Today we
celebrate the most important
and yet tragic event of
human history:
All the pain and guilt
of broken humanity
inflicted on the One who
had done nothing wrong.
We've been reading
through the Gospel of Mark
through Lent.
The last reading is
pasted below - nothing
more needs to be said....
God bless you on this
GOOD FRIDAY.
Theo
15 At dawn’s first
light, the high
priests, with the
religious leaders and
scholars, arranged a
conference with the
entire Jewish Council.
After tying Jesus
securely, they took
him out and presented
him to Pilate. 2-3
Pilate asked him, “Are
you the ‘King of the
Jews’?” He answered,
“If you say so.” The
high priests let loose
a barrage of
accusations. 4-5
Pilate asked again,
“Aren’t you going to
answer anything?
That’s quite a list of
accusations.” Still,
he said nothing.
Pilate was impressed,
really impressed. 6-10
It was a custom at the
Feast to release a
prisoner, anyone the
people asked for.
There was one prisoner
called Barabbas,
locked up with the
insurrectionists who
had committed murder
during the uprising
against Rome. As the
crowd came up and
began to present its
petition for him to
release a prisoner,
Pilate anticipated
them: “Do you want me
to release the King of
the Jews to you?”
Pilate knew by this
time that it was
through sheer spite
that the high priests
had turned Jesus over
to him. 11-12 But the
high priests by then
had worked up the
crowd to ask for the
release of Barabbas.
Pilate came back, “So
what do I do with this
man you call King of
the Jews?” 13 They
yelled, “Nail him to a
cross!” 14 Pilate
objected, “But for
what crime?” But they
yelled all the louder,
“Nail him to a cross!”
15 Pilate gave the
crowd what it wanted,
set Barabbas free and
turned Jesus over for
whipping and
crucifixion. 16-20 The
soldiers took Jesus
into the palace
(called Praetorium)
and called together
the entire brigade.
They dressed him up in
purple and put a crown
plaited from a
thornbush on his head.
Then they began their
mockery: “Bravo, King
of the Jews!” They
banged on his head
with a club, spit on
him, and knelt down in
mock worship. After
they had had their
fun, they took off the
purple cape and put
his own clothes back
on him. Then they
marched out to nail
him to the cross.
21 There was a man
walking by, coming
from work, Simon from
Cyrene, the father of
Alexander and Rufus.
They made him carry
Jesus’ cross. 22-24
The soldiers brought
Jesus to Golgotha,
meaning “Skull Hill.”
They offered him a
mild painkiller (wine
mixed with myrrh), but
he wouldn’t take it.
And they nailed him to
the cross. They
divided up his clothes
and threw dice to see
who would get them.
25-30 They nailed him
up at nine o’clock in
the morning. The
charge against him—the
king of the jews—was
printed on a poster.
Along with him, they
crucified two
criminals, one to his
right, the other to
his left. People
passing along the road
jeered, shaking their
heads in mock lament:
“You bragged that you
could tear down the
Temple and then
rebuild it in three
days—so show us your
stuff! Save yourself!
If you’re really God’s
Son, come down from
that cross!” 31-32 The
high priests, along
with the religion
scholars, were right
there mixing it up
with the rest of them,
having a great time
poking fun at him: “He
saved others—but he
can’t save himself!
Messiah, is he? King
of Israel? Then let
him climb down from
that cross. We’ll all
become believers
then!” Even the men
crucified alongside
him joined in the
mockery. 33-34 At noon
the sky became
extremely dark. The
darkness lasted three
hours. At three
o’clock, Jesus groaned
out of the depths,
crying loudly, “Eloi,
Eloi, lama
sabachthani?” which
means, “My God, my
God, why have you
abandoned me?” 35-36
Some of the bystanders
who heard him said,
“Listen, he’s calling
for Elijah.” Someone
ran off, soaked a
sponge in sour wine,
put it on a stick, and
gave it to him to
drink, saying, “Let’s
see if Elijah comes to
take him down.” 37-39
But Jesus, with a loud
cry, gave his last
breath. At that moment
the Temple curtain
ripped right down the
middle. When the Roman
captain standing guard
in front of him saw
that he had quit
breathing, he said,
“This has to be the
Son of God!”
40-41 There were
women watching from a
distance, among them
Mary Magdalene, Mary
the mother of the
younger James and
Joses, and Salome.
When Jesus was in
Galilee, these women
followed and served
him, and had come up
with him to Jerusalem.
42-45 Late in the
afternoon, since it
was the Day of
Preparation (that is,
Sabbath eve), Joseph
of Arimathea, a highly
respected member of
the Jewish Council,
came. He was one who
lived expectantly, on
the lookout for the
kingdom of God.
Working up his
courage, he went to
Pilate and asked for
Jesus’ body. Pilate
questioned whether he
could be dead that
soon and called for
the captain to verify
that he was really
dead. Assured by the
captain, he gave
Joseph the corpse.
46-47 Having already
purchased a linen
shroud, Joseph took
him down, wrapped him
in the shroud, placed
him in a tomb that had
been cut into the
rock, and rolled a
large stone across the
opening. Mary
Magdalene and Mary,
mother of Joses,
watched the burial.
16 1-3 When the
Sabbath was over, Mary
Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James, and
Salome bought spices
so they could embalm
him. Very early on
Sunday morning, as the
sun rose, they went to
the tomb. They worried
out loud to each
other, “Who will roll
back the stone from
the tomb for us?” 4-5
Then they looked up,
saw that it had been
rolled back—it was a
huge stone—and walked
right in. They saw a
young man sitting on
the right side,
dressed all in white.
They were completely
taken aback,
astonished. 6-7 He
said, “Don’t be
afraid. I know you’re
looking for Jesus the
Nazarene, the One they
nailed on the cross.
He’s been raised up;
he’s here no longer.
You can see for
yourselves that the
place is empty. Now—on
your way. Tell his
disciples and Peter
that he is going on
ahead of you to
Galilee. You’ll see
him there, exactly as
he said.” 8 They got
out as fast as they
could, beside
themselves, their
heads swimming.
Stunned, they said
nothing to anyone.
9-11 [After rising
from the dead, Jesus
appeared early on
Sunday morning to Mary
Magdalene, whom he had
delivered from seven
demons. She went to
his former companions,
now weeping and
carrying on, and told
them. When they heard
her report that she
had seen him alive and
well, they didn’t
believe her. 12-13
Later he appeared, but
in a different form,
to two of them out
walking in the
countryside. They went
back and told the
rest, but they weren’t
believed either. 14-16
Still later, as the
Eleven were eating
supper, he appeared
and took them to task
most severely for
their stubborn
unbelief, refusing to
believe those who had
seen him raised up.
Then he said, “Go into
the world. Go
everywhere and
announce the Message
of God’s good news to
one and all. Whoever
believes and is
baptized is saved;
whoever refuses to
believe is damned.
17-18 “These are some
of the signs that will
accompany believers:
They will throw out
demons in my name,
they will speak in new
tongues, they will
take snakes in their
hands, they will drink
poison and not be
hurt, they will lay
hands on the sick and
make them well.” 19-20
Then the Master Jesus,
after briefing them,
was taken up to
heaven, and he sat
down beside God in the
place of honour. And
the disciples went
everywhere preaching,
the Master working
right with them,
validating the Message
with indisputable evidence.]
