Old Lutherans

171. Good Friday. I.

O, thou Lamb of God that didst take away
the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

John 19, 30. Luke 23, 46. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

❦

Every prophecy in regard to the work and the passion of the Messiah in his estate of lowliness has now been brought to its conclusion; Jesus has fulfilled everything which the law demands of us. He has made complete satisfaction for us all. “It is finished.” This truth is the one which I need more than anything else in the world. “For that he hath done this,” says the Twenty-second Psalm, therefore the kingdom is the Lord’s, and there is salvation for Jew and gentile, for high and low, from the first sinner to the last on earth, for all, from one end of the earth to the other. All is finished, for me and for all men. The law condemns me; for I have disobeyed it; but Christ sets me free, for he has kept it in my stead, and has suffered the punishment which I had deserved. He has redeemed me; his is the kingdom, and I belong to him. The work of Christ embraces every work necessary for our justification; all is finished, and there is no room for any work of ours by which we might hope to attain righteousness. He has done it all; and in his kingdom, therefore, the questions as to any merit on our part, or as to the power of the law to save or to condemn, have been finally disposed of; for that which he has done is done, and is not to be done by any other. Hence he says: “Come; for all things are now ready.” This will I proclaim aloud; O, that it might resound to the ends of the earth! This will I confess while I live; and when my last hour comes I will bid the world farewell, bow my head in death, and commend my soul to God, trusting in his declaration: “It is finished.”

The first words spoken by the Lord on the cross, and the last, were a prayer to the Father. What he said, from the first word to the last, we have heard. How much he suffered none can say, nor even faintly surmise. And all was done for our sake. By reason of his having done this for me, and having baptized me into his death, he is with me and in me; and in every affliction and in my dying hour I therefore can say: “Heavenly Father, hear my prayer, and save me.” Thus Stephen in the midst of death was able to pray: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And Luther: “Into thy hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” (Psalm 31, 5). Whosoever believes in Jesus and lives in him, the Victor over death, shall with him go from earth to paradise. Live and suffer every day trusting in these shouts of victory from the lips of Jesus: “It is finished,” “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” When you do this you are absolved and dead from the law; and in your dying hour the faithful Holy Spirit shall whisper these words of Jesus into your soul. Then you cannot perish; but, as God lives, you shall enter into life everlasting.

“May my soul be calm and fearless As I lie expecting death; May thy love so great and peerless Lauded be with my last breath. When at last I fall asleep, Dearest Jesus, may I keep Firm the faith that life and heaven By thy death to me were given.” Amen.

For thy sorrows we adore thee,
For the pains that wrought our peace;
Gracious Savior! we implore thee,
In our souls thy love increase.

Here we feel our sins forgiven,
While upon the land we gaze;
And our thoughts are all of heaven,
And our lips o’erflow with praise.

172. Good Friday. II.

Lord Jesus, may our faith in thy blood be firmly
established on the truth of the scriptures. Amen.

John 19, 31-37. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

❦

As the Victor over death Jesus commits his spirit to his Father, and his body to the grave. Nevertheless he felt the inevitable agony at the moment of dissolution; for this, also, was a part of the wages of sin. But this was the end of his sufferings; and his head sinks upon his breast; life has departed from the sacred body. The soul has winged its flight to paradise. How did the angelic host receive him? What say Death and Hell now? Do they still refuse to admit defeat? The fight is over whether or no; the victory is the Lord’s and — ours forevermore!

Our passover is sacrificed; and now come the soldiers to break the legs of the two thieves. Shall they not break his also? No; the scripture forbids it. (Exodus 12, 46). His body is not to be mutilated; they are not permitted to maim it. Thus they are made to fulfill yet another passage of scripture, Zechariah 12, 10, — all parts of the Bible are linked together in Christ. They pierce his side, and bring the water of life for our souls to flow from his heart. The lamb was to be sacrificed for us; but we may at all times sprinkle its blood on our hearts and be safe from the angel of death. The words of the gospel are: “And forthwith came there out blood and water.” In his epistle the same John writes: “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood; . . . there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood; and these three agree in one.” (1 John 5). St. Augustine writes: “Even as from the side of the sleeping Adam a rib was taken and made into a woman, to whom Adam said that she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh; in like manner did Christ, the heavenly Adam, fall asleep on the cross; and from his side came there out blood and water, the sacraments of the new covenant, by which he builds up his bride, the church; concerning which the apostle says: ‘For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.’” Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins; “he died for our sins according to the scriptures.” This is certainly true; for God has said it. John did not doubt it; and Paul and all the other apostles were equally confident. But it is quite as certain, according to the testimony of the apostles and of all the scriptures, that we, who are baptized into him, have a part in the blood and water which flowed from his side in the hour of his death. On so sure a foundation does our faith rest; and there is nothing can shake our hope of everlasting life through the death of the Son of God. But whosoever does not believe, and does not surrender his heart to this truth, makes God a liar in the highest revelation of his love, and tramples the blood of Jesus under foot. God deliver us from this danger.

I thank thee, Lord Jesus, for thy death; for the blood and water from thy side; for thy full and perfect atonement; and for the holy means of grace, through which thou dost make me a partaker in thy salvation. Thou knowest that I yearn after thee; thou knowest that of my heart I ask of thee this favor, that I may have a place among the needy sinners who stand at the foot of thy cross, and who are cleansed by thy sacred blood. Thou knowest how precious these fountains of life are to my soul, how happy I am to dwell in thy church on earth and there enjoy them. But, alas, Lord Jesus, sin and unbelief still have a strong hold on me. Precious, faithful Savior, increase my faith; and let me daily die with thee, and live in thee alway. Lord Jesus, be thou my life. Sanctify me, and wash me, and kindle the fire of thy love in my poor soul. How blest I would be, if I could of my whole heart live for thee. Grant me, grant us all this blessing, thou most loving and precious Savior. Amen.

Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross we spend;
Life, and health, and peace possessing,
From the sinner’s dying friend.

Truly blessed is this station,
Low before his cross to lie,
While we see divine compassion
Beaming in his gracious eye.