Good Friday, Year C
Good Friday, Year C
Reading I Is 52, 13 - 53, 12
A Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah
He surrendered himself to death, while bearing the faults
of many.
See, my servant shall prosper, he shall be raised high and
greatly exalted. Even as many were amazed at him - so marred
was his look beyond that of man, and his appearance beyond that
of mortals - So shall he startle many nations, because of him
kings shall stand speechless; for those who have not been told
shall see, those who have not heard shall ponder it.
Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the
Lord been revealed? He grew up like a sapling before him, like a
shoot from the parched earth; there was in him no stately bearing
to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to
him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering,
accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom men hide their
faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem.
Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he
endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten
by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes
us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray
like sheep, each following his own way; but the Lord laid upon
him the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his
mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the
shearers, he was silent and opened not his mouth. Oppressed and
condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any
more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the
living, and smitten for the sin of his people, a grave was
assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. But the
Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.
If he gives his like as an offering for sin, he shall see his
descendants in a long life, and the will of the Lord shall be
accomplished through him.
Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness
of days; through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his
portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with
the mighty, because he surrendered himself to death and was
counted among the wicked; and he shall take away the sins of
many, and win pardon for their offenses.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Reading II Heb 4, 14-16; 5, 7-9
A Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
He submitted humbly and became for all the source of eternal
salvation.
We have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God; let us hold fast to our profession of
faith. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted in every
way that we are, yet never sinned. So let us confidently
approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and
to find help in time of need.
In the days when he was in the flesh, Christ offered prayers
and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was
able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his
reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what
he suffered; and when perfected, he became the source of
eternal salvation for all who obey him.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Gospel Jn 18, 1-19, 42
Verse before the Gospel Phil 2, 8-9
Christ became obedient for us even to death, dying on the
cross. Therefore God raised him on high and gave him a name
above all other names.
The Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ According to John
Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley.
There was a garden there, and he and his disciples entered it.
The place was familiar to Judas as well (the one who was to
hand him over) because Jesus had often met there with his
disciples. Judas took the cohort as well as guards supplied
by the chief priests and the Pharisees, and came there with
lanterns, torches and weapons. Jesus, aware of all that would
happen to him, stepped forward and said to them, “Who is it
you want?” “Jesus the Nazorean,” they replied. “I am he,”
he answered. (Now Judas, the one who was to hand him over,
was right there with them.) As Jesus said to them, “I am
he,” they retreated slightly and fell to the ground. Jesus
put the question to them again, “Who is it you want?”
“Jesus the Nazorean,” they repeated. “I have told you, I
am he,” Jesus said. “If I am the one you want, let these
men go.” (This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not
lost one of those you gave me.”)
Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the
slave of the high priest, severing his right ear. (The
slave’s name was Malchus.) At that Jesus said to Peter,
“Put your sword back in its sheath. Am I not to drink the
cup the Father has given me?”
Then the soldiers of the cohort, their tribune, and the
Jewish police arrested Jesus and bound him. They led
him first to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas who
was high priest that year. (It was Caiaphas who had
proposed to the Jews the advantage of having one man die
for the people.)
Simon Peter, in company with another disciple, kept
following Jesus closely. This disciple, who was known to
the high priest, stayed with Jesus as far as the high
priest’s courtyard, while Peter was left standing at the
gate. The disciple known to the high priest came out and
spoke to the woman at the gate, and then brought Peter in.
This servant girl who kept the gate said to Peter, “Aren’t
you one of this man’s followers?” “Not I,” he replied.
Now the night was cold, and the servants and the guards who
were standing around had made a charcoal fire to warm
themselves by. Peter joined them and stood there warming
himself.
The high priest questioned Jesus, first about his disciples,
then about his teaching. Jesus answered by saying:
“I have spoken publicly to any who would listen. I always
taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the
Jews come together. There was nothing secret about
anything I said.
Why do you question me? Question those who heard me when
I spoke. It should be obvious they will know what I
said.” At this reply, one of the guards who was standing
nearby gave Jesus a sharp blow on the face. ‘Is that
any way to answer the high priest?” he said. Jesus
replied, “If I said anything wrong produce the evidence,
but if I spoke the truth why hit me?” Annas next sent
him, bound, to the high priest Caiaphas.
All through this, Simon Peter had been standing there
warming himself. They said to him, “Are you not a
disciple of his?” He denied: “I am not!” “But did I not
see you with him in the garden?” insisted one of the
high priest’s slaves - as it happened, a relative of
the man whose ear Peter had severed. Peter denied it
again. At that moment a cock began to crow.
At daybreak they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the
praetorium. They did not enter the praetorium themselves,
for they had to avoid ritual impurity if they were to
eat the Passover supper. Pilate came out to them, “What
accusation do you bring against this man?” he demanded.
“If he were not a criminal,” they retorted, “we would
certainly not have handed him over to you.” At this
Pilate said, “Why do you not take him and pass
judgment on him according to your law?” “We may not
put anyone to death,” the Jews answered. (This was to
fulfill what Jesus had said, indicating the sort of
death he would die.)
Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned
Jesus. “Are you the King of the Jews?” he asked him.
Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own, or
have others been telling you about me?” “I am no
Jew!” Pilate retorted. “It is your own people and
the chief priests who have handed you over to me.
What have you done?” Jesus answered:
“My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my
kingdom were of this world, my subjects would be
fighting to save me from being handed over to the Jews.
As it is, my kingdom is not here.”
At this Pilate said to him, “So, then, you are a
king?” Jesus replied:
“It is you who say I am a king. The reason I was born,
the reason why I came into the world, is to testify
to the truth. Anyone committed to the truth hears my
voice.”
“Truth!” said Pilate, “What does that mean?”
After this remark, Pilate went out again to the Jews
and told them: “Speaking for myself, I find no case
against this man. Recall your custom whereby I release
to you someone at Passover time. Do you want me to
release to you the king of the Jews?” They shouted
back, “We want Barrabas, not this one!” (Barrabas was
an insurrectionist.)
Pilate’s next move was to take Jesus and have him
scourged. The soldiers then wove a crown of thorns and
fixed it on his head, throwing around his shoulders a
cloak of royal purple. Repeatedly they came up to him
and said, “All hail, King of the Jews!”, slapping his
face as they did so.
Pilate went out a second time and said to the crowd:
“Observe what I do. I am going to bring him out to you
to make you realize that I find no case against him.”
When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the
purple cloak, Pilate said to them, “Look at the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and the temple police saw
him they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate
said, “Take him and crucify him yourselves; I find no
case against him.” “We have our law,” the Jews responded,
“and according to that law he must die because he made
himself God’s Son.” When Pilate heard this kind of talk,
he was more afraid than ever.
Going back into the praetorium, he said to Jesus,
“Where do you come from?” Jesus would not give him any
answer.” “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate asked
him. “Do you not know that I have the power to release
you and the power to crucify you?” Jesus answered:
“You would have no power over me whatever unless it
were given you from above. That is why he who handed me
over to you is guilty of the greater sin.”
After this, Pilate was eager to release him, but the
Jews shouted, “If you free this man you are no ‘Friend
of Caesar.’ Anyone who makes himself a king becomes
Caesar’s rival.” Pilate heard what they were saying,
then brought Jesus outside and took a seat on a
judge’s bench at the place called the Stone Pavement
- Gabbatha in Hebrew. (It was the Preparation Day for
Passover, and the hour was about noon.) He said to the
Jews, “Look at your king!” At this they shouted, “Away
with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” “What?” Pilate
exclaimed, “Shall I crucify your king?” The chief
priests replied, “We have no king but Caesar.” In the
end, Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified.
Jesus was led away, and carrying the cross by himself,
went out to what is called the Place of the Skull (in
Hebrew, Golgotha). There they crucified him, and two
others with him: one on either side, Jesus in the
middle. Pilate had an inscription placed on the cross
which read,
Jesus the Nazorean
The King of the Jews
This inscription, in Hebrew, Latin and Greek, was
read by many of the Jews, since the place where Jesus
was crucified was near the city. The chief priests
of the Jews tried to tell Pilate, “You should not
have written, ‘The King of the Jews.’ Write instead,
‘This man claimed to be king of the Jews.’” Pilate
answered, “What I have written, I have written.”
After the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his
garments and divided them four ways, one for each
soldier. There was also his tunic, but his tunic was
woven in one piece from top to bottom and had no
seam. They said to each other, “We shouldn’t tear it.
Let’s throw dice to see who gets it.” (The purpose
of this was to have the Scripture fulfilled:
“They divided my garments among them;
for my clothing they cast lots.”)
And this was what the soldiers did.
Near the cross of Jesus there stood his mother, his
mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary
Magdalene. Seeing his mother there with the disciple
whom he loved, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman,
there is your son.” In turn he said to the disciple,
“There is your mother.” From that hour onward, the
disciple took her into his care.
After that, Jesus, realizing that everything was
now finished, to bring the Scripture to fulfillment
said, “I am thirsty.” There was a jar there, full
of common wine. They stuck a sponge soaked in this
wine on some hyssop and raised it to his lips.
When Jesus took the wine, he said, “Now it is
finished.” Then he bowed his head, and delivered
over his spirit.
Since it was Preparation Day the Jews did not want
to have the bodies left on the cross during the
Sabbath, for that sabbath was a solemn feast day.
They asked Pilate that the legs be broken and
the bodies be taken away. Accordingly, the soldiers
came and broke the legs of the men crucified with
Jesus, first of one, then of the other. When they
came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
they did not break his legs. One of the soldiers
ran a lance into his side, and immediately blood
and water flowed out. (This testimony has been
given by an eyewitness, and his testimony is
true. He tells what he knows is true, so that
you may believe.) These events took place for the
fulfillment of Scripture:
“Break none of his bones.”
There is still another Scripture passage which
says:
“They shall look on him whom they have pierced.”
Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, a disciple of
Jesus (although a secret one for fear of the
Jews), asked Pilate’s permission to remove Jesus’
body. Pilate granted it, so they came and took
the body away. Nicodemus (the man who had first
come to Jesus at night) likewise came, bringing
a mixture of myrrh and aloes which weighed about
a hundred pounds. They took Jesus’ body, and in
accordance with Jewish burial custom bound it
up in wrappings of cloth with perfumed oils.
In the place where he had been crucified there
was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in
which no one had ever been laid. Because of
the Jewish Preparation Day they laid Jesus
there, for the tomb was close at hand.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
1 comment April 6th, 2007
