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GOOD
FRIDAY
ISAIAH 52:13-53:12
PSALM
22
HEBREWS
10:16-25
JOHN
18:1-19:42
COLLECT
Almighty God,
look graciously, we pray, on this your family,
for whom our Lord Jesus Christ
was willing to be betrayed
and given into the hands of sinners,
and to suffer death upon the cross;
who now lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
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A
READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were
astonished at him - so marred was his appearance, beyond human
semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals - so he shall
startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of
him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and
that which they had not heard they shall contemplate. Who has
believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord
been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and
like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we
should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should
desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of
suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom
others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no
account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our
diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and
afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for
our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid
on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was
afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led
to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is
silent, so he did not open his mouth. By a perversion of justice
he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was
cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the
transgression of my people. They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and
there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord
to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for
sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. Out of his anguish
he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his
knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many
righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will
allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil
with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was
numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors.
ISAIAH 52:13-53:12
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PSALM
REFRAIN My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry
and from the words of my distress?
O
my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as
well, but I find no rest. R
Yet
you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our
forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you
delivered them. R
They
cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were
not put to shame.
But
as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by
the people. R
All
who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips and wag their
heads, saying,
"He
trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if
he delights in him." R
Yet
you are he who took me out of the womb, and kept me safe upon my
mother's breast.
I
have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God
when I was still in my mother's
womb. R
Be
not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
Many
young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
They
open wide their jaws at me, like a ravening and a roaring lion. R
I
am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart
within my breast is melting wax.
My
mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof
of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave. R
Packs
of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they
pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
They
stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them; they
cast lots for my clothing. R
Be
not far away, O Lord; you are my strength; hasten to help me.
Save
me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
Save
me from the lion's mouth, my wretched body from the horns of wild
bulls.
I
will declare your name to my brethren; in the midst of the
congregation I will praise you. R
Praise
the Lord, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of
Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
For
he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither
does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears
them. R
My
praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in
the presence of those who worship him.
The
poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the Lord shall
praise him: "May your heart live for ever!" R
All
the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all
the families of the nations shall bow before him.
For
kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules over the nations.
To
him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who
go down to the dust fall before him. R
My
soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they
shall be known as the Lord's for ever.
They
shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds
that he has done. R
PSALM 22
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A
READING FROM THE LETTER TO THE HEBREWS
"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I
will write them on their minds," he also adds, "I will
remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." Where
there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for
sin. Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the
sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he
opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh),
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us
approach with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our
hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water. Let us hold fast to the confession of our
hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And
let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.
HEBREWS 10:16-25
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THE
HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
ACCORDING TO JOHN
After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples
across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden,
which he and his disciples entered. Now Judas, who betrayed him,
also knew the place, because Jesus often met there with his
disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with
police from the chief priests and the Pharisees, and they came
there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing
all that was to happen to him, came forward and asked them,
"Whom are you looking for?" They answered, "Jesus
of Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who
betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them,
"I am he," they stepped back and fell to the ground.
Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And
they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I
told you that I am he. So if you are looking for me, let these men
go." This was to fufil the word that he had spoken, "I
did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." Then
Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's
slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Malchus.
Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am
I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?" So the
soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and
bound him. First they took him to Annas, who was the father-in-law
of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who
had advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for
the people. Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since
that disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus
into the courtyard of the high priest, but Peter was standing
outside at the gate. So the other disciple, who was known to the
high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who guarded the gate,
and brought Peter in. The woman said to Peter, "You are not
also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I
am not." Now the slaves and the police had made a charcoal
fire because it was cold, and they were standing around it and
warming themselves. Peter also was standing with them and warming
himself. Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples
and about his teaching. Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly
to the world; I have always taught in synagogues and in the
temple, where all the Jews come together. I have said nothing in
secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I said to
them; they know what I said." When he had said this, one of
the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying,
"Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus
answered, "If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong.
But if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?" Then
Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Now Simon Peter
was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You are
not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and
said, "I am not." One of the slaves of the high priest,
a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked,
"Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Again Peter
denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed. Then they took
Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the
morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to
avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So
Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you
bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man
were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to
you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and
judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We
are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fufil
what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to
die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus,
and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus
answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell
you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I?
Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me.
What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not
from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers
would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him,
"So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that
I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the
world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth
listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is
truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again
and told them, "I find no case against him. But you have a
custom that I release someone for you at the Passover. Do you want
me to release for you the King of the Jews?" They shouted in
reply, "Not this man, but Barabbas!" Now Barabbas was a
bandit. Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. And the
soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they
dressed him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to him, saying,
"Hail, King of the Jews!" and striking him on the face.
Pilate went out again and said to them, "Look, I am bringing
him out to you to let you know that I find no case against
him." So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the
purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"
When the chief priests and the police saw him, they shouted,
"Crucify him! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them,
"Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case against
him." The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and
according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be
the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this, he was more
afraid than ever. He entered his headquarters again and asked
Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him no
answer. Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak
to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power
to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no
power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore
the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater
sin." From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews
cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the
emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the
emperor." When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus
outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone
Pavement, or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation
for the Passover; and it was about noon. He said to the Jews,
"Here is your King!" They cried out, "Away with
him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them,
"Shall I crucify your King?" The chief priests answered,
"We have no king but the emperor." Then he handed him
over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus; and carrying the
cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the
Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified
him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus
between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on
the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the
Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the
place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was
written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests
of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the
Jews,' but, 'This man said, I am King of the Jews.' " Pilate
answered, "What I have written I have written." When the
soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided
them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his
tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the
top. So they said to one another, "Let us not tear it, but
cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fufil
what the scripture says, "They divided my clothes among
themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is
what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus
were his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple
whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother,
"Woman, here is your son." Then he said to the disciple,
"Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple
took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all
was now finished, he said (in order to fufil the scripture),
"I am thirsty." A jar full of sour wine was standing
there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop
and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he
said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave
up his spirit. Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did
not want the bodies left on the cross during the sabbath,
especially because that sabbath was a day of great solemnity. So
they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and
the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of
the first and of the other who had been crucified with him. But
when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did
not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side
with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. (He who saw
this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is
true, and he knows that he tells the truth.) These things occurred
so that the scripture might be fulfilled, "None of his bones
shall be broken." And again another passage of scripture
says, "They will look on the one whom they have
pierced." After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a
disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the
Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate
gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus,
who had at first come to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a
mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred pounds. They
took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen
cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. Now there was
a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden
there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. And so,
because it was the Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was
nearby, they laid Jesus there.
JOHN 18:1-19:42
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PRAYER
OVER THE GIFTS
Holy God,
your Son Jesus Christ carried our sins
in his own body on the tree,
so that we might have life.
May we and all who remember this day
find new life in him,
now and in the world to come,
where he lives with you and the Holy Spirit,
for ever and ever.
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PRAYER
AFTER COMMUNION
Almighty and eternal God,
you have restored us to life
by the triumphant death
and resurrection of Christ.
Continue this healing work within us.
May we who partake of this mystery
never cease to give you dedicated service.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Or
Lord
Jesus Christ, Son of the living God,
we pray to you to set your passion, cross, and death
between your judgement and our souls,
now and in the hour of our death.
Give mercy and grace to the living,
pardon and rest to the dead,
to your holy church peace and concord,
and to us sinners everlasting life and glory;
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
you live and reign,
one God, now and for ever.
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