Good Friday Devotional Guide

¹ Now when morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people conferred together against Jesus to put Him to death; ² and they bound Him,
and led Him away and delivered Him to Pilate the governor. ...

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor questioned Him, saying, "Are You the King of the Jews?" And Jesus said to him, "It is as you say."

¹² And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.
¹³ Then Pilate said to Him, "Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?
¹⁴ And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge,
so the governor was quite amazed.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. ¹⁶ At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"¹⁸ For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.

¹⁹ While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly
in a dream because of Him."

²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death.

²¹ But the governor said to them, "Which of the two
do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas."

²² Pilate said to them, "Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"
They all said, "Crucify Him!"

²³ And he said, "Why, what evil has He done?"
But they kept shouting all the more, saying, "Crucify Him!"

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying,
"I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves."

²⁵ And all the people said, "His blood shall be on us and on our children!"

²⁶ Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged,
he handed Him over to be crucified.

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. ²⁸ They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. ²⁹ And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" ³⁰ They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. ³¹ After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3)

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone
who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins. (Acts 10:43)

Take a piece of paper and something with which to write, and ask God to reveal to you anything sinful in your life.  Write it down on this paper.  When you are done, confess your sins to God and write in bold letters across your paper, "PAID IN FULL! FORGIVEN."  
Thank God for His forgiveness.

Listen to the hammer as it rings on Calvary,
The nails that held Him captive liberate me;
You might say I’m callous when you see the joy in me,
But every blow was planned by God and taken willingly
Listen to the hammer ring and thank Jesus, listen to the hammer ring for He’s taken everything that was against us and nailed it to the cross.

Precious hands of Jesus that healed the sick and lame,
His touch was, O, so tender, now His hands are maimed;
And those feet they traveled over rough and dusty roads,
Now are bloodied by the nails that my Jesus chose

Listen to the hammer ring and thank Jesus, listen to the hammer ring for He’s taken everything that was against us and nailed it to the cross.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. (Ephesians 1:7)

An Easter Hymn asks,
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh. Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

Give thanks to God for your salvation.

I AM the Bread of Life 
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

I AM the Light of the World
 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

I AM the Door
Therefore, Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep…I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:7,9)

I AM the Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep…I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and my sheep know Me...." (John 10:11,14)

I AM the resurrection and the life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." (John 11:25)

I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

I AM the True Vine
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:1, 5)

What is the underlying theme in these statements? (Hint: Read John 1:4)
If Jesus is the Possessor and Giver of life what hope does that give to you today?