YouTube -- TRIDUUM: Good Friday Tenebrae (April 3, 2026)

Here is the Tenebrae service from Good Friday -- April 3, 2026.

Sermon -- Good Friday Tenebrae: The Sixth Word (April 3, 2026)

Good Shepherd celebrated a Tenebrae service in which we heard the seven words from the cross, followed by a brief homily on each word.  

THE SIXTH WORD — John 19:30

     Everything Jesus ever did was done intentionally.  He was fully obedient to God’s commandments.  He recognized that the traditions of the Pharisees were customs.  Even if those traditions were helpful for exercising piety, they were not commandments.  It is like teaching our children to pray before meals.  There is nothing in God’s word that commands us to pray before meals.  It is still a worthy practice, so we teach it.  But we cannot say a family is sinning against God if they do not offer up a prayer before digging into their salads.

     Everything Jesus ever did was done intentionally.  He did not waste his words when he taught about the kingdom of God.  No miraculous healing was done by accident.  His mercy toward the tax collectors and prostitutes was not to be confused with leniency, and his scathing rebukes against the Pharisees did not arise from rivalry.  Everything Jesus did was intended to lead people to repent and to find their hope in him.  Some did; others did not.

     Everything Jesus ever did was done intentionally.  His trip to the cross was done according to his own timing, done to fulfill all the prophets, and done as his Father willed it.  So, when Jesus uttered the words, “It is finished,” he stated that every little and last thing was done to perfection.  Not a single jot or tittle of God’s Law was bypassed; rather, every jot and tittle was fulfilled. 

     What this means for you is that there are no extra chores or challenges you must complete to be assured of eternal life.  There are no unpaid debts.  Everything God has demanded, he has received from Jesus. 

     “It is finished!”  This word Jesus uttered just before he died.  It is the word we cling to when we face death.  Because of this word, we do not have to invent virtues that we do not have.  Nor do we have to convince God and ourselves that our sins are excusable.  Are we sinners?  Yes, and Jesus came to save sinners.  Are we perfect?  No, but Jesus applies his holiness to us.  Jesus has removed from us all that condemns, and Jesus gives us all that saves. 

     “It is finished!”  The perfect life has been lived.  The cursed death has been died.  The sins of the world have been paid for.  Everything Jesus ever did was done with willful intention, with careful attention, and complete perfection. 

Sermon -- Good Friday Tenebrae: The Third Word (April 3, 2026)

Good Shepherd celebrated a Tenebrae service in which we heard the seven words from the cross, followed by a brief homily on each word.  

THE THIRD WORD — John 19:25-27

     When God created the world, he also created vocations for us to fill.  The second table of the Law says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Our vocations are the practical ways we do this.

     The first commandment in the second table is “Honor your father and mother.”  The family relationship is the most basic vocation in the world.  No one comes into the world without a father or a mother.  Children are taught to honor, serve, and obey their parents.  While the age of children may alter how they honor, serve, and obey their parents, the 4^th Commandment is never abolished.

     Even while he hung from the cross—weakened from the scourging, in agony from the nails, tormented by divine wrath—Jesus fulfilled his vocation as the firstborn son of Mary.  He kept the Commandment when we might have excused him because of his sufferings.  Nevertheless, he loved his mother.  He assured her that she would be cared for.

     Jesus had brothers, probably step-brothers, who could have taken up the obligation to care for Mary.  Instead, Jesus gave this responsibility to the apostle John.  John took her into his home and cared for her physical well-being. 

     But Jesus’ ultimate desire was for her eternal well-being.  He was dying for her sins.  He entrusted her to the apostle who would preach forgiveness, administer the Lord’s Supper, and absolve her in the stead and by the command of Jesus.  In this way, Jesus fulfilled his vocation as her faithful son and her faithful Savior.

     The Commandment is fulfilled by Jesus’ obedience.  The sins of abusive or negligent parents and the sins of disrespectful or rebellious children are paid for by Jesus’ death.  He reconciles to the heavenly Father.  We are adopted into his holy family.  We are gathered into the communion of saints.

Sermon -- Good Friday Tenebrae: The Second Word (April 3, 2026)

Good Shepherd celebrated a Tenebrae service in which we heard the seven words from the cross, followed by a brief homily on each word.  

THE SECOND WORD: Luke 23:38-43

     When Jesus was suspended upon the cross, “those who passed by ridiculed him…  In the same way, the chief priests along with the experts in the law mocked him among themselves” (Mark 15:29,31).  That does not surprise us.  But then Mark noted, “Those who were crucified with him also insulted him” (Mark 15:32). 

     Some people who sit on death row develop a sense of regret.  Hardened criminals go to the death chamber breathing out obscenities and cursing everyone within ear shot.  One criminal seems to have moved from one camp to the opposite.  He began the day with curses.  At least he could find some camaraderie among those who mocked Jesus, right?  But then came the change.  Why?

     Consider the words by which people mocked Jesus.  “He saved others.  Let him save himself, if this is the Christ of God, the Chosen One!  If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” (Luke 23:35,37)!  The mockers considered these claims worthy of scorn.  The criminal considered them worthy of further consideration.  And upon his consideration, he recognized that everything they said about Jesus was true.  He is the Christ.  He is the Son of God.  He is the King who has come to save his people and establish an everlasting kingdom.

     This criminal had given up all pretenses.  He would not pretend to be anything other than what he was—a sinner who was getting what he deserved.  But he saw that Jesus is the Righteous One.  Jesus had saved others.  Would Jesus save such a wretch as he was?  He asked Jesus for one thing: Remember me. 

     Whenever the Lord remembers in Scripture, he acts to save.  And that is exactly what Jesus came to do.  Jesus was mindful of sinners and took the curse of all, no matter what was on their record.  He died for the mockers, malefactors, and all mortals.  Therefore, we pray with the criminal: “Jesus, you have come to establish a kingdom.  That means you will live again to reign over it.  Remember me in your gracious reign.”

     The Lord Jesus would remember him.  The Lord Jesus is mindful of you, too.  You, too, will be with him in Paradise.