Good Friday: Some Thoughts

"And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. 34 Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' And they divided His garments and cast lots. 35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, 'He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.' 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, 'If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.' 38 And an inscription also was written over Him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.' 40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, 'Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.' 42 Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' 43 And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.' 44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, 'Certainly this was a righteous Man!' 48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. 48 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things." Luke 23:33-49

I find it amazing, that people are still sneering at our Lord even today. I was just talking to a lady last night at the video store who was going on and on about "those Christians," until I told her I was a pastor. She started back-pedaling pretty fast. She couldn't make enough excuses for what she said, fast enough. On the first "Good Friday," the crowd that had gathered sneered. The soldiers on the scene rolled dice, as it were, for Jesus' robe, and told Him that if He really was the King of the Jews, that He should save Himself. Even one of the thieves hanging there beside Him, our Lord and Savior, would not stop his mockery, while Jesus was dying on the cross, the precious blood streaming down. I am amazed that even though the people have changed, things are still the same.

Another thought I have had about "Good Friday" is this: why do they call it "Good?" There are lots of answers, ranging from "the end result is good, is it not" to "it used to be called 'God's Friday' but over time there was an adding of an 'o' so now it is called Good Friday." How ever it got its name, in my mind there is nothing "good" about brutally murdering a man on a cross, except the ensuing result. We have made such a common thing this cross of Christ. We make jewelry out of it. We make a lot of things in the form or shape of a cross. We even try to make it attractive to some in an attempt to draw them into our churches. But the cross of Christ was a place of brutality and murder.

Someone once asked the question, "What was Jesus doing up there on the cross?" He was subbing for you and me. He was taking our place. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death...." And in Romans 3:23 it says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." A lot of times we place the emphasis of that verse on the "all" and it should be placed on the "sinned." We are all guilty, and we are all going to die- unless there is a substitute for us. Someone must be willing to give up their own life for your life, or their life for mine. That is what Jesus did on that cross, on April 3rd, 33 AD. He became the substitute for you and me. He took our place. He gave His life, so that we wouldn't have to. So that is what happened at 3:00 p.m. on that Friday so long ago. The Savior of the world gave up His life as substitutionary atonement to reconcile man and God. All we have to do is accept it. And now, even though it is Friday, we can have hope, because Sunday is coming! Shalom.