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| The video of the Good Friday service is here. |
Good Friday Vespers, 2021
7 PM Central Daylight Time
The hymn tunes are linked to the name of the hymn.
The words are linked to the the hymn number,
using the new TLH hymnal blog.
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Hymn # 172:1-5 O Sacred Head
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 22 p. 128
Psalm 22 KJV
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
2 O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.
3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.
4 Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
5 They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.
6 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
7 All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8 He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
9 But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.
11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.
12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.
13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.
16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.
18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.
19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.
22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.
24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.
25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.
26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.
27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.
28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.
29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.
31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this. The Lections
Sermon Hymn #143 O Dearest Jesus
The Sermon – Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
Hymn #153 Stricken Smitten
Prayers and Announcements
Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22
The risen Lord admonished the Emmaus disciples for not believing what had been written from Moses onward. This passage in Isaiah has extreme contrasts, which almost seem impossible, so they were not understood until much later. Jesus was exalted and praised for being the Messiah, the Son of David, but He was also horribly whipped, beaten, and crucified.
Hymn #153 Stricken Smitten
Prayers and Announcements
- Christina Jackson is recovering at home and will see the oncologist in a few days. Pastor Jim Shrader has medical challenges.
- Those who are dealing with medical issues and loss.
- Our country, leaders, and military.
Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22
Isaiah 52 13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
The Bible gives us multiple versions of doctrine or revelations, so we have a better grasp. Psalm 22 is so close to the actual crucifixion that it seems more like a poetic description afterwards than a prediction a thousand years before. I always point this out to Old Testament students, so they realize how powerful the Gospel is in the Old Testament.
Isaiah 53 really begins a few verses early, and it is so startling that no one really understood the passage until the resurrection of Christ.
Luke 24 "And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not." 25 Then Jesus said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?
27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
The risen Lord admonished the Emmaus disciples for not believing what had been written from Moses onward. This passage in Isaiah has extreme contrasts, which almost seem impossible, so they were not understood until much later. Jesus was exalted and praised for being the Messiah, the Son of David, but He was also horribly whipped, beaten, and crucified.
Sprinkle is a reference to the blood sacrifice in the Temple, but this is the ultimate, the atoning death of Christ.
Kings will shut their mouths - He will be their Savior, and the nation will follow the king. They will realize the predictions were true and more than they could ever imagine came to pass.
53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
This verse is crucial for understanding faith, forgiveness, evangelism, and preaching. When we read "faith comes by hearing" in Romans 10, that refers specifically to hearing the report. When people hear the report of the Atonement and Resurrection, the mercy and power of God are revealed. He is so powerful that the might of the Roman Empire was turned against it with the Gospel rather than armies. This Gospel was so irresistible that it swept through the slaves, criminals, and prostitutes and worked up to the citizens, the elite, and finally the emperor Constantine. He moved the capital to a little town, away from paganism, and established Christianity there. The town became Constantinople, center of the Byzantine Empire, a Christian Empire for 1100 years.
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
The crucifixion was so terrifying and its effects so ugly that His own disciples (except one) were absent.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
The Atonement is repeated - He has done all this for us, but at that time He was under God's judgment, punished and afflicted by God. The great injustice of the innocent Son of God slain for sinful man is summarized in that one verse.
The greatness of this Atonement is that we can see Jesus suffering and dying not merely for minor and conquered sin, though no one can really conquer sin, but also for great and terrible sins. This means the Gospel teacher, whoever he or she might be, can say, "As horrible as your crimes are, still Jesus died to atone for them." Thus our hope and faith are not in our strength, our contrition, but in His substitution for us.
The terrible false doctrine of the rationalists is to say "If Jesus died for the sins of the world, then everyone is absolved, forgiven, and saved." Many pseudo-Christian sects teach that and so do various philosophies. However, they cannot escape the plain, simple explanation that forgiveness comes through faith, and faith comes from hearing the Gospel Report - Christ has died for your sins and risen from the dead to show His power over death.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
To paraphrase Lenski, we preach the Atonement, and that miracle by itself creates faith. It only takes people sincerely listening to the Word of God for the Holy Spirit to have that effect, not only to create but also to sustain faith.
The more we put these passages together, the great trust we have in God's power and mercy. Both go together. There is no greater power than that which is over death and sin.
No one can heal his own guilt by any act or change in thinking. Police count on that when they tell horrible criminals, "You will feel better for telling the truth." Some have even come forward after decades to take their punishment. Why? Because the universe has not changed. The Ten Commandments were not invented against man but revealed as the central guide to life both in worshiping God and in how we treat others - the Second Table. As Luther said, Moses borrowed them from Adam, because they were known but not codified.
So only God can give us the peace of forgiveness, and that comes through Christ. Before His incarnation, faith in Him availed the sinner. After His resurrection, the Gospel spread throughout the civilized world in decades, not everyone but every known land at the time.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
This is the pervasive sheep and shepherding theme we find in Isaiah 40, Psalm 23, John 10. Is it a coincidence that the Psalm about the crucifixion is just before the 23rd? They go together. Psalm 22 explains what it gook for Jesus to be the Shepherd of Psalm 23.
This protecting and guiding view is found throughout. Isaiah 40:11 - He will feed His flock like a shepherd, gather and carry the lambs in his arms, and gently lead those with young.
We are the sheep and He is the Shepherd above all shepherds, John 10.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
This again shows the dramatic contrasts - that the Messiah they did not see at the time for centuries - would be powerful as the innocent lamb led to slaughter, silent, not defending Himself. And He did not hide His power completely. He warned them of the angels who would fight for Him.
Mark 14:61 But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? 62 And Jesus said, I AM: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
ο δε ιησους ειπεν εγω ειμι - the OT Name of God
And the high priest tore his clothes, not because He said, "It's Me." I just saw an interpretation about the "silence" of Jesus, quoting this. Yes, relative silence, but that has been woven into complete silence and denial. As can be seen too in John, Jesus' I AM throws back the soldiers, and the Jewish leaders accuse Him of considering Himself God's Son.
Jesus did not argue His defense. He portrayed what Isaiah 53 teaches. It was fulfilled.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
I often mention this prediction because it seemed to be impossible and yet it was fulfilled exactly. Jesus was executed as a criminal, the worst kind. Joseph begged for His body and was granted permission. But the body went to a fresh newly carved cave, which only a rich man could afford. So He died in infamy but was buried with respect and dignity - a unique combination.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
This is in harmony with John's Gospel. God the Father commanded, the Son obeyed, and the Spirit gave witness. Jesus was made an offering for sacrifice, and His believers would be the seed of His sacrifice. God will prosper the work of Jesus and be satisfied with these accomplishments. By all this, the righteous Servant will justify many - not all - for bearing their sins. The OJ liars want people to imagine that many means all, yet this strange math is clearly repeated in Romans - many, not all. Only the dunderheads of the New NIV could claim the text says "all are justified" in Romans 3.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Remember the mighty man (Satan) who holds his possesions in peace? But a stronger man takes away Satan's weapons and spoils of war. Jesus quoted Isaiah 53 in that short, mysterious parable - which is mysterious until we know what it means.
Time after time, this little passage teaches - Jesus died for our sins, though He was without sin - and that was God's plan for our salvation and eternal life.
