Good Friday
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
-John 19:30
Today marks one of the most sacred days of the entire year. It should fill us with a sense of humility, call us to repentance, and leave our hearts abundantly thankful. As the Bible reminds us, we are all sinners. Apart from Christ, we have no hope. Good Friday brings face to face with the reality that our sin truly separates us from God in a way that we can barely comprehend, but because of His love for us He paid the ultimate price by sending His Son to an old rugged cross. Because He did this, we will be able to “exchange it someday for a crown”!
On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.
O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he’ll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I’ll share.
Thank you for walking with me through our Holy Week devotions! I want to invite you to come by the sanctuary of Finley Baptist Church today for our Good Friday Day of Prayer. The church will be open from 8 am to 8 pm. Stop in at your convenience and spend some time in prayer and reflection.
Thursday
I stand amazed in the presence
Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how he could love me,
A sinner, condemned, unclean.
Refrain:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be;
How marvelous! How wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!
For me it was in the garden
He prayed, “Not my will, but thine;”
He had no tears for his own griefs,
But sweat drops of blood for mine.
He took my sins and my sorrows,
He made them his very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
And suffered and died alone.
When with the ransomed in glory
His face I at last shall see,
‘Twill be my joy through the ages
To sing of his love for me.
Thursday of Holy Week (often called Maundy Thursday) contained so many key events. Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. He shares the Last Supper with them. He goes to pray in the garden as He prepares for the cross. He is betrayed. He is arrested. The disciples run away in confusion. The whole episode can almost become overwhelming.
Every event of that day set the stage for the crucifixion that was to follow. In the Last Supper Jesus showed us that He was truly aware of what was going to happen to Him. He told His disciples to remember his death before it even happened! Later in the garden He agonized over the cross before submitting to the Father’s will. At His arrest, Jesus went willing and freely. He chose to endure the cross so that He might shed His blood to save us, a weary bunch of sinners. Thursday shows us the understanding that Jesus had regarding His love for us. Spend some time today simple standing amazed in His presence!
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”
Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.
-Mark 14:22-24
Wednesday
Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
-Matthew 26:14-16
The Wednesday of Holy Week is often called Silent Wednesday. The Gospels contain very little information about what happened on that day. Many scholars believe that Jesus and the disciples used as a day of rest. It is often widely understood that this would have been the day when Judas met with the Pharisees to organize his betrayal of Jesus.
For many Christians, the story of Judas is hard to comprehend. We wonder how it could be possible to (physically) walk so close to Jesus only to betray Him for a handful of cash. However, today’s hymn reminds us that we are all “prone to leave the God {we} love”.
Come Thou Fount is a classic American hymn. Its lyrics are a prayer of both petition and confession. They remind us that we constantly need God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to “tune our hearts” to remain focused on Him. Our sin nature often tempts us to turn from God, even though He provides us with more blessings than we could ever imagine.
Sadly, Judas allowed his wandering to lead him to commit a horrible sin. It is my prayer that we would look to his example and realize the need to not simply go through the motions of walking with Christ. I pray that we would see how deeply indebted to His grace we are, and that we would allow that grace to keep us from wandering and straying away from Him.
Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise the mount I’m fixed upon it
Mount of Thy redeeming love
Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by Thy help I’ve come
And I hope by Thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood
O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above
Tuesday
Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.
-Mark 13:26 (NKJV)
On Tuesday, Scripture records one of Jesus’ final public sermons. This sermon, preached from the Mount of Olives, describes Christ’s return and His final victory over sin. Just days before the cross, Jesus was discussing His Second Coming! Though the Lord would face unimaginable pain and sorrow before the week ended, He was already looking toward the eternal hope that His death and resurrection makes available to all believers.
Today’s hymn, “It is Well”, was written as a response to the author’s own pain after tragically losing his family. The lyrics don’t hold back his grief and sorrow. They are extremely personal and share Horatio Spafford’s real emotion. They not only reflect on the sorrow that comes into our lives from outside sources, they remind us of the hard reality of our own sin. Sin which caused Jesus to come and die. Mr. Spafford was quick to remind us that the only way to find salvation from this sin is to trust the One who “shed His own blood for my soul.”
If you are familiar with this song, you know that it is not a song that ends in sadness despite its heavy lyrics. It is a song of hope. After each stanza, we get the chance to sing those comforting words, “It is well with my soul.”
I always find myself particularly overwhelmed by this song. Every time that I have sung this with a congregation, the church feels ready to bust open with a spirit of worship, praise, and hope when the people sing, “And Lord haste the day when the faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll…”! Like Jesus reminded us, even though we walk through the sorrows of this world, our hope is focused on the glorious reality of eternal life. I encourage you to read through the entire hymn and allow your heart to focus on the glorious hope that is yours if you are a Christian!
When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Refrain
It is well, (it is well),
With my soul, (with my soul)
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul!
Monday
This year for our Holy Week devotions we will be look at the Hymns of Easter and Holy Week. The songs that we sing in church not only connect us to God, they also help teach us about God and the Christian faith. The hymns that we will walk through this week will call us to reflect on the important events of the last week of the life of Jesus as well as His death and resurrection.
Today, we will look back at Palm Sunday with the hymn “Praise Him, Praise Him” which says-
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.
Chorus:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.
This hymn by Fanny Crosby opens with two verses and a chorus that praise our Savior and Redeemer for His death on the cross. They declare Him our Shepherd, Rock, Our Hope of Eternal Salvation, The Crucified, the One Who Bore our Sorrows, and Love Unbounded! In these first two verses we are reminded of who Jesus is for us today if we have placed our trust in Him and His finished work on the cross.
Verse three is the one that connects this hymn to Palm Sunday. On that day the streets of Jerusalem rang loud with shouts of “Hosanna” as Jesus rode into town. This hymn points toward a day when shouts of “Hosanna” will ring out through the portals of Heaven. However, unlike the shouts on Palm Sunday that quickly turned to cries of “crucify”, these “Hosannas” will ring out to the crucified and risen Son of David for eternity!
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
-Matthew 21:9 (NKJV)