Good Friday Vespers, 2023
7 PM Central Daylight Time
Bethany Lutheran Worship,
7 PM Central Daylight Time
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The hymn tunes are linked to the name of the hymn.
The words are linked to the the hymn number,
using the TLH hymnal blog.
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 #143:1-5 O Dearest Jesus
The Sermon – In Our Place
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
Hymn #153 Stricken Smitten
Prayers and Announcements
All our sorrows and pain are understood by our Good Shepherd. He knows our weaknesses and was tempted in every way and yet remained without sin. That is the exchange begun so long ago, taking away our sins and giving us His righteousness through faith in Him alone.
Hymn #153 Stricken Smitten
Prayers and Announcements
- Dr. Lito Cruz' wife, Lyne; Dr. Kermit Way, Pastor and Mrs. Jim Sharder.
- Those who are dealing with medical issues, loss, and difficulties due to emotional stress.
- Our country, duly elected leaders, and military.
In Our Place
One way to meditate on the Atonement of Christ, dying for our sins, is to consider how He died in our place, in the place of all mankind.
First of all, He was without sin, so this death was the greatest injustice. However, the Bible predicted this event from the beginning, when Adam and Eve sinned and were expelled from Paradise. In Genesis 3:15, the Savior would be wounded but Satan would be crushed. Eve believed this, which is recorded in plain Hebrew in Genesis 4:1.
His death was foreshadowed when Abraham was told to sacrifice his only son, and a ram was put in the place of Isaac for the sacrifice.
Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 predicted the details so minutely that no one saw it then and yet we cannot miss it now. If some have a slight knowledge of the crucifixion, those passages jump out so that those lacking the Old Testament are shocked by the parallels, which lack nothing. Lutherans often know this, but there is no reason to take it lightly - that individual details would be fulfilled perfectly many centuries later.
Jesus died in our place.
Jesus was falsely accused and arrested through the betrayal of His own disciple, Judas Iscariot. We are sinners, Jesus only blessed and healed people. He angered many for telling the truth, their righteousness had to come from faith in Him, not in works of the Law.
He exhibited all the ways people suffer.
- False accusations, because of fear of the Roman, pagan forces.
- Betrayal by Judas.
- Dragged away by soldiers at night.
- His disciples hiding instead of sharing His sorrows.
- Mocked.
- Spit on.
- Slugged and slapped.
- Whipped horribly.
- Crowned with thorns, very painful and shaming.
- Forced to carry His cross.
- Enduring the worst kind of torture the world has seen.
- Killed ultimately by a sword, to prove His death, to make sure.
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The glory of Jesus Christ is directly related to His suffering. No one else could have tolerated this ordeal while blessing the guilty around Him.
Rather than recoil from slander, dirty tricks, and other games of their Father Below, we should enjoy the special, triple blessings Jesus gave to us. We take on some of that suffering by trusting in Him alone.
KJV Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
PS
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.
