Good Friday Service | Friday, April 8, 2020
April 10, 2020 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
On Good Friday, Pastor Miles reflects on how life often blindsides us—like the disciples being caught off guard by Jesus's betrayal and crucifixion—even though Jesus had repeatedly foretold it. The cross, however, was no surprise to Christ; He endured it for the joy set before Him, which Scripture reveals to be His people.
- Life often surprises us with unexpected hardship, much as the pandemic disrupted the church's plans and the disciples were stunned by Jesus's arrest and crucifixion.
- The disciples should not have been caught off guard, since Jesus told them three times (Matthew 16, 17, and 20) exactly what would happen.
- Unlike the disciples, Jesus was never surprised by the cross—He came to earth knowing its pain, shame, and suffering awaited Him.
- Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus endured the cross "for the joy set before Him," and 1 Thessalonians 2 reveals that joy is His people.
- On Good Friday, believers are urged to lay aside every weight—sin, anxiety, worry, fear—and look to Jesus.
- It is called Good Friday because Christ joyfully endured the cross to claim us as His sons and daughters.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
Then from that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. ()
...the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again. ()
...looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ()
The cross caught the disciples by surprise—but never Jesus, who walked toward Calvary for the joy that was you and me.
Things That Come Out of the Blue
Sometimes things come at us out of the blue—things we didn't anticipate or could never have imagined. I was talking with my oldest son Ethan, who is eleven, and he asked me, "Dad, have you ever been in a fight?" I thought about it. It wasn't exactly a fight. I was in the third grade, living in London, England, where my dad was working on a high-rise. Walking home from school one day, a Scottish kid from my class named Paul came up behind me, tapped me on the shoulder, and when I turned around, he punched me right in the eye. I was completely stunned. It came entirely out of the blue, and I didn't even know how to respond—I just ran home with tears in my eyes.
Maybe your experience of something coming out of the blue wasn't quite that dramatic, but we've all had things arrive without warning. Less than six weeks ago, I shared with our church family that we were preparing to add a fourth service on Sunday mornings. We were seeing so many new people every week that I thought we'd need to make room for visitors. My plan was to add that fourth service on Easter—this coming Sunday.
The very next week, everything changed. We began meeting at home and online. On March 8th, none of us imagined we'd go from a packed sanctuary to only about half of our people here on a Sunday morning, with the rest watching from their living rooms. If you had predicted that to our leadership team, we'd have thought you were crazy—and we'd have thought it the worst possible outcome, especially coming into Passion Week: Palm Sunday last week, Good Friday today, and Easter this Sunday. It just came out of the blue.
The Disciples Were Taken by Surprise
Two thousand years ago, the followers of Jesus—Peter, James, Bartholomew, Thomas, John, Andrew, and the rest—were taken by surprise when Judas, one of their own, came into the Garden of Gethsemane and betrayed Jesus with a kiss. They weren't anticipating that at all. Nor were they ready for the man they believed to be the Messiah to be arrested by the religious leaders, charged with blasphemy on a charge they knew was completely false, and then condemned to die by Roman crucifixion. This was the last thing on their minds.
Here's the thing: it shouldn't have been without warning for them. At least three different times, in completely explicit terms, Jesus told his followers exactly what would happen.
The first comes in : "From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day."
One chapter later—not even a week later—we read in : "Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.' And they were exceedingly sorrowful."
The third comes in , when Jesus took the twelve aside on the road and told them they were going up to Jerusalem, where He would be betrayed to the chief priests and scribes, condemned to death, delivered to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him—and raised again the third day.
Three different times Jesus told them: we're going to Jerusalem, I'll be betrayed, condemned, delivered to the Romans, crucified, and raised on the third day. The disciples were not in the dark. They knew it was coming, yet they missed it. It caught them off guard.
Detours We Didn't Choose
We can all relate to being caught off guard—just as I was on that walk home from school when Paul punched me in the face. This event we are all living through right now caught us by surprise. If we were given the option, I don't think any of us would have elected to go through it. Especially as those who lead a church, our hope is to gather together on Good Friday and on Resurrection Sunday to worship.
I'm sure you've experienced other unplanned detours in your life. For some, it may have been a diagnosis you weren't ready for. For others, the loss of a job or a relationship. These things come out of the blue and take us unaware.
The Cross Was No Surprise to Jesus
Being that it's Good Friday, I've been thinking about the events of this day in light of unexpected happenings. Do you realize that the pain, shame, and suffering of the cross Jesus endured did not take Him by surprise? Jesus knew full well when He came to earth that this was what He came for. He understood that the pain, shame, and suffering were all part of the plan from the beginning.
The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy awaiting Him. That has always been a passage that sticks out to me. says that Jesus, "for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross." And the suffering of the cross was far bigger than physical pain—it was spiritual, emotional, and physical, suffering we cannot possibly fully imagine. Yet He did this because of the joy that awaited Him.
What Joy Could Outweigh the Cross?
It begs the question: what possible joy could outweigh the torture of the cross? The Apostle Paul gives us insight in . He asks the Thessalonian Christians:
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy. ()
What future joy could compel Christ to suffer on the cross and die? It was you. You and I being with Him for eternity—that is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured the cross.
So the author of Hebrews writes: "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
You and I are that joy for which Christ Jesus endured the cross—and not just you and I, but every person we know who is walking through this situation right now, this thing we did not anticipate and that came at us out of the blue.
Lay Aside Every Weight and Look to Jesus
We're all going through this right now, and some of you are wondering if you can manage it, if you can handle what you're facing. On this Good Friday, I want to encourage you to lay aside every weight, just as says—every weight of sin, anxiety, worry, fear, anger, and frustration—and as you lay those things aside, look unto Jesus.
The author of Hebrews continues: "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls." It may be difficult to find joy in troubling circumstances—we've talked a lot about that in recent weeks. It can be easy to become weary and discouraged in your soul. But there is great joy and great rejoicing in this: Jesus died for you, and He counted it a joy to do so 2,000 years ago on Good Friday.
Why We Call It Good Friday
That's what makes this day such a good and important day. It's hard to imagine that what happened on the cross at the hill called Golgotha, or Calvary, just outside Jerusalem, could in any way be joyful or good. And yet we call it Good Friday. We call it Good Friday because Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame—so that He could call you and call me His sons and daughters.
It's a wonderful thing to consider and to rejoice in together, even though we're together apart. As we remember this wonderful day, I want you to consider that the Lord was not taken by surprise. He was not caught off guard by what took place. He went toward that city, Jerusalem; He went toward that hill, Calvary, knowing exactly what He was doing—for the joy that was set before Him.
Closing Prayer
Jesus, I am so grateful this morning that You went to the cross on our behalf. As we remember on this midday what happened 2,000 years ago, we rejoice that You endured the cross for us, despising the shame, so that You could claim us as Your own. I pray, Lord, that You would fill our hearts with joy and rejoicing as we think about that and as we prepare for the rest of the story—because the story of Your passion did not end with the cross on Good Friday. That was just the start. We look forward to the rejoicing we will have as we celebrate Your resurrection this Sunday.
I pray for my brothers and sisters, that even though we are not able to gather together on this midday on Good Friday, You would administer Your grace though we are separated from one another. We look forward to the opportunity to gather again and rejoice in You. Until then, Lord, strengthen the hearts of my brothers and sisters, I pray. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Sometimes, things come at us out of the blue—things that we didn't anticipate or couldn't have imagined. I was talking with my oldest son, Ethan, the other day. Ethan is 11 years old, and he asked me, "Dad, have you ever been in a fight before?" I thought about it and realized that it wasn't exactly a fight.
When I was in the third grade, my family was living in London, England, because my dad was working there, building a high-rise building. One day, I was walking home from school when a kid from my class, a Scottish boy named Paul, came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, he just punched me right in the eye. I was completely shocked; it came entirely out of the blue. I was so stunned that I didn't even know how to respond. I basically just ran home with tears in my eyes. It was absolutely 100% unexpected.
In that situation, maybe your experience of something coming at you out of the blue wasn't quite as dramatic as mine, but I think we've all had things come without warning—things that we didn't really expect. Less than six weeks ago, I shared with our church family that we, as a staff and leadership here at the church, were beginning to prepare for adding a fourth service to our Sunday morning offerings. We were seeing so many new people come to the church every single week that I thought we would need to make space for the new visitors. My plan six weeks ago was to add a fourth service on Easter, which is this coming Sunday.
However, the week after I made that announcement to our church, something changed entirely. We started meeting for our church at home and online. We had no idea that on March 8th, the following week after I shared that with the body, we would go from having a totally packed sanctuary here at Cross-Connection Church to only about half of the people being here on a Sunday morning, with the rest at home watching in their living rooms. If you had predicted that this would happen and shared it with our leadership team, we would have thought you were crazy. Not only would we have thought you were a little bit crazy, but I would have...
I thought that would be the worst possible outcome: that we wouldn't be able to gather together, especially as we come to this week, Passion Week. We celebrated Palm Sunday last Sunday, Good Friday today, and then we will celebrate Easter this coming Sunday.
It just came out of the blue. Two thousand years ago, the followers of Jesus—guys like Peter, James, Bartholomew, Thomas, John, Andrew, etc.—were taken by surprise when Judas, one of their own friends and a fellow follower of Jesus, came into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was praying and where the rest of his followers, his disciples, were resting. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. I don't think they expected that; it came without warning. They were not anticipating it at all.
Not only were Jesus's disciples taken by surprise, but they were also not ready for the man they thought to be the Messiah to be arrested by the religious leaders of their day and charged with blasphemy against God—a charge that they knew was totally insane and not true at all. Then, that same man, Jesus, would be condemned to die by Roman crucifixion. This was the last thing on their minds; it came to them without warning.
Here's the thing: it shouldn't have been without warning for them. At least three different times, Jesus told his followers that this would happen. In complete, explicit terms, Jesus told his disciples what was going to happen. The first time came in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16. There in verse 21, we read that from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders, the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and that he would be raised again the third day.
Just one chapter later, not even a week later, Jesus is speaking with his disciples in . It says, "Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and the third day he will be raised up.'" They were exceedingly sorrowful. That's the second time in the Gospel of Matthew.
That Jesus tells His disciples that these things are going to happen. The third time comes in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 20, verse 17. It says, "Now when Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and He said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the scribes. They will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge Him and to crucify Him, and the third day He will rise again.'"
Three different times, Jesus says to His disciples, "We're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be betrayed. The chief priests are going to condemn Me to die. They're going to deliver Me to the Romans. I'll be crucified, and I'll be raised again the third day." There was no way in which the disciples of Jesus were in the dark about this. They knew that this was coming, but they missed it. It caught them off guard.
I'm sure that we can relate to being caught off guard by something, just like I was on that way home from school in London, England, many years ago when Paul punched me in the face. This event that we are all living through right now caught us all by surprise. If we were given the option, I don't think that any of us would have elected to go through this. Quite the contrary, in fact. This would not be something that we would choose to go through, especially as those who lead a church. Our hope is to gather together on Good Friday and gather together on Resurrection Sunday to worship together.
I'm sure that you've experienced some other unintended or unplanned detours in your life. For some of you, it may have been a diagnosis of a disease that you weren't ready for. For others, maybe it was the loss of a job or the loss of a relationship. These things can come out of the blue; they take us unaware.
Being that it's Good Friday, I've been thinking about the events of Good Friday in light of this idea of unexpected happenings. Do you realize that the pain, the shame, and the suffering of the cross that Jesus endured was not unexpected? It did not take Him by surprise. Jesus knew full well when He came to the earth that this was what He was coming for. He understood that the pain, shame, and suffering that He was going to experience were all part of the plan from the beginning.
The book of Hebrews in the New Testament tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy awaiting Him. That's always been one of those passages of Scripture that sticks out to me. It's an amazing thing to consider. states, "Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross."
The pain, the shame, and the suffering of the cross were far bigger than just physical pain and shame. It was suffering in every possible way—spiritual, emotional, and physical. It was suffering that we cannot possibly even fully imagine. He did this because of the joy that was awaiting Him. This kind of begs the question: what joy? What possible joy could outweigh the torture of the cross?
I think the Apostle Paul gives us some insight into what that joy was when he writes about it in First Thessalonians. In First Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 19 and 20, Paul asks the Thessalonian Christians this question: "For what is our hope, what is our joy, or our crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" He continues in verse 20, "For you are our glory and our joy."
What future joy could compel Christ to suffer on the cross and to die? It was you and I being with Him for eternity. That is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured the cross.
The author of the book of Hebrews writes, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
You and I are that joy for which Christ Jesus endured the cross.
You and I, along with every person we know, are walking through a situation right now that we were not prepared for. This unexpected circumstance came at us out of the blue. Many of us are wondering if we can manage it, if we can handle the things we are going through.
On this Good Friday, I want to encourage you to lay aside every weight, just like the book of Hebrews says in . Lay aside every weight of sin, every weight of anxiety, every weight of worry, fear, anger, and frustration. As you lay those things aside, look unto Jesus. The book of Hebrews goes on to say, "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
It may be difficult to find joy in the midst of troubling circumstances. We've been talking a lot about that in the last several weeks here at Cross Connection. It can be challenging to find joy, and it can be easy to become weary and discouraged in your soul. However, there is great joy and great rejoicing in this: Jesus died for you. He counted it a joy to do so 2,000 years ago on Good Friday, and that's what makes this day such a good and important day.
It's hard to imagine that the things that happened on the cross, there on the hill called Golgotha or Calvary just outside of Jerusalem, could be a joyful or good thing. Yet, we call it Good Friday because Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, so that He could call you and me to be His sons and daughters.
It is such a wonderful thing to consider and a wonderful thing to rejoice in together, even though we are together apart. As we remember this wonderful day, I want you to think about the fact that the Lord was not taken by surprise. He was not caught off guard by the things that took place. He went towards that city, Jerusalem, and towards that hill, Calvary, knowing exactly what He was doing for the joy that was set before Him.
Would you pray with me? Jesus, I am so grateful.
This morning, as we remember the sacrifice You made on the cross on our behalf, we reflect on what happened 2,000 years ago. We rejoice that You endured the cross for us, despising the shame, so that You could claim us as Your own. I pray, Lord, that You would fill our hearts with joy and rejoicing as we think about this and prepare for the rest of the story.
The story of Your passion did not end with the cross on Good Friday; that was just the start. We look forward to the rejoicing we will have together as we celebrate Your resurrection this Sunday. I pray, God, for my brothers and sisters who are unable to gather together here on this midday on Good Friday to worship. I ask that You administer Your grace to them, even though we are separated from one another.
Lord, we look forward to the opportunity to gather together again to rejoice in You. Until then, I pray that You strengthen the hearts of my brothers and sisters. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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