Avondale Pattillo UMC
From Lent to Easter
Good Friday
In the cross of Christ I glory
The Crucifixion of Jesus
After
being brought before Pilate and Herod, Jesus was beaten, scourged, mocked, then finally crucified at
the hill called Calvary on Friday, outside the gates of Jerusalem. The current term, Good
Friday, is believed to be a linguistic corruption of "God's Friday". Since the time of
the early church, Good Friday has been dedicated to penance, fasting, and prayer.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only son..."
-- John 3:16
According to Roman custom, scourging always came before crucifixion. Scourging was done with a multi-stranded whip with metal at the tips of each strand of leather. It caused extensive cuts and bleeding. After the preliminary punishment of scourging, the condemned person had to carry the cross, or at least the transverse beam of it, to the place of execution. The criminal would be exposed to the insults of people along the route.
On arrival at the place of execution the cross was raised up. Soon the sufferer, entirely naked, was bound to it with cords. He was then fastened with four nails to the wood of the cross. Roman executioners drove their spikes through the wrist, right through the carpal tunnel that houses finger-controlling tendons and the median nerve. It is impossible to force a spike there without maiming the hand into a claw shape.
Finally, a placard called the titulus, bearing the name of the condemned man and his sentence, was nailed at the top of the cross.
Songs
- At the cross
- At the cross (Patti Drennan)
- Ballard of the Cross (Larry Holder)
- Burdens are lifted at Calvary (Besig & Price)
- Come and Kneel at the Cross (Besig & Price)
- Jesus died in My Place (Larry Holder)
- O the deep, deep love of Jesus (Ken Litton)
- Purified (Larry Holder)
- Mary Don't You Weep (Larry Holder)
- Were you there? (Robert Lau)
Breaking of the legs
Often, a criminal took several days to die on the cross. So to shorten his punishment, and lessen his agonizing sufferings, his legs were were sometimes broken. This custom was common with the Jews, though rare among Romans. Speeding death in this way let the body take down the corpse on the same evening as the crucifixion, which was important to Jews concerned with observing appropriate burial ceremonies.
"... Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."
– 1 Corinthians 5:7
Crucifixion's end
Crucifixion remained in use throughout the Roman Empire until the first half of the fourth
century. Early during his reign Constantine continued to crucify slaves guilty of denouncing their masters.
Later on he abolished this horrible punishment, in memory and in honor of the Passion of Jesus the Messiah.
After this, crucifixion was rarely imposed.
"No Greater Love"
©1998 by Robert Grace.
Click on the image for access to a larger view.
The cross on which Jesus Christ was nailed was of the kind known as immissa,
which means that the vertical trunk extended a certain height above the
transverse beam; it was thus higher than the Tau ("T") crosses of the two thieves.
It is likely that Pilate's mocking message, "The King of the Jews" was nailed to the vertical extension
of the beam.
C.S. Lewis once remarked that the crucifixion did not become common in art until all who had seen a real one died off.
Songs
- Ah, Holy Jesus - UMH 289
- Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed - UMH 294
- Beneath the Cross of Jesus - UMH 297
- Beneath the cross of Jesus (Digital Hymnal)
- I gave my life for thee
- In the Cross of Christ I Glory - UMH 295
- Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross - UMH 301
- O Love Divine, What Hast Thou Done - UMH 287
- O Sacred Head Now Wounded - UMH 286
- Pieta (Joseph Martin)
- 'Tis Finished! The Messiah Dies - UMH 282
- To Mock Your Reign, O Dearest Lord - UMH 285
- When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - UMH 298
- When I Survey the Wondrous Cross - UMH 299
As Jesus hung on the cross, the world seemed dark and without hope to the disciples and his followers. But God, in his infinite love, had sent his one and only Son to die for our sins... to be our sacrifice... to save us. Because of Christ's death and resurrection, we have hope.
Some churches observe another medieval custom, which has had a popular revival in the late 20th
century -- that of the service of Tenebrae. This service may be held
held on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, in
the evening. It features a series of songs and readings dealing with Holy Week.
It was originally sung
before dawn and marked by the gradual extinguishing of candles before the
breaking of the light of day. Many churches continue practice of gradually
extinguishing candles, though at an evening service, followed by silent
departure from the sanctuary.
Hot Cross Buns - a Good Friday tradition
Eating Hot Cross Buns is a Good Friday custom that was adopted in America. Some believe that the origin of Hot Cross Buns dates back to the 12th century, when an Anglican monk allegedly placed the sign of the cross on the buns, to honor Good Friday, a Christian holiday also known as the Day of the Cross. Hot Cross Buns were supposedly the only thing faithful, fasting Christians could eat on this holy day.
In medieval times, Anglo-Saxons ate small cakes as part of the Eastre celebration that attended the welcoming of spring. Early missionaries apparently couldn't break them of that habit, so they appear to have compromised by drawing a cross on the cakes and blessing them. Among the Greeks cross-marked cakes were associated with devotion to Diana. two whole loaves were excavated from the ruins of the Roman city Herculaneum, near Pompeii. The loaves were five inches in diameter and marked with the familiar cross.
For the early Christians the buns were flat and made unleavened in imitation of the Passover bread eaten by Jesus. Later they were made from the same dough used in making the Host. The buns were extremely popular in England. Eighteenth century reports document that in London some fifty thousand people converged on the Old Chelsea Bun-House on one Good Friday morning and bought over one hundred and fifty thousand of the fruity delicacies.
The "traditional" Hot Cross Buns are a
spicy currant or raisin-studded yeast bun, topped with a sweet
"Cross" of lemon flavored icing.
Avondale Pattillo UMC
3260 Covington Hwy., Decatur, GA 30032
404-294-4063
This page was last edited April 6, 2007 0:41 AM
Bible readings
On this page
References
- The garden tomb
- Good Friday
- Good Friday (BBC)
- Good Friday (Wikipedia)
- Good Friday (Catholic Encyclopedia)
- Why is it called "Good Friday"
- Good Friday for Kids
- Mary Magdalene
- The Passion
