[Propertalk] READINGS for GOOD FRIDAY

[Charles Wohlers]

The following are the readings for the Good Friday, April 10, 2009, 
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, 
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All 
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the 
Bible. Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries 
are identical to the RCL for this day.



OLD TESTAMENT:   Isaiah 52: 13 - 53: 12   (all)

Isai 52:13 (NRSV) See, my servant shall prosper;
he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high.
14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him
--so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of mortals-- 
15 so he shall startle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
53:1 Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
4 Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
9 They made his grave with the wicked
and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
11 Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.


PSALM 22   (RCL)
Psalm 22: 1 - 18   (Can. BAS)
Psalm 22:1-10 (11-22)   (C of E)

Psal 22:1 (NRSV) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3 Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
4 In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6 But I am a worm, and not human;
scorned by others, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8 "Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver-- 
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!"
9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother's breast.
10 On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12 Many bulls encircle me,
strong bulls of Ba'shan surround me;
13 they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs are all around me;
a company of evildoers encircles me.
My hands and feet have shriveled;
17 I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18 they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But you, O LORD, do not be far away!
O my help, come quickly to my aid!
20 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21 Save me from the mouth of the lion!
>From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.
22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

Verse numbering in your Psalter may be different from the above.


Psalm 31: 1, 5, 11, 12, 14 - 16, 24   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 31:1 (NRSV) In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror {Cn: Heb [exceedingly]} to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.

14 But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, "You are my God."
15 My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.

Note: verse numbering in the RC Bible is one greater than the above


NEW TESTAMENT:  Hebrews 10: 16 - 25   (RCL)

Hebr 10:1 (NRSV) Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come 
and not the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same 
sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those 
who approach. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased being offered, since 
the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer have any 
consciousness of sin? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin 
year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to 
take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
"Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, "See, God, I have come to do your will, O God'
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me)."
8 When he said above, "You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in 
sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings" (these are 
offered according to the law), 9 then he added, "See, I have come to do your 
will." He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is 
by God's will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body 
of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and 
again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ 
had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, "he sat down at the 
right hand of God," 13 and since then has been waiting "until his enemies 
would be made a footstool for his feet." 14 For by a single offering he has 
perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also 
testifies to us, for after saying,
16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds,"
17 he also adds,
"I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for 
sin.
19 Therefore, my friends, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by 
the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us 
through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), 21 and since we have a 
great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with a true heart in 
full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil 
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast to the 
confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is 
faithful. 24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good 
deeds, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but 
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.


Hebrews 4: 14 - 16, 5: 7 - 9   (Roman Catholic, alt. RCL)

Hebr 4:14 (NRSV) Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed 
through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our 
confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize 
with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as 
we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace 
with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time 
of need.

5:7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, 
with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, 
and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Although he was a 
Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; 9 and having been made 
perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,


GOSPEL:   John 18: 1 - 19: 42   (RCL, Roman Catholic)
                     John (18: 1 - 19: 16) 17 - 30 (31 - 42)   (Can. BAS)

John 18:1 (NRSV) After Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his 
disciples across the Kid'ron valley to a place where there was a garden, 
which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew 
the place, because Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas 
brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the chief priests 
and the Phar'isees, and they came there with lanterns and torches and 
weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that was to happen to him, came forward 
and asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" 5 They answered, "Jesus of 
Nazareth." Jesus replied, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing 
with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they stepped back and fell 
to the ground. 7 Again he asked them, "Whom are you looking for?" And they 
said, "Jesus of Nazareth." 8 Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So if 
you are looking for me, let these men go." 9 This was to fulfill the word 
that he had spoken, "I did not lose a single one of those whom you gave me." 
10 Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest's 
slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave's name was Mal'chus. 11 Jesus 
said to Peter, "Put your sword back into its sheath. Am I not to drink the 
cup that the Father has given me?"
12 So the soldiers, their officer, and the Jewish police arrested Jesus and 
bound him. 13 First they took him to An'nas, who was the father-in-law of 
Ca'iaphas, the high priest that year. 14 Ca'iaphas was the one who had 
advised the Jews that it was better to have one person die for the people.
15 Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Since that disciple was 
known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the courtyard of the high 
priest, 16 but Peter was standing outside at the gate. So the other 
disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out, spoke to the woman who 
guarded the gate, and brought Peter in. 17 The woman said to Peter, "You are 
not also one of this man's disciples, are you?" He said, "I am not." 18 Now 
the slaves and the police had made a charcoal fire because it was cold, and 
they were standing around it and warming themselves. Peter also was standing 
with them and warming himself.
19 Then the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his 
teaching. 20 Jesus answered, "I have spoken openly to the world; I have 
always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all the Jews come 
together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who 
heard what I said to them; they know what I said." 22 When he had said this, 
one of the police standing nearby struck Jesus on the face, saying, "Is that 
how you answer the high priest?" 23 Jesus answered, "If I have spoken 
wrongly, testify to the wrong. But if I have spoken rightly, why do you 
strike me?" 24 Then An'nas sent him bound to Ca'iaphas the high priest.
25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. They asked him, "You 
are not also one of his disciples, are you?" He denied it and said, "I am 
not." 26 One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose 
ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" 27 
Again Peter denied it, and at that moment the cock crowed.
28 Then they took Jesus from Ca'iaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was 
early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as 
to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. 29 So Pilate 
went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" 
30 They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed 
him over to you." 31 Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him 
according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put 
anyone to death." 32 (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he 
indicated the kind of death he was to die.)
33 Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked 
him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" 34 Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on 
your own, or did others tell you about me?" 35 Pilate replied, "I am not a 
Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. 
What have you done?" 36 Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. 
If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep 
me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from 
here." 37 Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say 
that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, 
to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my 
voice." 38 Pilate asked him, "What is truth?"
After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find 
no case against him. 39 But you have a custom that I release someone for you 
at the Passover. Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?" 40 
They shouted in reply, "Not this man, but Barab'bas!" Now Barab'bas was a 
bandit. 19:1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 And the soldiers 
wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they dressed him in a 
purple robe. 3 They kept coming up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 
and striking him on the face. 4 Pilate went out again and said to them, 
"Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no case 
against him." 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the 
purple robe. Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" 6 When the chief 
priests and the police saw him, they shouted, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" 
Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him; I find no case 
against him." 7 The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and according to that 
law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God."
8 Now when Pilate heard this, he was more afraid than ever. 9 He entered his 
headquarters again and asked Jesus, "Where are you from?" But Jesus gave him 
no answer. 10 Pilate therefore said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? 
Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?" 
11 Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me unless it had been 
given you from above; therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty 
of a greater sin." 12 From then on Pilate tried to release him, but the Jews 
cried out, "If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor. 
Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor."
13 When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus outside and sat on the 
judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement, or in Hebrew Gab'batha. 
14 Now it was the day of Preparation for the Passover; and it was about 
noon. He said to the Jews, "Here is your King!" 15 They cried out, "Away 
with him! Away with him! Crucify him!" Pilate asked them, "Shall I crucify 
your King?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but the emperor." 
16 Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.
So they took Jesus; 17 and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to 
what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Gol'gotha. 
18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, 
with Jesus between them. 19 Pilate also had an inscription written and put 
on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." 20 Many of 
the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified 
was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. 21 
Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, "The King 
of the Jews,' but, "This man said, I am King of the Jews.'" 22 Pilate 
answered, "What I have written I have written." 23 When the soldiers had 
crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one 
for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, 
woven in one piece from the top. 24 So they said to one another, "Let us not 
tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it." This was to fulfill 
what the scripture says,
"They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots."
25 And that is what the soldiers did.
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his 
mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clo'pas, and Mary Mag'dalene. 26 When 
Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he 
said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." 27 Then he said to the 
disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her 
into his own home.
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order 
to fulfill the scripture), "I am thirsty." 29 A jar full of sour wine was 
standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop 
and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It 
is finished." Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, the Jews did not want the bodies 
left on the cross during the sabbath, especially because that sabbath was a 
day of great solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the 
crucified men broken and the bodies removed. 32 Then the soldiers came and 
broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with 
him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they 
did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced his side 
with a spear, and at once blood and water came out. 35 (He who saw this has 
testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows 
that he tells the truth.) 36 These things occurred so that the scripture 
might be fulfilled, "None of his bones shall be broken." 37 And again 
another passage of scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have 
pierced."
38 After these things, Joseph of Arimathe'a, who was a disciple of Jesus, 
though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him 
take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and 
removed his body. 39 Nicode'mus, who had at first come to Jesus by night, 
also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, weighing about a hundred 
pounds. 40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in 
linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now there was a 
garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a 
new tomb in which no one had ever been laid. 42 And so, because it was the 
Jewish day of Preparation, and the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.



Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu