Good Friday

Matthew 27:32-60

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"

Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

There were all kinds of reactions, that first Good Friday, to the cross. Simon of Cyrene was forced into service. The Roman soldiers gambled to divide Jesus' clothes. Others hurled insults and accusations at Jesus.

Still, there were those who asked insightful questions, saw the truth of who He was and reached out to minister to Jesus. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. Joseph took the body down from the cross and prepared it for burial after Pilate had Jesus certified as dead.

Why is this day so important? Because of this: Jesus went to the cross and died for you, so God offers you salvation. It's His free gift to you. There are no strings attached, there's no manipulation, there are no gimmicks. All you have to do is humbly receive that gift.

The apostle Paul wrote, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

Jesus' crucifixion warrants a response from each one of us. What will your response to Jesus be today?

RDM

Monday

Psalm 22:1-10
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
"He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."
Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.

These waves pound me, force me into the dark ocean depths. My legs and feet are tiring. All I can see on the horizon is my own hopelessness. Only You can save me, Lord. But where are You?

Have you forgotten me? Abandoned me? Why, when I need you most, can I not find you? In my desperation, I make promises to you, but Your promises are what come to mind, "...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith... and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."

God, I need that gift. I know your powers. You can still the waters, clear the skies. I become quiet. In the stillness, I relax -- let go.

Dreamlike, I see a boat on the horizon. My Savior is using someone whose heart is open to be a part of my miracle! In the middle of the ocean, swallowing water with each wave, I'm smiling.

You have drawn me close to you, and I give you praise. My hope has been resurrected.

Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

SH

Ash Wednesday

Genesis 3:14-19

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,

Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals!

You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;

he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;

with pain you will give birth to children.

Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

Cursed is the ground because of you;

through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are and to dust you will return."
NIV

When I was nine I bought a baseball. I was ecstatic for about three seconds. You see, I switched price tags and “bought” a premium baseball for pennies on the dollar. Immediately, Mom noticed and gave her orders: “March into the store, return the baseball, apologize!” Consequences were everywhere.

Today’s scripture reminds us of the tragic, long-term effects sin brought into this world. After Adam and Eve failed to trust that God is good and his word reliable -- when they disobeyed God -- everything went horribly and enormously wrong. The story of Adam and Eve became our story.

Everything is affected. We are separated from each other and from God. We cannot fix what we have broken. We desperately need God to save us from ourselves.

Amazingly, right here in Genesis 3:15, embedded in a text about the consequences of sin and the real war humanity faces, we also find the “seed” of promise.

Even at the beginning, God has rescue in mind. The Messiah will come. To us he has come, and on the cross guilt, sin, and death have been defeated.

DJI