Good Friday Passion Vespers 2024

Good Friday Passion Vespers

St. Luke 23:34

March 29, 2024

Other people hurt us. They hurt us with cruel words, breaking promises, or not including us. And when these things happen to us, our natural reaction is to be angry.  We might respond in kind – hurt the person back in the same way. But even if we don’t, we tend to hold onto the sin. We remember it, ruminate on it. Over the years, the grudges heap up. The grudges make us angry and bitter.

What does not come naturally is to forgive. Not just move on and pretend nothing happened, but really, truly forgive. Forgiveness is a gift worked by the Holy Spirit.

Forgiveness is easier if the people who hurt us apologize. If they try really hard to make friends again. But that’s not the situation with the Lord Jesus. He doesn’t wait for people to say “Sorry.” Jesus forgives His executioners while they are in the act of crucifying Him. Pilate. Herod. Caiaphas. Annas. The Centurion. Peter. The Scribes. The Pharisees. The thief on the right. The thief on the left.…

Me. You.

“Father, forgive them.”

With the same words, Jesus prays for our forgiveness too. Because it’s not really the soldiers who drive the nails into the hands and feet of Jesus. It’s my sins that strike the first blow. It’s your sins that whip Him. It’s our cruel words, our disobedience, our lack of charity that press the thorns into His head.

Still Jesus speaks His Word—“Father, forgive them”—and in that moment the words of John the Baptist come to their fulfillment: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  Jesus does not retaliate.  He does not condemn.  He forgives.

That forgiveness is free to us - but it is not free. Our forgiveness cost Jesus.  It cost Him His life.

But not just His life. The prophet Isaiah describes the agonies of Our Lord’s death: “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.” Jesus is struck on the back and shoulders, but He still shoulders our burdens. He says, “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give You rest.” Jesus has the beard ripped out of His cheek, but He turns the other cheek. Jesus is spat upon in the face, but He like a slave washes their feet. The people cry, “Crucify Him!” but He prays, “Father, forgive them.”

Jesus told us to pray for our enemies, and on Good Friday we see Jesus doing exactly He said. Jesus prayed for us on the cross, and He keeps on praying for us. Our Lord is doing the work of a priest. Besides offering sacrifices, a priest also prays for the people. Jesus, in offering up Himself as a sacrifice, also prayed for us, and so Jesus is the true Chief Priest.

When Jesus prays, “Father, forgive them,” our whole life is now wrapped up in that prayer. We stand forgiven, and now this prayer becomes ours; we pray that same prayer for other people, even for our enemies, the people who are mean to us and do us harm. We pray for God’s forgiveness for them, and for strength to forgive them ourselves.

Today our forgiveness has been won. “So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us” [Small Catechism].

Isn’t that hard to do? Our nature says, “Hate your enemies.” But today, we no longer have to be controlled by that sinful nature. It has been nailed to the cross, and buried in a tomb. Today, this Good and great Friday, Christ has prayed for and won forgiveness for us enemies of God – and today He calls us His friends. “Father, forgive them.”  And He breathed His last, and the Father said, “Yes. I forgive.” ✠inj✠