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Good Friday
Almighty God, we beseech thee graciously to behold this thy family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was contented to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Good Friday
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Scripture citation(s): Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 10:1-25; John 19:1ff
A Sermon by
Fr. Mead
on
Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Hebrews 10:1-25; John 19:1ff
✛
From Yom Kippur to the Cross
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Year after year ancient Israel had a solemn Day of Atonement which highlighted the Lord’s holiness and man’s sinfulness, including the sin of his chosen people and their leaders. The inner sanctum contained the Ark of the Covenant, a small cedar container covered with beaten gold and containing the two tables of the Ten Commandments. On the top of the ark was the Mercy Seat, over which the Lord appeared and spoke to Moses. This is why it was called the Tent of Meeting. Gold cherubim were fashioned to overshadow the Mercy Seat. The ark had been carried on long poles by four priests during the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness. It rested at Shiloh and other sanctuaries in the period of the Judges. King David brought it to Jerusalem as the heart of the nation. Even after King Solomon replaced the movable tent of meeting with his great Jerusalem temple, the ark remained in the inner sanctum, the holy of holies with its poles as always. The holy of holies was hidden from sight by a veil. Outside it was the Holy Place, where there was the bread of the presence and the lampstand, among other things. Sacrifices were offered on the altar in this outer Holy Place, where most rituals occurred. Beyond the Holy Place were courts for the people, even for the Gentiles, to worship.
But no one went into the holy of holies except the high priest, and that but once a year on the Day of Atonement. After ceremonial washings, the high priest would take two goats – one for a sacrifice and the other, chosen by lot, to be the scapegoat. He confessed Israel’s sins as he put his hands over the head of the scapegoat, which would then be take out into the wilderness for Azazel, the devil. Then the high priest would sacrifice a bull and a ram for his sins and those of the people. Finally, he would take some of the blood of the sacrifices in a bowl with him, and enter the holy of holies, sprinkling the blood on the Mercy Seat itself. (Leviticus 16:1ff)
This ceremony must have had quite a dramatic history. In the course of time, it became a custom to tie a long rope to the ankle of the high priest, so that if something happened to him in the holy of holies, his body could be dragged out if necessary. Clearly the rite was awesome, performed as it was once a year and culminating with the high priest alone with the mystery of God in such a place.
Then one year at Passover time, Jesus of Nazareth underwent his Passion. He was condemned by the high priest and the council of rulers as a law-breaker and a blasphemer and handed over to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Pilate, afraid that a riot might begin otherwise, did what the leaders wanted by letting Jesus be crucified as a disturber of the peace – washing his hands of the religious matters.
When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and there was an earthquake and the rocks were split. That veil was the one separating the holy of holies from the rest of the temple. It was the veil past which the high priest went on the Day of Atonement. At the same time, to make sure that Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and there poured out of Jesus blood and water. Physicians studying such evidences in the Passion have said this indicates that our Lord died of a massive heart attack. Perhaps so, and that is significant enough; but also it shows that the veil of Jesus’s flesh had been opened and provided a new and living way into the heart of God. The ceremony of Yom Kippur was now fulfilled, not in an earthly sanctuary, but in Christ’s self-offering and death as the Son of God.
The Epistle of the Hebrews read earlier reviews the Day of Atonement ceremonies, saying that they are fulfilled, completed by the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The apostle elsewhere goes on to say, “Seeing we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God…let us with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we might receive mercy and grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:14-16)
That is why we call the day Jesus died Good Friday. It is good because Christ’s death, terrible as it is as a revelation of human sin, is at the same moment a revelation of the love God. When you look at a crucifix, you are looking at the human heart of God, at God’s own self-sacrifice on our behalf. Just as we sang at the beginning of our Lord’s life on Christmas, so we can sing all the more on this solemn evening of Christ’s death: The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. May the hopes and fears of each of us be well met in the love of our beloved Jesus.
