Isaiah 52:13—53:12; Psalm 22; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 18:1—19:42
John’s Passion on this Good Friday brings us a Jesus who sounds almost too calm and collected compared to the one in Luke’s narrative. Perhaps that is part of what the evangelist wants to convey. He begins by telling us that upon the arrival of the hell that Judas brings, Jesus is fully aware of what is about to happen to him (18:1-4). He immediately raises his hand, points to himself, and presents his calling card. Me, Jesus of Nazareth, I AM he (5). The power of God is about to manifest in ways never seen before. Nonetheless, everything Jesus is about to become, or already is, we, mere mortals, will prove not to be.
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant Song may bring chills to the bones of the Christian believers. If Isaiah was prophesying about our Messiah, then he took the punishment that made us whole, and through his wounds we are healed, all because we have gone astray (53:5-6). Maybe dread can be transformed into wonder if we realize that I AM, Godself, was in charge and hanging from that cross.
The author of Hebrews reminds us that all this is part of the new thing God promised to do (10:16-18; see also Jeremiah 31:31-34). What God is about to accomplish from the cross to the empty tomb will fire up the kind of faith has the power to renew our hearts and minds (22) and to send the believer into the world as a collective of proclaimers of love and good news through words and actions (23-25).
The psalmist declares:
“To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;
before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
and I shall live for him.
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it (Psalm 22: 29-31, NRSVue).”
Bridging Faith 