Maundy Thursday and Good Friday Last night we went to Maundy Thursday service at Messiah. There will be no benediction until the feast of the resurrection on Sunday. Today we have the Tre Ore and Good Friday Vespers.

38. The Benediction Maundy Thursday

Read: Numbers 6:22-27 (If you like, re-read Luke 22:7-20 and review devotion
16)

"So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.."
(Num. 6:27)

The conclusion of the Divine Service takes us back to the tabernacle one
more time. The finishing touches had just been added at the start of Numbers,
and the people were preparing for its consecration. This took place over twelve
days, after which we read: Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting
to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the
mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two
cherubim; thus He spoke to him (Num. 7:89). As Israel celebrated the Passover
(!) shortly thereafter, the cloud covered the tabernacle day and night (Num.
9:15-16). Note the progression: God had made Israel His people and delivered
them by sacrifice (the Passover lamb); now He was dwelling among them, in the
Holy of Holies, for their good.

And as the Israelites prepared to dedicate the temple, the Lord gave the
blessing which Aaron and his sons were to speak to the people: “The Lord bless
Thee and keep Thee; the Lord make His face to shine upon Thee and be
gracious unto Thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon Thee, and give Thee
peace” (Num. 6:24-27). The Lord's face was turned toward His people: He had
them in His sight, to watch over them, nearby from the tabernacle. And by this
blessing, He put His name on them: He'd called them, saved them, and they were
His.

At a Passover centuries later, Jesus ate with His disciples. He had called
them to be His own, and in a few short hours would save them—and all the
world—by His sacrifice on the cross. But again, although He would die, then
rise, then ascend into heaven, He would not be far from His people. He
instituted a new tabernacle that night, establishing that His face would be toward
His people in, with and under bread and wine. He'd called them, saved them,
put His name on them. They were His, and He would not forsake them.
Today, the Divine Service begins with the Invocation (see devotion #28),
taking us back to Holy Baptism: there, the Lord put His name on you, making
you His people. The Sacrifice has been made for your sins at the cross, and so
you remain His people; therefore, the Lord turns His face toward you and feeds
you His holy Supper and gives you peace.

This is the heartbeat of the Christian's life. The Lord has called you as His
own. He continues to speak His life-giving Word. He continues to feed you His
body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. By these means of grace, He is near
to you. He declares, “I have called you by the Gospel and made you My own. I
look upon you with favor and will not let you go. I am not far away in time of
trouble, for I give you My Word: by these means of grace, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.”

39. A Most Terrifying Absence Good Friday

Read: Mark 15:22-39

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eloi, Eloi,
lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, My God, why have You
forsaken Me?" (Mk. 15:34)

There He is, on the cross. It's the culmination of the mystery of the
Incarnation: for if it is beyond our comprehension that the Son of God became
flesh, both human and divine, then it is even more dumbfounding that the Son of
God allows Himself to be put to death by sinful man. But there He is, God
present and dying on the cross.

Yet, at the same time, there He isn't. As the Son hangs on the cross, present
there for your salvation, His Father turns His face away. Father and Son have
been in communion with each other from eternity, but that endless fellowship is
broken at the cross. While Jesus suffers physical death for you, this is the
greater death that He dies—He is separated from His Father in heaven, deprived
of His presence. Because His Father is absent, there is nothing there but death.
Because Jesus is forsaken by His Father at Calvary, that cross truly is His hell,
fully deprived of the Father's presence and grace.

That eternity of hell comes to an end for the Lord Jesus, however. Before
He breathes His last, it is finished, and He commends His spirit into His Father's
hands before the temple curtain is torn, top to bottom.

“It is finished,” that judgment for you and me. There's no more price to be
paid.

What great comfort when you are haunted by guilt. Whether it's a
conscience that revisits mistakes or the devil's whispers that some affliction is
God's revenge, you are likely to be tempted to believe sometimes that God is
angry with you. You will likely wonder at times if the Lord is punishing you for
some sin, and thus has abandoned you to the dust. At such times look to the
cross: see the Son present there for you, even as His Father forsakes Him.
Christ's death is sufficient for all of your sins.

Therefore, God the Father declares to you, “You can be certain that I am not
angry with you. Why? Because I took out all of my perfect, righteous anger on
My Son at the cross. I have no wrath left for your sins, because it was finished
there. Therefore, I use all things for your good. I have called you in Baptism to
be My beloved child. I give you life by My Word even as I feed you with My
Supper. I am not far away, and I have not forsaken you; to be angry with you
now, My beloved child, would be to forsake My Son and His Sacrifice again.
No, My wrath is spent, and you are forgiven.”

As you look to the cross for such relief, don't forget that temple curtain.
That thick veil, which walled off the Most Holy Place, was torn by God, top to
bottom. This testifies that the Sacrifice has been made, that there is no longer
need for a mediator between God and man, because Christ is our high priest.
However, it proclaims something else: God is no longer present in that Holy of
Holies. In this New Testament He is present with His people in His means of
grace. There He is, near you, for you; and will not forsake you.  ¶ 4/06/2007 06:37:00 AM 0 Comments