GOOD FRIDAY

“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this, he breathed his last.” Luke 23:46

Good Friday was a day of distinctive sounds.

The splash of water as Pilate washed his hands and sent Jesus off to be crucified. The crack of the whip which tore into the flesh of Jesus Christ as He was scourged by the Roman soldier. The thud of the hammer hitting the nails that pierced Jesus’ flesh before being sunk deeply into the wood of the cross. The loud derisive shrieks of the crowd who mocked a dying Jesus and called for His blood. The silence of the universe for three hours as Jesus suffered the pangs of hell in our place. The rip of the Temple curtain announcing that access to God was now possible through the One whose once-for-all sacrifice has accomplished forgiveness and peace with God.

But the most distinctive sound of all on that Good Friday was the voice of Jesus Christ, God’s Suffering Servant. Luke informs us that Jesus “cried out with a loud voice”. This was no dying whimper or whisper. No, it was a proclamation; an announcement. Everyone on earth and in heaven was summoned to pay attention. God’s herald had a victory to proclaim.

“Father”: the God who had forsaken Him was once again His Father; His ABBA; His daddy.

“Into Your hands”: the strong, loving hands of the Father will bring His Son, even, through death. Deuteronomy 33:27 says “and underneath are the everlasting arms” of God who will catch us no matter how far down we fall. Even in death Jesus would not let go of His Father’s hand.

“I commit my spirit”: this is a quotation from Psalm 31:5. With this declaration, Jesus concludes His mission to seek and save the lost. He had prayed that God’s will would be done, and now through His death on the cross in our place as our sacrifice, God’s will was done.

On this Good Friday, let all who have ears listen. Listen to the victory cry of the dying Jesus Christ.

Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through that same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” John 6:35

The most basic nourishing food to keep one alive is bread. The first temptation the devil offered the hungering Jesus in the wilderness was to turn stones into bread. What did the 5000 want after a long day with Jesus? Bread, which He gave them. When the Israelites complained that they missed sitting by the meat pots and eating bread to the full, God rained down on them bread from heaven. What do we pray for daily? Our daily bread. Yet whilst God provides for our bodily needs, the Lord of Life sees something even more important than sustaining our mere existence when He says, “I am the Bread of Life”.

The ‘I Am’ sayings of Jesus are emphatic in construction and would be recognised by the scholar to be like the great I AM. At God’s appearance to him at the burning bush, when Moses asked whom he is to say has sent him, God says, “I AM WHO I AM. Say to the people, ‘I AM has sent you’”, and in the next verse: “The LORD, the God of your fathers has sent me to you”. The Hebrew word for LORD sounds like, and is derived from, I AM.

Today we consider the Last Supper, just prior to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion. In His most extensive teaching, Jesus prepares His disciples for what must follow, and gives also the Institution of the Holy Sacrament. We are reminded of His word, “I am the Bread of Life”, as He broke bread and gave it to the disciples and said, “This is My body, which is given for you”.

How important is this? In the hymn What is This Bread? we sing: ‘It’s Christ’s body risen from the dead. This bread we break, this life we take, was crushed to pay for our release. O taste and see, the Lord is peace’. And marvelling at God’s grace: ‘Is this for me? I am forgiven and set free!’

This giving of Christ Himself to us is a matter of pure grace, and it makes the difference between having life and existing. He is the true Bread from Heaven, who brings forgiveness and abundant life. Feed on Him and live for ever!

In Jesus’ name, Amen.