Tenebrae, A Service of Readings

Good Friday

Tenebrae

The Service of Tenebrae

The Offering is collected at the entrance to the sanctuary this evening.

The congregation and pastor enter in silence.

Opening Versicles

P              O Lord, open my lips,

C              and my mouth shall show forth your praise.

P              Make haste, O God, to deliver me;

C              make haste to help me, O Lord.

P              Dearly beloved! We have come together in the presence of God our heavenly Father, to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at His hand, to set forth His most worthy praise, to hear His holy Word, and to ask for ourselves and on behalf of others, those things that are necessary for our life and salvation. O Come, let us worship Him! Let us kneel and bow down before Him. Let us confess our sins with penitent hearts, and obtain forgiveness by His infinite grace and mercy in Jesus Christ.

C:              Almighty and most merciful Father, we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep. We have followed the devices and desires of our hearts. We have offended against Your holy law. We are by nature sinful and unclean children of Adam. We have done those things which we should not have done, and we have not done those things which we should have done. Have mercy upon us, O Lord! Spare us and restore us, according to the promises You have declared to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord. For the sake of His sufferings, death, and resurrection grant that we may live godly, righteous, and sober lives, to the glory of Your holy name.

P              Upon this, your confession, I, by virtue of my office as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God to all of you, and in the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Hymn: 292:1-3 Oh, Dearest Jesus

The Readings

The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ

P              The Passion of our Lord according to the 19^th chapter of St. John's Gospel and the 27^th chapter of St. Matthew's Gospel:
¹ So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. (John 19)

C: But He was wounded for our transgressions;
He was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was on Him;
and by His stripes we are healed. (Is. 53:5)

P              ²And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put a purple robe on Him. ³Then they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they struck Him with their hands. (John 19)

C: But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people. (Ps. 22:6)

P              ⁴Pilate then went out again, and said to them, "Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him."
⁵ Then Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, "Behold the Man!"(John 19)

C. So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men; (Is. 52:14)

P              ⁶Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, "Crucify Him, crucify Him!"
Pilate said to them, "You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him."
⁷The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." (John 19)

C: ¹¹ Be not far from me; for trouble is near, for there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls have circled around me; strong bulls of Bashan have surrounded me. ¹³ They opened wide their mouths on me, like a ripping and a roaring lion.(Ps. 22)

P              ⁸Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, ⁹and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, "Where are You from?" But Jesus gave him no answer. (John 19)

C: He was oppressed, and He was afflicted;  yet He opened not His mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. (Is. 53:7)

Hymn: 292:4-6

P              ¹⁰Then Pilate said to Him, "Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?"
¹¹Jesus answered, "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
¹²From then on Pilate sought to release Him.(John 19)

C: ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. (Is. 53)

P              ¹²But the Jews cried out, saying, "If you let this Man go, you are not Caesar's friend. Whoever makes himself a king speaks against Caesar."
¹³When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus out and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is called The Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, "Behold your King!"
¹⁵But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!"
Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?"
The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"(John 19)

C: Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him. (Is. 53:1-2)

P              ¹⁶Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.(John 19)

C:  For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me, They pierced My hands and My feet. (Ps. 22:16)

P              ¹⁷ And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, ¹⁸where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.(John 19)

C: and He was numbered with the transgressors (Is. 53:12)

P              ¹⁹Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
²⁰Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.
²¹Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King of the Jews,' but, "He said, "I am the King of the Jews.""'
²²Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." (John 19)

C: So shall He sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider. (Is. 52:15)

Hymn: 292:7-10

P              ²³Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. ²⁴They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says: (John 19)

C: "They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots." (Ps 22:18)

P              ²⁴Therefore the soldiers did these things.
²⁵ Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, "Woman, behold your son!" ²⁷Then He said to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. (John 19)

C: And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken. (Is. 53:8)

P              ³⁹ And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads,⁴⁰ and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!” ⁴¹ Likewise the chief priests also mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴² “He saved others, Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. ⁴³ He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him. For He said, 'I am the Son of God.'” ⁴⁴ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him, saying the same thing. (Matthew 27)

C: ⁷ All those who see Me ridicule Me; they shoot out the lip; they shake the head, saying , ⁸ He trusted in the LORD; let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver him, since He delights in Him! (Ps. 22)

P              ⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" That is, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" ⁴⁷ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, "This Man is calling for Elijah!" (Matthew 27)

C: “You have brought Me to the dust of death.”(Ps 22:15)
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.(Is. 53:10)

P              ²⁸ After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst!"  (John 19)

C: My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and My tongue clings to My jaws. (Ps. 22:15)

P              ²⁹Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. ³⁰So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19)

C:  Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors. (Is. 53:12)

P              ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
⁵¹ Then, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matt. 27)

C: By His knowledge My righteous Servant justify many; For He shall bear their iniquities. (Is. 52:11)

Hymn: 292:11-13

P              ⁵⁴ So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this One was the Son of God."
⁵⁵ And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, ⁵⁶ among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. (Matt. 27)

C: ¹⁴ Just as many were astonished at You, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; ¹⁵So shall He sprinkle many nations; (Is. 52)

P              ³¹ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. ³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. (John 19)

C:³⁶For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."(Psalms 34:20)
³⁷And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."(Zechariah 12:10)

P              ³⁸ After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. ³⁹And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. ⁴⁰Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. ⁴¹Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. ⁴²So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.(John 19)

C: And they made His grave with the wicked--But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. (Is. 53:9)

Sermon

Hymn: 292:14-15

The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

P              O Lord, have mercy on us.

C              Thanks be to God.

Responsory

P              We have an advocate with the Father;

C              He was wounded for our transgressions.

P              Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.

C              He was bruised for our iniquities.

P              Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is put away.

C              The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.

P              But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets; even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe.

C              And by His stripes we are healed.

P              Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;

C              Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.

P              But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;

C              The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

P              All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;

C              And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

P              He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

C              Yet He opened not His mouth;

P              He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

C              So He opened not His mouth.

P              He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?

C              For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

P              And they made His grave with the wicked--

C              But with the rich at His death,

P              Because He had done no violence,

C              Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

P              Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;

C              He has put Him to grief.

P              When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

C              And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

P              He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

C              By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.

P              Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

C              And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,

P              And He was numbered with the transgressors,

C              And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Prayers

              P              Lord, have mercy.

              C              Lord, have mercy.

              P              Christ, have mercy.

              C              Christ, have mercy.

              P              Lord, have mercy.

              C              Lord, have mercy.

The Lord's Prayer

             

P              The Lord be with you.

C              And also with you.

P              Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

C              Amen.

The "Strepitus"

(pronounced STREP-ee-toose) means "loud noise" and is signified by the slamming of a book or door toward the conclusion of the Good Friday Tenebrae Service ("Service of Darkness"). The "loud noise" symbolizes the earth shaking and rocks splitting (Matt. 27:51) at Jesus' death, and foreshadows the "violent earthquake" (Matt. 28:2) at the opening of Jesus' tomb on Easter morning.

The Lights are dimmed.

The congregation leaves in silence with minimal light.