There’s something different about this. There’s something different about this night. It is not unusual that we gather in the evening, but the sanctuary looks different tonight. What has been added to our space is there to cover up and conceal and darken rather than to emphasize or accentuate. There’s something different about this service. It has been quiet already and promises much more silent contemplation. The candles are in a different place with a different configuration. They speak silently and symbolically.
There is something different about this night and about this service because there is something different about this person. There is something different about this Savior.
When his final steps took him before Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor noticed something different. How many trials had he overseen? How many accused criminals had stood before him? And how many of them acted like this one did? Here’s the answer: the governor was very surprised.
Accusations and complaints were hurled at Jesus. The testimony was damning and brutal. And it was all made up. It was all false. Yet Jesus stood there quietly.
I have been accused at times. I have heard charges and complaints. Unfortunately, at least as often as not, I have been guilty as charged. But I still push back. I get defensive. I fight. I refuse to accept someone else’s accusations. I stand up for my rights and my reputation and my character. But there is something different about Jesus. He is completely innocent of every charge, and yet he stands quietly. The only answer he gives is when asked directly, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Then he admits he is. His final steps will certainly bear this out. There is something different about him.
Matthew 27:1–2, 11–14 (EHV)
Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people reached the decision to put Jesus to death. 2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
11When Jesus stood in the presence of the governor, the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “It is as you say.”
12When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13Then Pilate said to him, “Don’t you hear how many things they are testifying against you?”
14But he did not answer him not even one word, so that the governor was very surprised.
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
HYMN 425 “Go to Dark Gethsemane”
The first candle is extinguished.
1
His Final Steps Led to Pilate
His Final Steps Led to Barabbas
It is unclear whether Jesus’ steps actually took him to Barabbas. Did the two ever stand face-to-face? Did they share a stage or a room or a cell? It is clear that Jesus remained for a time with Pontius Pilate. The Roman governor had the authority that the leaders of Jesus’ own people did not have. He could decide his ultimate fate. He had the power in his hands of life and death, at least from an earthly perspective.
No matter the logistics, Barabbas was there, too. He was with Pilate. He was a prisoner, notorious, infamous, almost certainly guilty. It is also clear that Pilate knew the situation precisely. He knew that in his hands were two prisoners standing in stark contrast. He had an innocent man and a guilty man. His wife knew that Jesus was righteous and should be set free.
But Pilate didn’t make the decision, and neither did his wife. The crowd made the decision. The custom of Pilate to placate the Jewish people, to celebrate their holiday by releasing a prisoner played out once more. How many times had Pilate released a political prisoner? How many times had the Jews taken back a zealot who threatened Rome but didn’t threaten them? I cannot answer those questions. But in this case a guilty man went free and an innocent man faced judgment.
But take a moment to consider not just the earthly perspective but also the heavenly perspective. God had sent his own Son to stand in stark contrast to a world of sinners. God held in his hands a guilty race, all of humanity. And he also held in his hand an innocent man, one who had willingly placed himself under God’s law and human laws. And God used the wicked decision of the crowd to carry out his own purpose: a guilty world would go free while an innocent man faced judgment.
Matthew 27:15-26 (EHV)
15At the time of the Festival the governor had a custom to release to the crowd any one prisoner they wanted.
16At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. 17So when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, “Which one do you want me to release to you? Barabbas or Jesus, who is called Christ?” 18For Pilate knew that they had handed Jesus over to him because of envy.
19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, Pilate’s wife sent him a message. “Have nothing to do with that righteous man,” she said, “since I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.” 20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death. 21The governor asked them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
“Barabbas!” they said.
22Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus, who is called Christ?”
They all said to him, “Crucify him!”
23But the governor said, “Why? What has he done wrong?”
But they kept shouting even louder: “Crucify him!”
24When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing and that instead it was turning into a riot, he took water, washed his hands in front of the crowd, and said, “I am innocent of this righteous man’s blood. It is your responsibility.”
25And all the people answered, “Let his blood be on us and on our children!”
26Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified.
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6) [Hymn 397] The second candle is extinguished.
2
“They will condemn him to death. They will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, flog, and crucify him. On the third day he will be raised” (Matthew 20:18-19). Those were Jesus’ own words. He warned his disciples that this is how his final trip to Jerusalem would go. And now every word of what he said was coming true.
Pilate’s soldiers would now heap on abuse. If this man is the King of the Jews, he ought to be treated like a king. A king wears a crown and a royal robe. A king holds a scepter. A king receives respect and honor from his subjects.
And so a makeshift robe would cover the broken skin of this king. A thorny crown would pierce his head. He could carry his staff until they struck him with it. And they would pay their respects in gobs of saliva. Some king.
But do not be deceived. When the true followers of this king fought back against those who were arresting him in the first place, this is what he told them: “Put your sword back in its place, because all who take the sword will die by the sword. Do you not realize that I could call on my Father, and at once he would provide me with more than twelve legions of angels? But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?” (Matthew 26:52-54).
Without any angels and by his own power, Jesus could have stopped this mockery of justice at any time. He could have stopped his arrest, his condemnation, his scourging, and his mocking. But he endured because he wanted you as his subject. He wanted you who had heaped abuse on him and mocked his royal power just as much as these soldiers. He wanted to show that his kingdom was not of this world and that no one and nothing could move him from his path. So his final steps took him to the Praetorium and beyond.
Matthew 27:27-30 (EHV)
27Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole cohort of soldiers around him. 28They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him. 29They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mocked him by saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30They spit on him, took the staff, and hit him repeatedly on his head.
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
HYMN 432:1-5 “O Dearest Jesus”
The third candle is extinguished.
3 His Final
Steps Led to the Praetorium
Now we have come to his final steps. The preparation is complete. His cross is ready. Simon will carry the cross when Jesus cannot. But the cross and the crucified will both come to the place of the skull. This hill just outside of the great city of Jerusalem may have been shaped like a skull. It had no doubt seen its share of crucifixions.
The condemned was nailed to the wood, and the cross was set in place. The torture and execution were put on full display. The Passover pilgrims could all walk past and see once again that Rome was in charge. Here is what would happen to any who claimed royal authority. You could have a sign fastened above your head with your claim as you slowly died in front of every passerby.
But remember, this crucifixion was different. When else had everyone joined in the mockery? When else had even the criminals alongside teamed up to mock one who was suffering the exact same fate? Could there be clearer testimony that God had indeed laid all of our sins on this one?
In our best moments, we look on this scene with horror. We rightly say, “it should have been me suffering.” In our best moments, we bow our heads and whisper a quiet prayer of thanks. But in our worst moments, and there have been far too many of them, we join right in. Is this the best that you’ve got? Don’t you care about what is happening to me right now? Why do you leave me with questions and doubts? Why don’t you prove that you are the king and are powerful and worthy of worship? Why don’t you be the kind of king I think I want?
Jesus does much better than that. He stays on the cross. He is exactly the kind of king that you need.
Matthew 27:31-41 (EHV)
31After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
32As they were going out of the city, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon. They forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33They came to a place called Golgotha, which means “The place of the skull.” 34They offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35After they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among themselves by casting lots. 36Then they sat down and were keeping watch over him there. 37Above his head they posted the written charge against him: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”
38At the same time two criminals were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39People who passed by kept insulting him, shaking their heads, 40and saying, “You who were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
41In the same way the chief priests, experts in the law, and elders kept mocking him. They said, 42“He saved others, but he cannot save himself. If he’s the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now, if he wants him, because he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44In the same way even the criminals who were crucified with him kept insulting him.
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
4
His Final Steps Led to Golgotha
CHOIR: The Power of the Cross The fourth candle is extinguished.
5 His Final Steps Led to Hell
Nails. Thorns. Whips. Scourging. A heavy wooden cross with all its splinters. Torture after torture after torture. This whole process was intended and designed for maximum pain and suffering, not to mention shame and disgrace. We can hardly imagine what that must have felt like, what such an experience could entail. We might imagine our injuries. We have felt a thorn prick our skin. We can recall a stubborn splinter. We have been cut. We have bled. And our minds try to take that pain and multiply it so that we might wrap our minds around what he endured.
And then Jesus cries out.
“Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
And we know that we cannot comprehend this. Even in our worst moments, our fiercest sufferings, God is with us. For the agonizing moments around three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus was forsaken. The gracious presence of his heavenly Father was no longer with him. The true and essential definition of hell became a reality for Jesus on the cross. Everything that we deserved…everything that the world deserved came crashing down on the sinless Son who had become sin for us. God was forsaken by God so that you will never be forsaken.
Matthew
27:45-49 (EHV)
45From the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. 46About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
47When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “This fellow is calling for Elijah.”
48Immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, and soaked it with sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and gave him a drink. 49The rest said, “Leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
HYMN 430 “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted”
The fifth candle is extinguished.
His Final Steps Led to Death
It is a final step we all share. We have shared it with the entire human race ever since the first sin ripped apart the perfect relationship between God and the people he created. Death. Separation. God and people were separated, and as a result and a consequence, human bodies and souls would be separated. We would not live forever.
In fact, without God stepping in, we would die forever. Separation from God would never end.
So God stepped in. He stepped in with a promise. He promised a Savior, a crusher-of-the-head of the serpent who had tempted people. But even in the promise was a warning and a reminder. The Savior would be wounded, too. We have seen his wounds tonight. And now we remember how our final step becomes his final step. His true human body was separated from his true human soul. In the person of Jesus Christ, God died for his people. And even the rocks and the tombs felt the result and testified to what had happened. So did the people who had seen these events most closely.
Matthew 27:50-54 (EHV)
50After Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51Suddenly, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and rocks were split. 52Tombs were opened, and many bodies of saints who had fallen asleep were raised to life. 53Those who came out of the tombs went into the holy city after Jesus’ resurrection and appeared to many people. 54When the centurion and those who were guarding Jesus with him saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
PIANO SOLO: Near the Cross
This piano piece includes the melodies of three hymns, “Go to Dark Gethsemane,” which we sang earlier, “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” and “Beneath the Cross of Jesus.” Two hymn stanzas are printed here for your meditation.
The sixth candle is extinguished.
6
Dead means dead. Jesus was not unconscious or waiting to be resuscitated. The soldiers knew it. Pilate knew it. Joseph of Arimathea knew it. The women who watched in sorrow knew it. By God’s amazing grace, you know it and I know it.
You also know that Jesus has the power over death. The fact that you are aware is evidence that he has given you spiritual life where only death existed before. Jesus does that. He gives life where only death exists.
And that is why you and I can both mourn in sorrow over our sins and also call this day Good. It is why we can leave in the same silence in which we came and also have thankfulness in our hearts. It is why it is worth our while to process the suffering and the pain and the sadness. We can watch as someone else carries the body of Jesus to the tomb because his final steps are behind him. And we can wipe away our tears knowing that we will revisit this tomb soon, and everything will be different. There is indeed something different about this night.
Matthew 27:55-61 (EHV)
55Many women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and who had served him were there, watching from a distance. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.
57When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and laid it in his own new tomb that he had cut in the rock. He rolled a large stone over the tomb’s entrance and left. 61Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there sitting opposite the tomb.
Response
We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him. (Isaiah 53:6)
The Seventh candle is not extinguished, but it is removed from view, just as Christ was, for a time, hidden from sight in the tomb.
Solo: “Were You There”
The Seventh Candle is returned to the chancel, foreshadowing the Resurrection. Even on Good Friday we worship the living Christ.
7 His Final Steps Led to the Tomb
