04/18 Good Friday; 7 Sayings/ Veil Torn; (Mt.21, 27); Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20250418_good-friday-veil-torn.mp3

Welcome/Intro/Prayer:

Today is Good Friday, the day we commemorate the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus, the day he ‘bore our sins in his body on the tree’ (1Pet.2:24).

I invite you to enter in, become one of the bystanders to this most horrible, most beautiful event. Stand at the foot of his cross. Sing. Worship him for he is worthy. During the time Jesus was suspended there between heaven and earth, drawing each labored breath by lifting his own weight by the nails that pierced his hands and his feet, he spoke. Seven times he spoke, and in those seven statements from the cross, he summarized his mission.

1) Jesus came to forgive his enemies (while we were his enemies, Christ died for us; Rom.5:8,10)

2) Jesus came to make a way for us to be with him forever

3) Jesus came to care for the needy, to connect us with a body who cares for one another.

4) Jesus came to experience God-forsakenness, so we would never be forsaken

5) Jesus came to satisfy our eternal thirst

6) Jesus came to pay our debt in full

7) Jesus declared that no one took his life from him; he had the power to lay down his life, and the power to take it up again (Jn.10:18)

Stand at the foot of his cross. Look. Listen. Sing. Worship him for he is worthy. Give your life to him, for he is trustworthy.

[pray]

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Song: Man of Sorrows

Saying 1. Father forgive them (Lk.23:33-34)

Luke 23:33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Song: Jesus Your Mercy

Saying 2. Today you will be with me (Lk 23:39-43)

Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Song: My Worth is Not in What I Own

Saying 3. Woman, here is your son (Jn.19:26-27)

John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Song: How Deep the Father’s Love For Us

Song: Lord I Need You

Saying 4. Why have you forsaken me? (Mt.27:46)

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Song: The Cup Was Not Removed

Saying 5. I Thirst (Jn.19:28)

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”

Song: There Is Power In The Blood

Saying 6. It Is Finished! (Jn.19:30)

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” …

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Message: Veil Torn (Good Friday)

Luke 23:44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, 45 while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.

Matthew and Mark also record that after those three hours of darkness on the cross, about the time that Jesus died, the curtain or veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom. What is this curtain, and why is this so significant?

In Exodus, we read the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle, YHWH’s portable sacrifice and worship tent; later replaced by the temple in the promised land, in Jerusalem. The tabernacle grounds, or courtyard which had a fence around it was to be 75’ x 150’ (for reference, that’s about 2.5x wider and 2x longer than this room); just inside the entrance of the courtyard stood the large bronze altar for burnt offering, and behind it the large bronze wash-basin from which the priests would draw water for cleaning up the bloody animal mess. Behind this was the entrance to the encolsed tent; the first section was called the holy place which was 15’ x 30’ and housed the lampstand, the table for the bread of the presence, and just outside the veil the altar of incense. Then behind the veil, the most holy place (15’x15’) which housed the ark (or box) of the covenant, containing the Sinai covenant written on stone, topped with the mercy seat or atonement cover. It was above this mercy seat, between the cherubim, that God’s presence was manifest. This inner sanctuary or ‘holy of holies’ was separated from the holy place by the curtain.

Exodus 26:31 “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, with hooks of gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps, and bring the ark of the testimony in there within the veil. And the veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy.

The stated purpose of this curtain was to separate. This curtain was decorated with cherubim. The first mention we have of cherubim is after mankind rebelled against their Creator, despised his goodness, heeded the voice of the serpent rather than obeying the word of their God, and did the one thing he commanded them not to do.

Isaiah 59 tells us:

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

That’s the same word ‘separation’ we find describing the veil in Exodus 26. In response to our rebellion in Genesis, God

Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

The cherubim, or mighty warrior angels, were stationed at the east of the sacred garden (by the way, the Tabernacle was always to be positioned with the entrance to the east). This curtain or veil, with representations of warrior angels, blocked access to God’s manifest presence. My iniquites have made a separation between me and God.

Hebrews tells us:

Hebrews 9:2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, …6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. 8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing

This is the veil, the curtain of the temple, separating us from the presence of God, embroidered with mighty warrior angels barring access to his presence, that was torn in two from top to bottom.

It seems ironic that the four soldiers who crucified Jesus, who were dividing his garments among them, refused to tear his tunic, but rather cast lots for it, because it ‘was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom’ (Jn.19:23). But the Father, on the death of his only Son, ripped the curtain that denied access to him from top to bottom.

Jesus said:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans says:

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified (declared not guilty) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Sinners declared not guilty, reconciled to the Father by faith into an undeserved status. Our sure hope through Jesus is to enter in to enjoy the glory of the Father and the Son. Ephesians says:

Ephesians 3:11 … Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.

Hebrews says:

Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near 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. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

This is what Jesus accomplished on the cross. This is what is so good about Good Friday. Because Jesus bore my sin in his body on the tree, I now have access by faith into this grace in which I stand. There is no other way, no other access, than through faith – trusting in, depending on – Jesus alone, his finished work, his payment in full, for my forgiveness, my justification. Reconciling me, a sinner washed clean in his blood, to a holy and just God. It is all grace – a gift I don’t deserve – that I must receive by faith.

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Saying 7. Father into your hands… (Lk.23:46)

Luke 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.

Song: All Hail King Jesus

Song: All Sufficient Merit

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Closing:

1) Jesus came to forgive his enemies; have you confessed that by your sins you have made yourself his enemy?

2) Jesus opened up a way for us to be reconciled to him

3) Jesus came to care for the needy (and we are needy!), to connect us with a body who cares for one another.

4) Jesus came to experience God-forsakenness, so we would never be forsaken

5) Jesus came to satisfy our eternal thirst; are you spiritually thirsty today?

6) Jesus came to pay our debt in full; It Is Finished!

7) Jesus had the power to lay down his life, and the power to take it up again, and he gives eternal life to all who come to him and believe in him!

[invitation/prayer]

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org