St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church
Devotions delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz
Good Friday, April 14, 2006

First Word--Luke 23:26-34

As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then “’they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” And to the hills, “Cover us!” ‘For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

There was a car—going literally 80 miles per hour—going the wrong way down the street—in central CA! Behind the car is a huge semi—blasting his horn—trying desperately to warn people—look out—get out of the way—danger! This car—80 miles an hour—slams into a car—carrying a mom—and in a hardened plastic, padded and belted seat—a little baby! The baby is ok—but the mommy is terribly—perhaps fatally injured. Imagine calling 911! Somebody come quickly to rescue this mommy! The driver—the man going 80 mph the wrong way—responsible for this terrible accident? Oh, he’s just fine! His brain fried with drugs—his body just fine! Wouldn’t you like to pound on him? To drag him out of his car and beat on him? Or is it just me? Forgive him? Pray for him? I should suffer the punishment he deserves—so that he is forgiven entirely and completely? I don’t even know this man! And yet—so great is Jesus’ forgiving love—that Jesus died for him. And Jesus died for me! Jesus died for all our sins—as terrible as this!

Second Word--Luke 23:38-43

There was a written notice above him, which read: “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

They say Bernardo Provenzano is the real mafia kingpin—the real Godfather of organized crime! They call him Bernardo—the Tractor—Provenzano—because he has mowed down so many victims. The police say he has killed at least 40 people himself—and ordered the deaths of at least 120 others. That would make him responsible for the deaths of some 160 people minimum! That would qualify him as a mass murderer—don’t you think? That’s the kind of criminal I think of—when I think of “bad people”. Like the thief on the cross—this was a bad man. And yet—if you think about it—no worse than I am. Again remember what the apostle Paul wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst!” For the literal thieves who died beside him—and for sinners like us—Jesus made the priceless promise—if we should die today—today we will be with Jesus in paradise!

Third Word--John 19:25-27

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciples whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciples, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

It was just after Christmas that we read how Jesus was presented in the Temple in Jerusalem. Remember the little grandpa named Simeon who said to Mary, Jesus’ mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Luke 2:34,35 If you have ever watched your child suffer—I don’t know if there is anything more painful. It doesn’t matter if the hurt is physical or mental or emotional or all of the above—it is painful to see. If you have ever literally gone bear hunting—the one place you don’t want to be is between a mommy bear and a baby bear. The same is true about people, too! Thirty three years after Simeon spoke those words in the courtyard of the Temple—this Scripture, too, came true! Our Heavenly Father expects his children to show the utmost respect for their parents. A thousand years before baby Jesus was born God’s Word says, “The eye that mocks a father, that scorns obedience to a mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.” Proverbs 30:17 In the midst of his suffering—again—Jesus’ concern was not for himself—but for everyone else! Jesus suffered to forgive us all the times we have failed to show love for our closest neighbors—our parents, our children, our literal brothers and sisters.

Fourth Word--Matthew 27:45-49

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 your 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.”

There is a convicted drug lord from Columbia named Ochoa. He was convicted of smuggling 30 tons of drugs into the United States per month—30 tons per month! That’s a lot of drugs. He was in jail back in the 80s. He served his time in prison. To be involved in drug dealing again? He says, that would be plain stupid. And when he was accused he actually put up billboards in Bogota and Medellin declaring: “Yesterday I made a mistake. Today I am innocent!” Ochoa is on trial in Miami. There is so much security the anonymous jurors are being driven back and forth to court in vans with tinted windows to protect their identities. It might be that there is so much fear and danger in the flawed pursuit of justice in this world. But not so in the sight of our Heavenly Father. Jesus paid for all our sins. Jesus was abandoned by his Heavenly Father while he was on the cross—so that we will never ever be abandoned by our Heavenly Father!

Fifth Word--John 19:28,29

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

So that the Scripture would be fulfilled! Jesus knew Old Testament Scripture. Do we? Let’s take for example Habakkuk. If the first person you met when you come home to Heaven introduces himself and says, “My name is Habakkuk. What part of my small scroll did you find most helpful in your fight of faith back on earth?” Would you know what to say? Would you say—the two complaints that you were inspired by the Holy Spirit to make are painful complaints? How long, O LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? …Why do you tolerate the treacherous?” Or would you say those last verses, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” What a blessing it would be if we could meet Hosea, Joel, Amos and Obadiah. If we could meet Zephaniah and Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi—and thank them in very specific terms for the part of God’s Word that they wrote down—inspired by the Holy Spirit—and preserved by our Heavenly Father for literally thousands of years! What a blessing—when we are lifetime students of the Scriptures. Then when this world tries to mislead us with the Da Vinci Code and the Jesus Papers and the Gospel of Judas—we will not be confused or misled or doubtful for even a moment. Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of all that the Old Testament Scriptures promised!

Sixth Word--John 19:30

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Finished? We have a friend who has a garage—that is almost perfect! The tools are all hung up on the masonite boards—with the little holes and the little hangers. Other tools are in these cupboard and cabinets. The work benches are all swept clean. The floor is painted with that cement floor paint. And minimum once a week that floor is moped—scrubbed and cleaned so that there is no dirt or gravel or salt or oil drips on the floor of the garage. It is almost perfect—but not quite. If you look really hard—you can find a tiny spider web in the corner—although when you find it—they would get rid of it. The fact is—there is no place where it’s perfect. You can vacuum and scrub and dust and clean—and then you can disinfect—and still it’s not perfect. Paint fades and there are little marks on the floor—from shoes that scuff and little stones—that get stuck in the treads of your shoes—and scrap the floor. If we can’t even keep our living spaces clean—how could we ever think we could clean up what is spoiled on the inside? We are flawed—fatally flawed on the inside. Jesus washed us squeaky clean on the inside. When the job was done—all our sins paid for—Jesus said, “It is finished!” And it is!

Seventh Word--Luke 23:33-46

When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him, “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Imagine a ride—at an amusement park. The ride is called Mission: Space. It’s literally a $100 million dollar ride. It puts you in a centrifuge that subjects you to twice the normal force of gravity. Imagine a 49-year-old woman on that ride. She gets so sick—they take her to the hospital. A day later she is dead! Did this ever happen before? Well, less than a year ago—a little person just 4 years old—passed out on this ride. He died, too! Why was that? Well, they think, because he had a heart condition that can cause sudden death in stressful situations. What does that mean? The fact is—people die all the time. The exact cause—countless times is not known! And—again and again—the very technical medical—physiological cause of death doesn’t really matter! It doesn’t really matter to the survivors the precise cause of death. The ultimate and consistent cause of death is sin! Jesus died. Jesus gave up his life—to take away all our sins—so that Jesus words would come true, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John 11:25,26a Amen!