Are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour?

 38 Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak."

 39 Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings.

 40 Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. And they didn't know what to say.

 41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, "Still sleeping? Still resting? Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners.

 42 Up, let's be going. See, my betrayer is here!"

 43 And immediately, as he said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a mob that was armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent out by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders.

 44 Judas had given them a prearranged signal: "You will know which one to arrest when I go over and give him the kiss of greeting. Then you can take him away under guard."

 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. "Teacher!" he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss.

 46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him.

 47 But someone pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest's servant.

 48 Jesus asked them, "Am I some dangerous criminal, that you come armed with swords and clubs to arrest me?

 49 Why didn't you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me."

 50 Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away.

 51 There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him,

 52 they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked.

 53 Jesus was led to the high priest's home where the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law had gathered.

 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest's courtyard. For a while he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire.

 55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would testify against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But their efforts were in vain.

 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other.

 57 Finally, some men stood up to testify against him with this lie:

 58 "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.'"

 59 But even then they didn't get their stories straight!

 60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, "Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?"

 61 Jesus made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, "Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?"

 62 Jesus said, "I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven."

 63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, "Why do we need other witnesses?

 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" And they all condemned him to death.

 65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and hit his face with their fists. "Who hit you that time, you prophet?" they jeered. And even the guards were hitting him as they led him away.

 66 Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest

 67 noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and then said, "You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazarene."

 68 Peter denied it. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed.

 69 The servant girl saw him standing there and began telling the others, "That man is definitely one of them!"

 70 Peter denied it again. A little later some other bystanders began saying to Peter, "You must be one of them because you are from Galilee."

 71 Peter said, "I swear by God, I don't know this man you're talking about."

 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and cried.

NLT Mark 15:1 Very early in the morning the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law-- the entire high council-- met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor.

 2 Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, "Yes, it is as you say."

 3 Then the leading priests accused him of many crimes,

 4 and Pilate asked him, "Aren't you going to say something? What about all these charges against you?"

 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate's surprise.

 6 Now it was the governor's custom to release one prisoner each year at Passover time-- anyone the people requested.

 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, convicted along with others for murder during an insurrection.

 8 The mob began to crowd in toward Pilate, asking him to release a prisoner as usual.

 9 "Should I give you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked.

 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.)

 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the mob to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus.

 12 "But if I release Barabbas," Pilate asked them, "what should I do with this man you call the King of the Jews?"

 13 They shouted back, "Crucify him!"

 14 "Why?" Pilate demanded. "What crime has he committed?" But the crowd only roared the louder, "Crucify him!"

 15 So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him.

 16 The soldiers took him into their headquarters and called out the entire battalion.

 17 They dressed him in a purple robe and made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head.

 18 Then they saluted, yelling, "Hail! King of the Jews!"

 19 And they beat him on the head with a stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.

 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.

 21 A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just then, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

 22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill).

 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it.

 24 Then they nailed him to the cross. They gambled for his clothes, throwing dice to decide who would get them.

 25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place.

 26 A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus' head, announcing the charge against him. It read: "The King of the Jews."

 27 Two criminals were crucified with him, their crosses on either side of his.

 28

 29 And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. "Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at him. "You can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you?

 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!"

 31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. "He saved others," they scoffed, "but he can't save himself!

 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!" Even the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus ridiculed him.

 33 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock.

 34 Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

 35 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.

 36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a stick so he could drink. "Leave him alone. Let's see whether Elijah will come and take him down!" he said.

 37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last.

 38 And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

 39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God!"

 40 Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome.

 41 They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Then they and many other women had come with him to Jerusalem.

 42 This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached,

 43 an honored member of the high council, Joseph from Arimathea (who was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come), gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body.

 44 Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman military officer in charge and asked him.

 45 The officer confirmed the fact, and Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.

 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus' body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.

 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body was laid.

Good Friday!  I have wondered what was so good about this day.  Jesus praying for the cup to pass him by and surrounding to God’s will.  The betrayal of not just Judas but all of the disciples.  What it must of have felt like to feel abandoned by one’s closest friends, those who you thought you could count on?  Beyond the betrayal of Peter, the rest of the disciples scatter to not be heard from again until after the resurrection.  Those, who just a few verses earlier, swore that they would stand by Jesus.  Those who were to remain awake as Jesus prayed fell asleep.  Today how many of us who claim Jesus as the Messiah are asleep in our lives?  Too often I don’t see people, and sometimes if I’m honest myself, acting in ways that are judgmental and unloving.  Sometimes we act more like the Pharisees than we do as Christians.  Whenever we sin, we betray Jesus.  Thank God he is merciful.

To be tried illegally, alone surrounded by those who have already made up their minds.  They are so convinced of his guilt that they would have people perjure themselves breaking the commandment about bearing false witness.  His silence and finally his answer to whether or not he is the Son of God and answers I am.  Which statement the high priest can use to declare him guilty of blasphemy.  We hear often about trials that are biased and the accused does not have a chance.  How often do we judge someone guilty regardless of the facts?

When morning came, Jesus is taken to Pontius Pilate.  For it was only by Roman law could someone be executed.  The great irony is when the people choose Barabbas over Jesus.  According to other gospels the first name of Barabbas was also Jesus.  Barabbas might be more like what people expected as a messiah.  He was a warrior and was involved in an insurrection that murdered Romans.  Much like the choices we have to make in our lives.  Do we follow the path of the world which is power and might, or do we follow the path of Jesus which is the path of love.

It was not enough to sentence Jesus to the cross, but he was tortured by the Roman soldiers.  This was more than their job.  They took pleasure in the torture which we have seen in many conquering armies.  Finally about 9 am they crucified Jesus until about 3.  The women who followed Jesus were the only ones there.  Throughout all the gospels it was the women who remain faithful.  The symbolism of the curtain tearing that separated the holy of holies in the temple signifying the both the judgment on the temple and also opening access to God for the people.

Joseph of Arimathea willingness to get the body so close to Passover and Sabbath was an act of courage and love.  Such an action would make him unclean.  What is interesting was that he was a member of the Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus.  So in asking Pilate for the body was a sign of his devotion.  Again the mention of the women who saw where the tomb was is important for the day following the Sabbath.

What is so good about Good Friday?  Everything!  For Jesus choose the nails, he suffered the humiliation and torture even death on a cross, so we could have freedom from our sins and life eternal.

A word about Saturday is in order.  Nothing in Mark, Luke, or John mentions Saturday.  Only in Matthew do we hear about the leaders of the Sanhedrin wanting to post guards at the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing the body.