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First Reading: John 18:1-11 (Jesus is Betrayed by Judas)

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"

"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.

"I am he," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground.

Again he asked them, "Who is it you want?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

"I told you that I am he," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for me, then let these men go." This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: "I have not lost one of those you gave me."

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.)

Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"

First Meditation:

The first time you experienced crushed trust may have been on the playground when you were the one that everybody was against, on the outside looking in at the in group. Or maybe it happened when you were a little older. Your boyfriend or girlfriend broke their promise or their word to you when you felt the pain. Maybe it has happened since you have grown older. It’s funny. We don’t forget pain like that, do we? In fact, there are many events in your and my life that have caused a great amount of pain when it comes to broken trust, that no matter how much time passes, we will not forget a father walking out on his family, a spouse walking out on a marriage, a child, a son or daughter walking out of the family. And willingly and obediently did your and my Lord enter into the realm of broken trust to experience to its fullest the full measure of all mankind since time began and long after we have been buried in the ground, God willing, has God set forth on this road to the cross the two responses of broken trust. The one who broke the trust feels a great amount of guilt; the one who had the trust broken, anger, resentment because of the pain that they are enduring. Both are feeling pain. Both can consume them. Both were poured upon Christ. Let Him pay for it. Didn’t He pay enough for such things as that?

Second Reading: John 18:12-27 (Jesus is Denied by Peter)

Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first 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 would be good if one man died for the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

"You are not one of his disciples, are you?" the girl at the door asked Peter. He replied, "I am not."

It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

"I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said."

When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. "Is this the way you answer the high priest?" he demanded.

"If I said something wrong," Jesus replied, "testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?" Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, "You are not one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it, saying, "I am not."

One of the high priest's servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, "Didn't I see you with him in the olive grove?" Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Second Meditation:

We spend a great deal of our time maneuvering ourselves and all that we have control or power over to avoid the consequences of our words and actions, justifying them in some form or fashion so that we can speak of ourselves as innocent victims as it were. But my! When consequences strike you cold in the face and you cannot nor I move to the left or right and wiggle out of it, it crushes. It completely crushes. It crushed Judas to hell, to despair of the very thing that the One he betrayed offered him. It crushed Peter to repentance and to turn back to the very One he had denied. God places you in those situations every day, and some of those times we don’t think anything about because the consequences aren’t that great. And then there is that moment and those moments that you and I can remember and recall where the price was exorbitant and the guilt overwhelming and the pain inconsolable. God allows that to build your faith. God’s hands are the One who allows and maneuvers things so that your faith is preserved and kept intact. Flee to the One whom you have betrayed. Be claimed as His own again. He wants you, desires you, and opens His arms to receive you. Just come back.

Third Reading: John 18:28-19:16a (Jesus before Pilate)

Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, "What charges are you bringing against this man?"

"If he were not a criminal," they replied, "we would not have handed him over to you."

Pilate said, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law."

"But we have no right to execute anyone," the Jews objected. This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?"

"Is that your own idea," Jesus asked, "or did others talk to you about me?"

"Am I a Jew?" Pilate replied. "It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?"

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.

Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

"What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release 'the king of the Jews'?"

They shouted back, "No, not him! Give us Barabbas!" Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!"

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!"

But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God."

When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. "Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?"

Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin."

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews.

But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!"

"Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked.

"We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered.

Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

Third Meditation:

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. But lest we think that it does not apply to us because we are not in a great position of power or authority, just consider the fact that all of us have responsibility over or some sphere of influence over somebody. That is a form of power. And are we wise with such influence, such responsibility for? Are we prudent and judicious? Whenever we judge ourselves, we judge ourselves with such an unjust standard, but whenever we judge someone else who has responsibility or authority over us, we judge them with such a harsh standard. Pilate’s conversation with Christ sounds just like our argumentation in this world, one exercising authority over the other, posturing. Posturing occurs even in the church. You shouldn’t be surprised because it occurs in your house between parents and children, between spouses. It occurs in schools. It occurs everywhere. And look where Christ points to. The kingdom that He is bringing is not of this world. There is nothing in this world that He wishes to be over as King. And then He reminds Pilate that all responsibility and all power flows not from their ability to have earned it, attained it, but from God giving it and allowing it, even unjust power. We judge unjust power, and yet, we don’t judge when we’ve been unjust? When we haven’t been as wise and prudent and judicious, when we have abused that privilege that God alone from above has given us and instead are consumed more about the things of this world and our standing in this world. How I have fallen on my sword over things that matter not in the life to come. How often have you fallen on your sword? To be right rather than reconciled, to be first rather than unified. And of what do we make as that standard? And is it the right standard? All we can cry out is this: Be crucified, oh Lord. Be crucified! Be crucified for me!

Fourth Reading: John 19:16b-22 (Jesus Goes to Calvary)

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

Fourth Meditation:

What does this mean? That the very people for whom Christ came are the very people who turned Him over and let Him die. Lest we think, Not I, oh Lord, not I. Just consider when we have fear and what other people think more than we fear what God thinks. Think of those times when you feared more for yourself than you did for the other. This especially affects everyone in this congregation. Everyone who is here this evening one could say we are the more active members of the church. We’re the ones who serve on boards and committees, we’re the ones who put money in that plate are also the ones who get our feelings hurt very easily. And we sure sometimes keep score, don’t we? Whether we’re staff here, whether we’re volunteers and serve on board or committees or whether we’re called here, all of us here, all of us here hurt one another in one form or fashion. None of us here can say I have never ever. How dare we blaspheme God’s good grace? Unless we are willing to admit that we, too, have had a hand in anything, of what good is the King of the Jews to us? Lord Jesus, let me hide in Your dishonor for me that I may find honor. Let me hide and flee to Your judgment that I may be free of the judgment of my own mind and of Satan and of Your just justice.

Fifth Reading: John 19:23-25a (Jesus is Crucified)

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

"Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it."

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said,

"They divided my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother.

Fifth Meditation:

The guards hovered around him like vultures to a corpse in order to get something for free, because, by virtue that they were the guards and the soldiers who were responsible at that situation. So why shouldn’t they get their cut? They were opportunists. Now, none of us here are opportunists. Yet, we are. In the church? Even in Christ’s church. That’s exactly where opportunists should be. For if we have ever had an expectation of the church, of someone in the church, of some group or organization of a part of the church, we are opportunists because it did not fulfill what we expected. And if we truly were Christ-like, we would bear it willingly. We would nod and move forward, smile and be happy in what God has given. Having been baptized into Christ, we stand to inherit a great deal as broken opportunists, and that which we stand to inherit is that great gift of eternal life. But having been baptized into Christ means also we have to bear a cross in this world, and it is in bearing that cross that we come into very close contact with the stench of our pride and sin of being opportunists. The bitterness in our mouth after having tasted it. The stench that clings to our clothing even, because bearing the cross is also a part of being Christ’s child, and all we can cry out is, “Lord, let it be done unto me as You have said. I am the Lord’s servant.”

Sixth Reading: John 19:26-30 (Jesus Gives up His Spirit)

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Sixth Meditation:

It’s quite horrible, isn’t it, to watch someone die of cancer. There are many forms of death. Some we have the opportunity to witness with our own eyes, and others are so quick and sudden we never get that chance. Isn’t it interesting that, when we talk about death, we talk about, “Boy, I sure would like to go like Joe. Joe just sat down in his chair and just fell asleep.” Yes, that would be great, but that may not be the kind of death that we have awaiting us. But there is one death you will never ever have to face. You will never have to die like Christ. Lest we think that the physical death was all that difficult, it was more than a physical death. He was damned. He was in hell. He bore the entire fruit of the tree of death, for on that tree something that no human being ever, living in this world, has ever experienced is God the Father turning His back on Him. You’ll never have to face that. And you’ll never have to face Him walking away from you like He walked away, as it were, from Christ on the tree. Just like this.

Seventh Reading: John 19:31-42 (Jesus is Placed in the Tomb)

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: "Not one of his bones will be broken," and, as another scripture says, "They will look on the one they have pierced."

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Seventh Meditation:

Blood and water. It was blood and water that flowed from the side of the Passover Lamb. It was blood and water that God gave to His bride, the church, that she might be cleansed. Cleansed not on the outside, but cleansed on the inside. Cleansed in an area that we wish at times we could forget, but can’t. Cleansed in an area that we wish we could put out of our mind and our memory, but can’t. God uses those two means to cleanse. Be at peace, brothers and sisters. Your God is for you, and by blood and water, your God is with you.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.