04-15-2022 – “Good Friday Celebrates Forgiveness for Sin”

Bible Text: various | Speaker: Pastor Mike Hale |

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April 15, 2022 – (Good Friday Service – 3pm-4pm)
“Good Friday Celebrates Forgiveness for Sin”

It was very early on a Friday morning, when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Over the next few hours, Jesus was ridiculed, falsely accused, spit on, slapped, slugged, and beaten with rods.  Jesus was first taken to Annas (the previous High Priest of Israel), then to Caiaphas (the current High Priest and son-in-law of Annas), and along with the Sanhedrin, they accuse Jesus of crimes against God and Israel that would bring the judgement of death.

 

But since the Jews didn’t have authority to carryout the death penalty (under Roman rule), they took Jesus to Pontius Pilate, the Governor; who then sent Jesus to Herod Antipas (the one who had beheaded John the Baptizer). Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate, who then gave in to the pressure of crowd

 

(Mark 15:15),

“after having Jesus flogged, he [Pilot] handed Him [Jesus] over to be crucified.”.

 

 

Read Mark 15:22-26… 

“Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge against Him read, ‘THE KING OF THE JEWS.’”

 

 

Jesus reached the place of execution: Golgotha [“skull place,” known as Calvary, from the Latin “calvaria” which means “skull or cranium”]. 

 

Here He was crucified just outside the north gate of Jerusalem along the main road, near a place that looks like a skull, a place clearly visible, even today.

 

Jesus was placed on the cross as it lay flat on the ground.  First one foot, then the other, was nailed to the vertical beam.  Jesus’ arms were stretched across the horizontal beam and nails were driven through his hands. The cross was then dropped into a hole, causing more pain; the flesh around the nails is pulled and torn, by the weight of Jesus’ body being jerked around.

 

A wooden sign was placed above Jesus’ head

 

(John 19:19-20),

“‘JESUS THE NAZARENE, THE KING OF THE JEWS.’ Therefore many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and in Greek.”

 

 

The chief priests insisted

 

 

John 19:21-22

21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’”
22 Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

 

Pilate change the wording to say, “This man claimed to be king of the Jews,” but Pilate said, “What I have written, I have written.”  The sign would remain unchanged.

 

 

Read Mark 15:27-32…

“They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors.’] Those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!’ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!’ Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.”

 

 

Those who walked by yelled insults at Jesus; just five days before, on Sunday

 

(see Mark 11:8-10),

8 And many spread their coats in the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields.

9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:

“Hosanna!

BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD;

10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;

Hosanna in the highest!”

 

the people had praised Jesus, throwing down palm branches before Him and hailing Him as the Messiah; they now mocked Him, yelling at Him to come down off the cross if He truly was the Son of God.

 

The leaders of Israel expressed their contempt for Christ

 

(Mark 15:31-32),

“He saved others, but He can’t save Himself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down from the cross, then we will believe in Him.”

 

 

These religious leaders would continue to reject Jesus, for their hearts were hardened and they rejected Jesus as God’s Son, the Messiah.  Luke records the words of Jesus 

 

 

(Luke 16:31)

“they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”

 

 

Read Mark 15:33-36…

“When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, ‘Behold, He is calling for Elijah.’ Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, ‘Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.’”

 

At 12 noon, the brightest time of the day, darkness covered the land, this lasted for three hours and didn’t end until after Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

    

The Son was separated from the Father, for the first and final time in all of eternity, because of our sinfulness and our great need to be saved by Him.

    

The Father used darkness to hide the nakedness and indignation of His beloved Son, while the Father poured out judgment upon Him for all the sins of mankind. 

 

Jesus took our sin penalty upon Himself, all alone, crying out to the Father, while those around Him thought He was calling to Elijah to come and save Him.

 

Read Mark 15:37-39…

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

39 When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”

 

 

With a loud cry

 

 

(Mark 15:37),

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last.

 

Jesus breathed His last. 

 

John 19:30

tells us, “He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

 

Matthew 27:46

tells us it was, “About the ninth hour [3PM, when] Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’”

 

Matthew 27:51 records, that at that very moment,

“the veil of the temple [separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place] was torn in two from top to bottom.”

 

So, about 3 in the afternoon, Jesus gave up His spirit; the Temple curtain was ripped open top to bottom, [signifying that] the barrier between God and man was removed by the divine sacrifice of God’s own Son.  The centurion in charge of the crucifixion

 

(Mark 15:39)

proclaimed, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

 

 

Jesus willingly laid down His own life for you and for me because He loves us so much, and because this was the only way for sin’s penalty to be satisfied, to be paid in full, so that we could be made acceptable to the Holy and Righteous God of Creation.

 

 

1Peter 3:18,

“Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

 

 

On that day, the Temple was filled with priests carrying out their duties, offering sacrifices on behalf of worshippers, for their sins; in God’s Sovereign timing, the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was at that moment making the once for all sacrifice of Himself, as the full and final payment for all of humanity’s sins!

 

The old covenant of religious rituals and animal sacrifices (under the Law) was fulfilled in Christ

 

(cf. Hebrews 10:9-10),

He [Christ] takes away the first [covenant, instituted by God’s Law] in order to establish the second [covenant, instituted by God’s Grace], through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all, forgiveness made effectual through the shed blood of God’s One and Only Son.

 

Hebrews 9:22,

“without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

 

 

Hebrews 10:4,

“it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

 

 

Hebrews 9:26-28,

26 Otherwise, He [Christ] would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

 

Acts 2:21,

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord [for forgiveness of sin] will be saved,” because

 

(Acts 4:12),

“Salvation is found in no one else, there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

 

God’s Word declares in

 

Romans (3:23)

that everyone is a sinner – no one is acceptable to God;

 

(Romans 6:23)

the penalty for being a sinner is death, but God grants us eternal life through Jesus Christ; in fact

 

(Romans 5:8),

Jesus took our punishment for sin, once and for all, because of His great love for us; and

 

(Romans 8:1)

therefore, there is NO condemnation for those who belong to Christ.

 

Jesus willingly endured a horrible, painful, and lonely death.  As the Lamb of God, He alone satisfied God’s sovereign requirement for forgiveness, a divine and holy sacrifice. 

Jesus alone provided forgiveness for sins, and He alone can save us

 

(cf. John 14:6),

for He is the only Way to Heaven, the only [revealed] Truth from God, and the only Life [eternal] with God.

 

John 3:16-18,

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

 

Hebrews 10:16-18,

16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM

AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:

I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,

AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”

He then says,

17 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS

I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”

18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.

 

Good Friday fulfills, declares, and celebrates, God’s eternal offer of forgiveness for all sin —past, present, and future — to everyone who believes in God’s Son. 

 

 

1Timothy 2:3-4,

3 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

4 who desires all men [women, and children] to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

2Peter 3:9,

“The Lord… is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance!

 

By the way, His Name in Greek is Jesus, in Hebrew it is Yeshua, they both mean “God’s Salvation,” or “Savior”. 

 

 

In Matthew 1:21,

The angel Gabriel, in reference the to baby conceived in Mary’s womb, tells Joseph, “you shall call His name Yeshua/Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

 

If you don’t know for sure that you belong to God in Christ, I urge you, right now, right here, confess to God that you are a sinner (we all are), ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins (He turns no one away); in fact, ‘Everyone who calls on Jesus Christ [for the forgiveness of sins] will be saved ’”

 

 

Romans 10:13.

13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

 

 

Today is Good Friday, it is GOOD because it remembers and celebrates God’s Forgiveness for All Sin, for All People, for All Time. 

 

John 3:16,

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

 

 

This was done through the Sacrificial Death of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Lord and Savior; He took our punishment for sin

 

 

(2Corinthians 5:21),

“He [God the Father] made Him [God the Son], who knew no sin, to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

 

Deuteronomy 6:22-24,

22 Moreover, the LORD showed great and distressing signs and wonders before our eyes against Egypt, Pharaoh and all his household;

23 He brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers.’

24 So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.

 
“May the LORD bless you and keep you, and be gracious to you. 
May The LORD turn His face toward you, shine upon you, and give you peace.”

Pastor Mike
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