Good Friday is the starkest day of the Christian year. This is why Christian worship spaces on this day have no adornments, no gold in sight anywhere, no paraments, nothing at all on the Table, no pulpit Bible, nothing but a simple empty font. Many churches have the tradition of stripping the altar on Good Friday night.
Stripping of the altar symbolizes the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers before his crucifixion. It represents the humiliation of Jesus and the consequences of sin as a preparation for the celebration of new life. Jesus cried from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46. The cross is a place of forsakenness. Jesus goes there abandoned by all disciples. Those who cheered his Jerusalem entry the week before are nowhere to be found. On the cross, Jesus does not merely appear to suffer; nor does his identity as God's beloved exempt him from the pain. Philippians 2:7 tells us that Jesus "emptied himself" to become one of us. The cross is the ultimate act of that emptying. On the cross, Jesus cries out with words from Psalm 22 to express the most devastating sense of being forsaken: "My God, why have you forsaken me?" Yet the cry of forsakenness presents a paradox. The God who is truly one with Jesus is neither separate from nor immune to our suffering. The cross reveals that God in Jesus hangs forsaken, pierced in heart.
When we feel ourselves discarded, forsaken even by God, the cross affirms that God in Christ knows our suffering and forsakenness from the inside and plans a resurrection. God hears our cries of abandonment not as cause to condemn us but as pleas to be heard and remembered and restored. Jesus' cry on Good Friday awaits God's answer at Easter's dawn.
Many things happened on Good Friday. There are many characaters. Peter and Pilate are two prominent characters in the story.
Peter slept while Jesus prayed. Many are Falling asleep on Jesus. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus had told his disciples to stay and pray while He went to pray nearby
They slept on the Transfiguration mountain. In John chapter 9,
John 9:28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. 31 They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
Mark 14: 29 Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.” 30 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “today—yes, tonight—before the rooster crows twice you yourself will disown me three times.” 31 But Peter insisted emphatically, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same. 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba,Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Once more he went away and prayed the same thing. 40 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to say to him.
This might have been the reason Peter wrote in his letter later on about the need to be alert and awake. (1 pet 5:8) "Be sober-minded; awake and be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Peter took a sword to save Jesus. This is reported in all four gospels (John 18:3–11; Matthew 26:47–56; Mark 14:43–50; Luke 22:47–53). Peter wanted to take matters into his own hands to get things moving a little faster. He swings the sword to cut the head off, but got only the ear of a servant of the high priest. The soldiers were down on the ground, Peter did not like Malchus, because he was the servant of the high priest, probably had issues with him before with the ministry of Jesus. But Jesus touched and healed Malchus - for two reasons to save Peter and save Malchus. Peter would have been executed to grab a Roman soldier’s sword. He would have been executed for hurting the servant of the hight priest. The whole history of the church was laid upon Peter, who would have been killed. But God had a better plan even when we mess up.
Peter denied knowing Jesus in fear of his own life is listed in all four gospels. But Jesus looked at him with mercy. At that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord’s words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And Peter left the courtyard, weeping bitterly. (Luke 22:61–62, NLT). Peter denied Jesus 3 times, after resurrection, Jesus came to restore Peter and Jesus asked him 3 times if he loved him.
Pilate handed over Jesus to satisfy the crowd, he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified. Pilate washed his hands (Matt 27:24). Pontius Pilate asked, one last time, “What wrong has he done?” The crowd (stirred up by the chief priests) didn’t answer; they just snarled, “Crucify him!” Pilate, pragmatic and morally weak, chose to sanction a clear injustice rather than stand up to a crowd. This part of the story may be most disturbing, not because it is strange, but because it feels too familiar. when you are faced with doing something you believe is right but which will cause a large number of people to be upset with you, what choice one makes the difference. Being silent or playing ignorant is not for Christian disciples.
Today many people are those who rationalize their guilt and blame someone else for their sins. We tend to blame others for pressuring us into sin, just like Pilates was pressured to the will of the Jews. Handwashing has gotten substantial coverage this past year during the COVID-19 pandemic, and not just for hygiene. You may have encountered some of the many accusations that politicians have “washed their hands” of pandemic responsibilities. Pilate’s handwashing alludes to an older account from Jewish scripture. Deuteronomy 21:1-9 prescribes a ritual through which Israel can be “absolved of bloodguilt” for a murder committed by an unknown person. Psalm 26:6: David say, I will wash mine hands in innocence: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD
In this case, Pilate knew who the killers are and he wanted to shift the blame away from him. We often do that when we find ourselves risking some personal gains. When we find other things like money or fame or anything else get priority over Jesus, we wash our hands as if we had nothing to do with any of this. His hands were stained forever with the blood of the innocent that can never be cleansed by washing.
A sleepy Peter denies Jesus and then takes a sword to protect Jesus. A coward Pilate denied justice to the innocent by sentencing Jesus to death. Religions and political and justice systems failed completely on this dark Friday. But the kingdom of God accomplishe the victory over sin and death by the sacrificial death of the Son of God. He has given us rest by his sorrow and life by his death. May the One who bore the pains for us be your comfort in pains, may His presence be with you in grief and loneliness, and may his peace abide and keep you during this night and forever. AMEN
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