Good Friday

G Friday – April 10, 2020 – – John 19:16

 

               Make me see Thy great distress, 

Anguish and affliction,

Bonds and stripes and wretchedness

  And Thy crucifixion;

      Make me see how scourge and rod,

Spear and nails, did wound thee,

How for man Thou diedst, O God,

Who with thorns had crowned Thee. [1]

Hanging on a cross - suspended between earth and heaven - the Son of man suffers – as no one has ever suffered – before or since. Stricken, smitten and afflicted see Him hanging on that tree – He hangs there - for you and for me.  

We have come to the end of our series – Jesus I will ponder Now. Today we witness Jesus as He offers Himself as a sacrifice for the life of the world.

Here we see that great exchange God’s mercy and forgiveness purchased at the cross of His own Son! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16

“No other child, no other Savior, Can ever help this sinful earth. Then take the Gift the Father sent. And spread the Story of His Birth.” That’s what our children said to us this past Christmas Eve. Good Friday assures us of a Merry Christmas! The birth of a baby means the death of a man – and that miserable death has saved us!

Almighty God, Graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. [2]

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1. Jesus I will Ponder Now, The Lutheran Hymnal © 1941 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
2. Collect for Good Friday Lutheran Service Book © 20016 Concordia Publishing House, St, Louis