Watch the Lamb! (Good Friday)



Good Friday Online Service | April 3, 2026

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday. Children often ask us, "Why do we call the day Jesus died 'Good' Friday?" Death itself usually means separation, suffering, and pain. However, Jesus’ death is "good" for us because it gave us life. Although we cannot gather in person today due to the weather, I believe we are gathered as one through the Holy Spirit, who works beyond any physical location.

I feel a bit of sadness holding my last Good Friday service with you online. But I believe God is speaking to us today—telling us that wherever we may be in the future, we will always be one in Him. Originally, I planned to walk the "Way of the Cross" with 16 readers. Instead, I invite you to meditate on this word from your own homes. If possible, please prepare a single candle to light during our time together. Lydia will assist me by reading the Holy Scriptures.

 


The Lamb in the sacrifices of Leviticus 

To understand why Jesus is our "Lamb," we must first look at the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Did you know that the very first book Jewish children are taught to memorize is Leviticus? It is because it contains the laws and virtues they must know as God's chosen people.

On the other hand, for us, we often get "stuck" at Leviticus whenever we try to read through the Bible! But this book contains the essential way to approach God. There are five main sacrifices: the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering, the Peace Offering, the Sin Offering, and the Guilt Offering. While the first three were voluntary, the Sin and Guilt offerings were mandatory. To fellowship and pray with God, people had to wash away their sins first.

 

Imputation: The Transfer of Sin

In those days, people had to bring a flawless animal from their home to the Temple, no matter how far away they lived. If the animal gained a blemish on the way, they had to go back and start over. Once they arrived at the Temple, the most critical process took place: "Imputation."

"He shall bring the bull to the entrance of the tent of meeting before the Lord and lay his hand on the head of the bull and kill the bull before the Lord." (Leviticus 4:4)

When you lay your hand on the animal's head and pray, your sins are transferred to the flawless animal, and the animal’s blamelessness is transferred to you. Without this process, it is just a slaughter; with it, it becomes a sacrifice. Furthermore, the sinner—not the priest—had to kill the animal and skin it themselves. How many of us could do that today? Through that gruesome process, people truly reflected on their sins, repented, and returned to God.

God wanted to turn that "contractual" relationship into a "Covenant of Grace." So, He sent His only Son to us as our Lamb. Isaiah prophesied this long ago:

"Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 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. 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." (Isaiah 53:4-6)

I remember my mother sharing this verse with me in Sunday School. When she explained how God laid our sins on Jesus, my heart burned with emotion. I truly felt that all my sins went to Jesus and I was made clean.

 


From the Manger to the Cross

We celebrate Jesus' coming as our Lamb at Christmas. He was born in a stable and lay in a manger. In those days, stone mangers were often used by priests to examine newborn lambs to ensure they were without blemish before being offered to God. From the very beginning, His birth pointed to His death. Then, John the Baptist shouted:

"The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'" (John 1:29)

Jesus shared His Last Supper during the Passover—the time when people applied the blood of a lamb to their doorposts to escape death. He confessed that He is our Passover Lamb. Through His blood, we escape the "wages of sin," which is death.

 

Prayer of Repentance: Imputing Our Sins

Today, we do not need to bring animals or kill them with our own hands. We only need to "transfer" our sins to the flawless Jesus through faith. There is no sin God cannot forgive.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Do you have sins that you still cannot forgive yourself for? I invite you to light your candle now as we stand at the foot of the Cross.




Let us repent and transfer our sins to Jesus:

On Good Friday, Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver by Judas Iscariot. Like Judas, we repent for the times we tested Jesus, failed to trust Him, and traded Him for our own greedy desires.

The disciple Peter, who swore he would never deny Jesus, ended up cursing and denying Him three times. Like Peter, we repent for the shameful times when we were too afraid to confess Jesus as our Lord before the world.

We remember Pilate, who knew the trial was unjust and that Jesus was innocent, yet washed his hands because he feared losing his status, wealth, and honor. He claimed to be innocent, but we confess in the Apostles' Creed every day that he is the one who killed Jesus. Like Pilate, we repent for failing to choose Jesus and choosing the honors and money of the world instead.

We see the soldiers who mercilessly struck Jesus with whips that had butterfly-shaped hooks, and who pressed a crown of thorns—like a mockery of a golden crown—onto His head. Like the soldiers, we confess and repent for our dirty sins of condemnation, judgment, mockery, and slander.

We hear the voices of the crowd who, just a few days ago, shouted "Hosanna," but are now shouting "Crucify Him!" Like that crowd, we repent for the times we were disappointed and resentful when Jesus did not act according to our will, "crucifying" Him in our hearts countless times.

We remember the criminal on the left who, unlike the one on the right who asked for forgiveness, cursed Jesus and kept a hardened heart until the end. Lord, like that criminal on the left, there are still hardened and unresolved knots in my heart. We repent for these stubborn hearts.

(Please take a moment of silence to transfer all our sins to Jesus, our Lamb.)

 

Jesus, who took all our sins upon Himself, has died on the cross. Our sins have died with Him. Please extinguish your candle now.

"When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30)

Our sins are over. This is a truly "Good" day because God's goodness and wholeness have been restored through Jesus. We can now fellowship with God and pray once again. I will conclude the service by sharing a poem shared by Nancy:

 

 

Three Men, Three Crosses, One Hill

One man cursed, one man prayed, one man promised.

One died condemned, one died forgiven, one died innocent.

One died in sin, one died to sin, one died for sin.

One was held by death, one was released by death, one conquered death.

One lost life, one gained life, one was Life.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

 Service 1

Service 2 

Watch the Lamb by Ray Boltz 

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