New Life Bible Fellowship Church
Good Friday 2025
  • Lamb Of God
  • Calvary Covers It All

  • Introduction:

    We call this day Good Friday, and some may wonder why it’s called that since it is a day we remember death, and in particular, the death of Jesus our Lord. Well, we hope to answer that as we continue in our Passion Week series entitled, the Power of the Passion, in which we began this past Sunday with the Preparation for the Passion, and saw Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, providing a clear declaration through the fulfilled prophecy of the prophet Zechariah, that he was their Messiah, the Son of David, and heralded by the people as the one who had been promised from the Old Testament to bring salvation.
    But, as they soon found out, that salvation was not like what they had hoped, for his entrance into Jerusalem was not as a conquering hero ready to free them politically from Roman rule, but as a man of peace, humble and riding on a donkey. Unbeknownst to the people, was that this truly was their Messiah, and the peace that he would bring would be a peace between God and man, a peace in which sinful man could be reconciled to a Holy God, which according to the Old Testament, could only be done through a substitutionary sacrifice, a blood sacrifice of an innocent lamb for a guilty man.
    This is what we will look at in detail this evening, for the context of this evening’s message is during the great Jewish celebration of Passover, which if you remember, from Exodus 11 and 12, was a commemoration built around the 10th plague in Egypt which was the final plague in which God would free his people Israel from the oppressive slavery of Egypt. Up to this point, God had sent 9 plagues on Egypt, and with each one he would demand through Moses that Pharaoh must let his people go. Each plague would come and go until the final one, this 10th plague, the most severe of all, would bring about the death of all the first born in Egypt by God’s angel of death. This angel in one night would destroy all the first born, except those who, in obedience to God, would sacrifice a lamb, an innocent lamb, and place its blood over the lintel (door jam) and two door post, providing a display for the angel of death to view, as he flew over that home, he would see that innocent blood that was poured out for the guilty sinners within that household and would, as a result pass over that house.
    This celebration became known as the Passover, and was to be continually celebrated year after year by sacrificing a lamb along with unleavened bread, to remember the means in which Holy God would except sinners, through this Passover Lamb. This is where we begin this evening, for Jesus, the one heralded by the crowd as their Messiah, the Son of David, would also become their final Passover Lamb of the Passion.

    Text: Mark 14:12-25

    Mark 14:12–25 ESV
    12 And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” 13 And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” 16 And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. 17 And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” 19 They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me. 21 For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.” 22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

    Main Idea: Because Jesus is the Final Passover Lamb, He alone has provided the final sacrifice so that God’s angel of eternal death will passover those who believe forever.

    I. Passover Preparation (12-16)

    (12) And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?”
    The first day of Unleavened Bread (Ex. 12:15, 18) Mark is referring to Nisan 14 (Thursday). (Nisan usually falls somewhere in March/April in the Gregorian calendar; cf. note on Matt. 26:17; and The Hebrew Calendar.) The Passover lamb is to be eaten within the walls of Jerusalem, and was thus one of four required feasts for all Jewish males to attend.
    Unleavened Bread. (celebrated for 7 days) This feast symbolized the removal of sin in the life of Israelite believers (Ex. 12:14–20). The Passover meal fell on the first day of this feast (v. 1 note; Ex. 12:14, 15), the fourteenth day after the beginning of the Jewish year (Ex. 12:6).
    Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the Passover? Preparations for the meal have to be made inconspicuously, as Jesus is already a marked target.
    (13) And he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him,
    The disciples would be met by a man recognized by his carrying a jar of water—something one would expect a woman to be doing. The man would be looking for them and would lead them to the place for their Passover meal. The secretive nature of the meeting suggests that Jesus was seeking privacy.
    (14) and wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ (15) And he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; there prepare for us.” (16) And the disciples set out and went to the city and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.
    just as he had told them. Either Jesus had made prior arrangements with friends in Jerusalem in order to avoid the Jewish authorities, or the encounter was a miraculous work of God.
    So we see first of all the Passover Preparation, but something happened during that dinner that was very significant as Jesus reveals the…

    II. Passover Betrayal (17-21)

    (17) And when it was evening, he came with the twelve.
    with the twelve. The Gospels record that those present at this high point in the ministry of Jesus were the twelve He had chosen at the beginning (cf. 3:14). According to Luke 22:30, at this time Jesus announced their future ministry as judges of the new people of God. They were to be the witnesses at the inauguration of the new covenant.
    After sunset, with the beginning of Nisan 15, the Passover meal begins. The celebrants remember the beginning of Israel’s deliverance from slavery, when the Lord brought judgment by killing the firstborn in every Egyptian house but “passed over” the Israelite houses where the blood of the Passover lamb had been applied (Ex. 12:7, 12–13, 22–28). Those who celebrate the Passover also look forward to the ultimate liberation (Ex. 12:42; cf. note on John 2:13). From now on, Jesus’ blood will protect from judgment those who take refuge in him (1 Cor. 5:7).
    1 Corinthians 5:7 ESV
    7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
    (18) And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
    reclined at table. In formal dining, guests reclined on a couch that stretched around three sides of a room. The host took the center seat at a U-shaped series of low tables, surrounded by the most honored guests on either side, with the guests’ heads reclining toward the tables and their feet toward the wall.
    “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. - Despite intimate fellowship, Judas will betray his master (Ps. 41:9).
    Psalm 41:9 ESV
    9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
    (19) They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, “Is it I?” - to realize that it could be one of them who had been with Jesus for over three years, was more then they could handle.
    (20) He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the dish with me.
    one of the twelve. Jesus’ prediction of the betrayal comes from His intimate knowledge of Judas, and also from His understanding of the Scriptures (v. 21; Ps. 41:9).
    dipping bread into the dish with me. Bread or meat was dipped into a central bowl of sauce. The detail emphasizes the deep personal betrayal, since table fellowship was a token of genuine friendship.
    (21) For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
    Jesus confirms that the Son of Man goes as it is written (cf. Ps. 55:13–14).
    Psalm 55:12–14 ESV
    12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. 14 We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng.
    but woe to that man. Despite the fact that the Scriptures have predicted that Jesus would suffer a substitutionary death, Judas is responsible for his evil deed. This is one of many scriptures that simultaneously affirm God’s sovereign ordering of all events and also human responsibility for those events.
    We’ve seen the Passover Preparation, in which Jesus prepares to celebrate with his disciples this glorious symbol of his purpose, and the revelation by Jesus at this celebration of the Passover Betrayal, now we will look at the significance of this event, one in which his disciples would remember and be transformed by, the…

    III. Passover Symbol (22-25)

    (22) And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”
    as they were eating. The sacramental meal of the new covenant is naturally related to and grows out of that of the old. Jesus takes two elements of the Passover meal, unleavened bread and wine, to express His new work of redemption.
    Remember, up to this point, this was a yearly celebration, commemorating the necessity of this sacrifice of an innocent lamb, for Passover, and everyday in the temple, many sacrifices were made of other innocent lambs and goats, and bulls, and pigeons, so that sins of man could be atoned for, but now, something new, something eternal, something supernatural, something divinely powerful was about to happen…
    Jesus declares this is my body while he is still in his body, thus establishing a particular connection with bread as representing his own, once-and-for-all sacrifice.
    (23) And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it.
    he took a cup. The communion wine corresponds to the covenant-establishing, once-and-for-all shed blood of Jesus as atonement for many.
    (24) And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
    my blood. In the original Passover the blood of the lamb protected the Israelites from death (Ex. 12:23, 30). The phrase blood of the covenant comes from Ex. 24:8, and recalls that biblical covenants are sealed in blood.
    Exodus 24:8 ESV
    8 And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”
    poured out for many. Jesus is alluding to Is. 53:12 where the Servant of the Lord “poured out His soul to death” and “bore the sin of many.”
    Isaiah 53:12 ESV
    12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
    (25) Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
    I will not drink. Jesus is hereby predicting the imminence of His death.
    that day when I drink it new. Jesus is confident that his impending death does not jeopardize his celebration as exalted Lord in the future kingdom of God, expressing His faith in God who will not abandon Him in death.
    Jesus death was immanent, it must happen, just as the passover lamb was killed year after year, Jesus, the final Passover Lamb of the Passion, must himself be killed in order for this New Covenant of Atonement to be ratified, This we see later in Mark’s gospel, as Jesus was, betrayed, flogged, mocked and underwent a fake trial, causing him to be handed over to be crucified as we pick it up in Mark 15…
    Mark 15:33–39 ESV
    33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
    Thus Jesus did die and as a symbol of the New Covenant that was ratified through his blood, the curtain in the temple, that separated sinful man from Holy God, was torn apart, showing the New Covenant access to God through Christ’s blood.

    So What?

    Do we understand that the “good” in Good Friday comes from the reality that the Passover Lamb of the Passion, Jesus Christ, died in our place, taking the wrath of God the Father’s judgment upon him rather then us?
    Do we understand, that it was our sin that put Christ on the cross?
    Yes, I know it was the hatred of the religious leaders, through the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, by means of the Roman government that crucified Christ, however, they were just instruments in the hands of the God-Head, used to implement God’s eternal covenant of redemption, planned in eternity past…but it was our sin that made it necessary for all this to happen.
    Do we also understand the Jesus, the Passover Lamb of the Passion, was unlike all the other sacrificial lambs, for he was and is eternal God?
    Therefore, having ratified the eternal covenant of redemption through his blood, he with the ultimate display of the Power of the Passion, rose from the dead…but this is the glorious message for Sunday as we finally see the Proclamation from the Passion.
  • The Old Rugged Cross
New Life Bible Fellowship Church
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(302) 945-8145
https://newlifebfcde.org
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