Here again are the words of Jesus in his prayer at the end of the Last Supper:

Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. (John 17:1-3)

Dearly beloved in Christ: Believe [the Good News about Jesus’ Death] tonight [Good Friday]. Take him into your heart and your life as he has taken you into his heart and into his eternal life.

Have innumerable troubles crowded in upon you? “If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” [(John 8:35-37)]

Have your sins overtaken you? “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” [(John 1:29)]

Does your heart fail you? “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life…. To all who receive him, who believe in his Name, he gives power to become children of God . . . we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 3:16; 1:12,14,17). As the Father has loved him, so has he loved us; dear friends, abide in his love tonight, tomorrow and for ever, for he alone is the Resurrection and the life (John 15:9; 11:25).

—The Rev’d Fleming Rutledge, The Undoing of Death: From Good Friday Sermons, 203-204