Darkness Verses Light in the 7 Words from the Cross
by Pastor Edwin Lehmann on April 7, 2023
Good Friday April 7, 2023
This evening’s service is a form of the ancient Office of Tenebrae, the Latin word for “darkness” or “shadows.” The service has been practiced by the church since medieval times, but its roots lie even further back in the 4th Century A.D. It became an important part of the worship of common folk during Holy Week.
Tenebrae is a prolonged meditation on Christ’s suffering. Lessons trace the story of Christ’s passion to the cross. The altering of light and darkness, sound and silence suggests the spiritual drama of day. Through mounting darkness, we ponder the depth of Christ’s suffering, and through the small but persistent flame of the last candle, we anticipate the joy of ultimate victory.
The bare altar symbolizes the cross on which the Son of God laid down His life. The candles symbolize the life of Christ. The gradual darkening of the church with the extinguishing of each candle represents the Savior’s ebbing life. As each lesson and meditation is read, a candle is extinguished until only one remains. After the last lesson is read, the church in darkness hears the sound of the closing Bible, signifying the stone being rolled in front of the tomb. The last candle is not extinguished but is removed for a time, reminding us that Jesus’ death was no ordinary one, for death held no power over Him. It could not deprive Him of life.
After the last candle’s light is carried out, the Agnus Dei (O Lamb of God) is sung in the darkness. The candle’s flickering, yet unseen flame, foreshadows the coming resurrection. It fills us with faith and hope in the fulfillment of God’s eternal promises through His Son.
This evening’s service is longer than usual. It will end in silence. No offering will be taken during the service so as not to diminish the focus on Jesus’ supreme sacrifice that we commemorate this evening. The offering plates will be found at the door. There you may place your offering in response to the greater gift of Himself for us.
The Preparation
The Opening Sentences
Pastor: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Congr: God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Pastor: In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
Congr: The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Pastor: Christ is the light of the world. Whoever follows Him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Lift up your hearts.
Congr: We lift them up to the Lord. John 3:17f; 1:45; 8:12
The Confession of Sins and Absolution
Pastor: Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows.
Congr: Yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
Pastor: He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
Congr: We all, like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. Lord, have mercy.
Pastor: And the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace. Isaiah 53:4-6
The Hymn: “The Death of Jesus Christ, Our Lord” st.1-4 677
The Service of Holy Communion
Pastor: Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve.
Congr: While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying:
Pastor: “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Congr: Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying:
Pastor: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:20ff
The Communion Prayer
(Following the prayer, we invite our communicant members to the Lord’s Table, believing that in the bread and wine, they receive the Savior’s true body and blood for forgiveness. Because Holy Communion implies oneness of faith, our practice is that of Close Communion, confirming our fellowship with Him and confessing our unity in faith with each other. Therefore, we ask that non-members speak with the Pastor before communing.)
The Service of Commemoration
(Having celebrated in the Sacrament the blessings of the Lord’s body and blood given for us, we now commemorate the work of His suffering and death upon the cross in a series of meditations based on excerpts from the Passion History and Jesus’ Seven Words from the Cross.)
The Hymn: “Jesus, I Will Ponder Now” st.1-3 420
The Darkness of Betrayal – The Light of Faithful Forgiveness
The First Word from the Cross: Luke 23:34
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, in faithful love You reach out to us and forgive, even though we have often betrayed You in sin. Oh, Faithful Friend, enable us in faith to remain Your friends who walk in the light of forgiveness now and forever; for Your name’s sake. Amen.
The Darkness of Desertion – The Light of Loyal Love
The Second Word from the Cross: Luke 23:43
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, I am sorry. I repent of that which I have done in deserting and denying You. You look; You love; You forgive. Help me walk in the light of Your loyal love. Renew me daily to stand firmly by faith in You till You receive me into Paradise above; for Your name’s sake. Amen.
The Hymn: “Jesus, In Your Dying Woes” st.1-3 435
The Darkness of Distress – The Light of Trust
The Third Word from the Cross: John 19:26-27
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, as we fold our hands in prayer this night, remove the darkness of distress for sin from our hearts. Replace it with the light of trust in You, firmly believing that Your gracious, good-will shall be done in our lives. Hear us for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
The Darkness of Accusation – The Light of Justification
The Fourth Word from the Cross: Matthew 27:46
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, there is a time to be silent and a time to speak. Help us determine what is best. When the devil would raise accusations against us for our sin, assure us that You have cleansed us in Your blood. We stand justified before God. Enable us to walk not in the darkness of false accusations but in the light of justification; for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
The Hymn: “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted” st.1-3 430 174
The Darkness of Crucifixion – The Light of Salvation
The Fifth Word from the Cross: John 19:28
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, in my sin I nailed You to the cross. I crucified You. Forgive, renew, and restore to me the joy of my salvation for You longed to have me back. Therefore, You endured such great sorrows for me. Give me a grateful heart that understands how the darkness of the crucifixion enables me to walk in the light of salvation now and forever; for Your name’s sake. Amen.
The Darkness of Deeds Undone – The Light of Full Completion
The Sixth Word from the Cross: John 19:30
The Candle Extinguished
Prayer: Lord, You have left nothing undone. You have paid our debt in full. Salvation is complete. It is finished. Help us walk in the light of its fullness for You have proclaimed it to Your glory and our good. Give us the ability to witness it truths rightly so that many others may enjoy its blessings now and forever; for Your name’s sake. Amen.
The Hymn: “O Perfect Life of Love” 431
The Darkness of Death – The Light of Life
The Seventh Word from the Cross: Luke 23:46
The Prayer: Lord, as it was impossible for death to keep its hold on You, so by faith in You it cannot hold us. You have made our lot secure. Surely, we have a delightful inheritance. Because You are with us, we will not be shaken. You will not abandon us to the grave. You have made known to us the path of life and fill us with joy in Your Presence. Lord, into Your hands we commit ourselves now and forevermore, for Your name’s sake. Amen.
Removal of the Candle
The Lesson: “Jesus Burial
Shutting of the Bible (Signifying the closing tomb)
The “Agnus Dei”
Prayer and The Lord’s Prayer
The Benediction
Silent Prayer
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The Post Service: Following the silent prayer, pastor will exit and the congregation may leave in silence to quietly meditate on the wonder of this day. If you wish you may remain seated in silent contemplation. Within our hearts there is sadness because of sin. However, our joy in the Savior supersedes it. Therefore, rejoicing in Him we look forward to the Festival of the Resurrection on Sunday. As you leave you may place your offering in the plate at the door.
Maundy Thursday/Good Friday Tenebrae April 6&7, 2023
Theme: Darkness Verses Light in the 7 Words from the Cross
- The Darkness of Betrayal – The Light of Forgiveness
“Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”
What do we do with our hands when we pray? We fold them. With folded hands we are humbly and confidently telling our heavenly Father: “It’s all up to You. You know what is best to do.”
The night Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, did He fold His hands? I don’t know. Before Him stood a cup of suffering, filled to the brim with the poison of a world’s sin. Every drop was bitter, right down to the bottom. This cup had to be drunk if He were to save men’s souls. He would have to empty it. No wonder the Savior fell in the darkness with His face to the dirt in distress and prayed.
Jesus deeply felt sin’s weight. He deeply felt the betrayal that His disciples and the crowd below the cross heaped upon Him. Was it possible that some of them had been healed by Him or had once been followers who left Him (Jn.6:66)? We don’t know. But all owed their life to Him for He was their Creator and now their Redeemer. Yet they lifted their hands and fists towards Him, not in prayer, but in mockery, “If you are the Son of God come down from the cross and we will believe in you.” With such words they betrayed their hatred of Him.
This from His own people who should have been close to Him. He did not retaliate. Instead, He prayed. Although He could not fold His hands while on the cross, He lifted them to heaven and said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
In sin I have darkly betrayed the Savior too. I should know better. But in the darkness of my heart’s sinful desires, I have opposed Him, betrayed Him like Judas did. Everyone has. Yet in faithful love Jesus prays in our behalf and reaches out His hand of forgiving love to us. He still wants to be our Friend, our Savior. Hear The Light of His Forgiveness in the Darkness of Sin’s Betrayal: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
- The Darkness of Desertion – The Light of Loyal Love
“Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
“I swear, I don’t know Him!” cried Peter to those around the fire – three times. Then the rooster crowed, and Jesus, being led through the courtyard, looked at him. Oh, what a look that must have been. It
pierced Peter’s heart. Out the courtyard he stumbled, tears of sorrow staining his cheeks. “What have I done?” those tears said. “How could I desert Him who has always shown me His loyal love?”
If only we could see the hurt in Jesus’ eyes every time we choose to desert Him in the darkness of sin. Each one of them cost Him dearly. Each made Him tremble in the garden, agonize on the cross, and sigh His last breath in death. Sin is no light matter, nor is its payment. Repentance is no light matter either!
Repentance is more than a mechanical mouthing of words. It’s a heart’s shuddering sigh: “Against, You, You only, O Lord, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (Ps.51:4). It’s gulping in shame when I see the sorrow on our Savior’s face. I may try to desert him in the darkness, but He sees and is sad. However, He also sees with a look of loyal love in His eyes.
It’s the love that caused Him to exchange His throne of glory for
a throne of pain. It’s the love that petitioned forgiveness for His enemies below the cross; the love that provided for His mother; the love that turned to the criminal next to Him who prayed, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your Kingdom.”
Just one remembrance, one gracious thought from the Savior’s heart. Peter longed for the same. So do we. That is enough for time and eternity to all who come to Him out of the darkness of desertion, throwing themselves into the light of His loyal love. And what do we hear Him say to those who look to Him for help: “Today, you will be with me in Paradise”?
The light of love was in the look Jesus gave to the man next to Him, to Peter, and to all who say, “Lord, I am sorry that I have deserted you in the darkness of sin. Thank God that in the light of Your loyal love You still forgive and promise: “Soon, you will be with Me in Paradise.”
III. The Darkness of Distress – The Light of Trust
“Women, behold thy son; Son, behold thy mother.”
From a person’s hands you can learn something about his work. If the hands are calloused, they are accustomed to manual labor. If they are less hardened, they might be the hands of an office worker. Hands tell us something about people and what they do. What would Jesus’ hands tell us about Him? We have seen them as praying hands. But more – they are providing hands as well.
Beneath His cross stood his mother, Mary. How painful it must have been for her! As many torments as she saw in her son’s body, so many wounds she felt in her heart – like “a sword piercing her soul.”
Looking down from the cross, Jesus saw her distress; He perceived the sorrow that was breaking a mother’s heart. But He could not take it away. Mary would have to experience the darkness
of distress, watching her Son die to cover her sin and ours.
His hands could not reach out to touch and comfort her in her distress. But His heart went out to her who had given Him birth. He would not give up the work He was doing, but in obedience to the Fourth Commandment He would provide for her. “Woman, behold thy son,” as He nodded to his disciple John standing beside her. And then to that disciple He said, “Behold, thy mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home and cared for her.
As He provided for His mother in the darkness of her distress, so He has promised to provide for our needs too. We can live in the light of trust in Him, not distress. The Psalmist writes, “He opens His hands and satisfies the desires of every living thing.” Even more than our earthly needs and desires, He gives us His eternal home. In faith we live in the light of trust in Him.
- The Darkness of Accusation – The Light of Justification
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”
“There is a time to be silent and a time to speak,” wrote King Solomon (Ecc.3:7). My problem at times is confusing the two.
That wasn’t the case with Jesus. His time to speak was during the three years of teaching as He walked the length and breadth of the land. Whenever Jesus had a soul before Him who was searching for saving truth, He was ready to speak. So why was He silent on Thursday and Friday? Like a passive lamb He let His enemies accuse Him in the darkness without speaking in His own defense.
Did He keep silent because He was powerless or because He was guilty? That dark night many people thought Jesus’ hands were dirty with wrongdoing. At least they wanted that to be true. They wanted it so much that they were willing to bend and break their own laws. Yet, after each accusation fell in the darkness, they came up with nothing against Him. We’re not surprised. Jesus is the holy Son of God. He had no sin, and no man could rightfully accuse Him.
But look deeper at the other trial that was going on that night. The court in heaven was in session. God the righteous Judge was on the bench. He examined the totally innocent One and pronounced him, “Guilty!” for our sakes. So guilty that He left Jesus to suffer alone. And when the suffering got so great in the darkness that covered the earth that day, Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.”
Why did God forsake Him in the darkness? Because the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all that we might stand in the light, justified before Him. He, the innocent one whom no accusation could touch, silently took our guilt on Himself. And we the guilty are declared innocent. We can go free.
How do you explain it? It goes beyond human sense of right and wrong. Nevertheless, the Bible declares it for our comfort, “All are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Ro.3:24). The weight of our sin was pressed on Him.
How do I explain it? How does one explain a love that moved Jesus to dirty His hands with my sin? I can’t explain it, but I thank God it happened for instead of walking in the darkness of accusation for the sin that I have done, I now, through Christ, and by faith in Him walk in the light of justification. In His clean hands made dirty by my sin lies the wondrous miracle of my innocence so that I might never be forsaken by my God in eternity.
- The Darkness of Crucifixion – The Light of Salvation
“I thirst.”
Every tool has its purpose. I cut with a knife, eat with a fork, drink from a glass, write with a pen. And a nail? I use a nail to fasten things, usually to the wall.
Although the crucifixion accounts in the Bible don’t mention nails by name, Thomas will tell you that they were there. He saw their imprint in the Savior’s hands and feet. The Gospel accounts simply say, “They crucified Him.” But there was nothing simple about it. Splintery wood, sharp nails, torn flesh, screaming nerves, constant pain, and slow death were involved when Jesus was pinned to the cross. Yet, far worse were hell’s torments for sin. The darkness of crucifixion ran deep. We can’t begin to imagine the full extent of what it involved as Jesus hung between heaven and earth.
But there is no need to guess who pounded those nails through his hands and feet. Roman soldiers swung the hammer, but I placed the nails there. This day will never mean what it could mean to me until I change the account that says: “They crucified Him” to “I crucified Him too.” Not just the soldiers but we were the cause with our sin.
God’s Son let me nail Him to the cross. Why? You could say He “thirsted” for me. Just like He longed to have a drink of water while on the cross and cried out “I thirst” when the pain of the nails and the suffering got so great, so He took it all because He longed for my salvation. He “thirsted” for me. He wanted me back as His own. In the darkness of the crucifixion is found the light of our salvation.
True, the nails fastened Him to the cross, but it was His loving desire to have us back that held Him there and made Him cry, “I thirst.”
- The Darkness of Deeds Undone-The Light of Full Completion
“It is finished!”
In the early 1800s a great composer of the day (Schubert, 1822) began working on his eighth symphony. Two years later he completed two movements out of four, but for some unknown reason he never finished it. It is known as “The Unfinished Symphony.”
Early in His ministry Jesus told His disciples, “My food…is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work” (Jn.4:34). Our question this Friday ought to be, did He finish the work of salvation for which the Father sent Him, or did He leave it undone?
What if Jesus had left just one requirement of God’s holy law undone? What if He put His holy obedience into my hands and said, “Look, I’ve just about done what God wants you to do. Now, you finish it yourself?” Or what if Jesus had paid for all my sins, except one or two and said, “Now it’s up to you to pay the rest”? Then His salvation would be no masterwork. I’d still be lost in the darkness of deeds undone. And God requires perfection, holiness.
But the darkness of deeds left undone was shattered when my Savior triumphantly cried: “Finished! It is finished!” Not: “It’s almost done.” No. “Finished! Paid in full!” He used a word that was stamped on tax bills when payment was complete. We don’t live in the darkness of deeds undone but in the light of full completion.
You see my Savior has kept God’s law perfectly. My Savior has totally paid for all my sin. Through Him I stand cleansed from sin, robed in righteousness, covered in holiness before God. We live in the light of full completion. His word proclaims it. Believe it. “It is finished.”
VII. The Darkness of Death – The Light of Life.
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”
Cemeteries! What dark places they are. Death permeates them. Many prefer not to visit them. But when I do, what are my thoughts?
Are they thoughts of sadness and loss? There lies someone I knew, someone dear to me. How quickly time goes by. Soon life here is over. Then the darkness of death descends. What will it do to me? Where will it find me?
In my faith it will find me the same as it did my Savior – body in a tomb, but my soul safe in the hands of God. For death is not the end; it is just the beginning for those who believe in Him. It’s the beginning of the perfect life at God’s side. Knowing that is true, Jesus lifted His voice to heaven one last time on the cross and prayed,
“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” With that He bowed His head and died.
Soon after His disciples took his body down from the cross and carried it to a tomb nearby. I can’t imagine their thoughts as they performed their last labor of love for one so dear to them. At that time the darkness of death still pervaded their thinking. But soon they would understand that death is not the end. Just 3 days later they would find out. Then the fear and the darkness that death brings would vanish and the light of life would arise. Because of the Savior, death is no longer something to fear. Rather, it is the necessary step between earth and heaven through which each believer will go. But through it we pass to eternal things.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me…. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
As the darkness of death descends, the light of life dawns on the horizon. So may we confidently fold our hands in prayer and say with our Savior, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”
Psalm 16:5-10 as spoken by Peter in Acts 2:25-28:
It was impossible for death to keep its hold on Him. As the Psalmist said of Christ:
Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup;
You have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I have set the Lord always before me.
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
Therefore, my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
My body also will live in hope,
Because You will not abandon me to the grave,
Nor will You let Your Holy One see decay;
You have made known to me the paths of life;
You fill me with joy in Your presence.
