Good Friday ’23

1. Details: 
   1. Traditions: Scripture, Specials, Past services: Funeral for Jesus (2 years), Campfire conversations about grief, Tenebrae service
   2. RCL Text: Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25 OR Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42
   3. Audience Engagement: Scripture stations
   4. Order of Worship:
      • Welcome & Prayer
      • Hymn- Were you There — Abby J
      • Interactive reading of Matthew 27
        1. Dark lights, campfire crackling sound, campfire picture
        2. Dim lights, birds chirping, dawn picture
        3. Lights getting brighter, morning picture
        4. Lights bright, late morning picture
        5. Lights dark, eclipse picture
        6. Lights dark, crickets/cicadas sound, starry picture
      • Special – Jesus Paid it All –Abby J
      • Closing prayer
2. Stations of the cross, live nativity, & Easter
   1. frequently, we forget exactly how the timeline unfolds for holy week. most of what we celebrate on Good Friday unfolds in the darkness between Monday Thursday and Good Friday. We left Maundy Thursday, last night, to the sound of songs being sung much like the disciples and Jesus on the way to the garden of Gethsemane.
   2.  as we read Matthew 27 together tonight, we will portion it out to emphasize the passing of time and the chain of events. I envision this best served like a Catholic Stations of the Cross (based on christian on Christian traditions) or Christmas live nativity. 
   3. With each passage, I will place (mostly modern) symbols for each section on the altar and invite kids and adults to engage with those items as we consider the scriptures. likewise the slides will not show scripture but give us an indicator of time passing. 
3. MAIN TEXT: Matthew 27 & Stations
   1. PICTURE OF A CAMP FIRE, CRACKLING SOUNDS, –HANDCUFFS, JESUS WAS ARRESTED LAST NIGHT
      • Introduction [not scripture] Good friday starts late maundy thursday in the garden of gethsemane. Jesus was arrested in the middle of the night while praying in the garden. 
      • As dawn approaches, Good Friday unfolds. We enter scripture at dawn, by noon Jesus is crucified, by sunset he is in the tomb. We will journey through this story through reading Matthew 27 and having stations with items to engage with. 
   2. [Good Friday]- LIGHTS SLOWLY TURNING ON  & BIRDS CHIRPING [DAWN PICTURE] — ROPE
      • 27:1 Early in the morning all the chief priests and the elders of the people reached the decision to have Jesus put to death. 2 They bound him, led him away, and turned him over to Pilate the governor.
   3. Judas’ death – MORNING TIME — BAG OF COINS
      • 3 When Judas, who betrayed Jesus, saw that Jesus was condemned to die, he felt deep regret. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, and 4 said, “I did wrong because I betrayed an innocent man.” But they said, “What is that to us? That’s your problem.” 5 Judas threw the silver pieces into the temple and left. Then he went and hanged himself. 6 The chief priests picked up the silver pieces and said, “According to the Law it’s not right to put this money in the treasury. Since it was used to pay for someone’s life, it’s unclean.” 7 So they decided to use it to buy the potter’s field where strangers could be buried. 8 That’s why that field is called “Field of Blood” to this very day. 9 This fulfilled the words of Jeremiah the prophet: And I took the thirty pieces of silver, the price for the one whose price had been set by some of the Israelites, 10 and I gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.[a]
   4. Questioned by Pilate- MORNING TIME [EARLY MORNING PICTURE] – CROWN/SIGN KING OF JEWS
      • 11 Jesus was brought before the governor. The governor said, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “That’s what you say.” 12 But he didn’t answer when the chief priests and elders accused him. 13 Then Pilate said, “Don’t you hear the testimony they bring against you?” 14 But he didn’t answer, not even a single word. So the governor was greatly amazed.
   5. Death sentence- MORNING TIME [EARLY MORNING PICTURE] – JUDGE’S GAVEL & BOWL OF WATER
      • 15 It was customary during the festival for the governor to release to the crowd one prisoner, whomever they might choose. 16 At that time there was a well-known prisoner named Jesus Barabbas. 17 When the crowd had come together, Pilate asked them, “Whom would you like me to release to you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18 He knew that the leaders of the people had handed him over because of jealousy. 19 While he was serving as judge, his wife sent this message to him, “Leave that righteous man alone. I’ve suffered much today in a dream because of him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and kill Jesus. 21 The governor said, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” “Barabbas,” they replied. 22 Pilate said, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify him!” 23 But he said, “Why? What wrong has he done?” They shouted even louder, “Crucify him!” 24 Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was starting. So he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I’m innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It’s your problem.” 25 All the people replied, “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified.
   6. Soldiers mocking Jesus- MORNING TIME [EARLY MORNING PICTURE] – CROWN OF THORNS & PURPLE CLOTH
      • 27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s house, and they gathered the whole company[b] of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a red military coat on him. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they bowed down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “Hey! King of the Jews!” 30 After they spit on him, they took the stick and struck his head again and again. 31 When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the military coat and put his own clothes back on him. They led him away to crucify him.
   7. Crucifixion- MORNING TIME [LATE MORNING PICTURE] – WOOD & NAILS (HAMMER??)
      • 32 As they were going out, they found Simon, a man from Cyrene. They forced him to carry his cross. 33 When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place, 34 they gave Jesus wine mixed with vinegar to drink. But after tasting it, he didn’t want to drink it. 35 After they crucified him, they divided up his clothes among them by drawing lots. 36 They sat there, guarding him. 37 They placed above his head the charge against him. It read, “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” 38 They crucified with him two outlaws, one on his right side and one on his left. 39 Those who were walking by insulted Jesus, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “So you were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, were you? Save yourself! If you are God’s Son, come down from the cross.” 41 In the same way, the chief priests, along with the legal experts and the elders, were making fun of him, saying, 42 “He saved others, but he can’t save himself. He’s the king of Israel, so let him come down from the cross now. Then we’ll believe in him. 43 He trusts in God, so let God deliver him now if he wants to. He said, ‘I’m God’s Son.’” 44 The outlaws who were crucified with him insulted him in the same way.
   8. Death-NIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF DAY– DARKEN ROOM [STARRY NIGHT PICTURE] – GREIF CANDLES
      • 45 From noon until three in the afternoon the whole earth was dark. 46 At about three Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” which means, “My God, my God, why have you left me?”[c] 47 After hearing him, some standing there said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 One of them ran over, took a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a pole. He offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “Let’s see if Elijah will come and save him.” 50 Again Jesus cried out with a loud shout. Then he died. 51 Look, the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split, 52 and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised. 53 After Jesus’ resurrection they came out of their graves and went into the holy city where they appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what had just happened, they were filled with awe and said, “This was certainly God’s Son.” 55 Many women were watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to serve him. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
   9. Burial- KEEP ROOM DARK & SOUND OF CICADAS [STARRY NIGHT PICTURE] – WHITE CLOTH & light incense (FRANKINCENSE & MYRRH)
      • 57 That evening a man named Joseph came. He was a rich man from Arimathea who had become a disciple of Jesus. 58 He came to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate gave him permission to take it. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had carved out of the rock. After he rolled a large stone at the door of the tomb, he went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting in front of the tomb.

CONCLUSION: Jesus went from being arrested in  the middle of the night to being crucified in the middle of the day to in the tomb by night. Similar to Maundy Thursday, tonight, we leave in the middle of something.

1. Tomorrow, Holy Saturday is the space in between: the silent day, the day of shock and uncertainty.

1. The disciples are scattered and scared– will they be hunted down and crucified for following Jesus?  
2. Is hope lost? The One they believed to be the Messiah is dead… how could he free Israel from Rome and restore the Davidic Monarchy from the grave? 
3. Sometimes we rush to Easter to ease the gravity of Good Friday. No one really likes the tension of Holy Saturday
4. However, holy Saturday reminds us of our current state. Just turning on the news reminds us of the dark limbo we are in. We’re waiting for Jesus now, just like the disciples were waiting then.
   1. what will you do with the time in between?