Can you imagine your worst day of your life? You know, that day that everything went wrong. You came out to leave for work and you had flat tire, you were late for work, your appointments didn't go well, and you had an accident on your way home. I would not call that day "good."
So, from a human perspective, the day we call "Good Friday" wasn't so good for Jesus. He was betrayed by one of His disciples, He was denied by other disciples, and He was traded for a notorious criminal to His death. He was put on a cruel cross as a sinner, but in actuality, He was pure and innocent. The only sin present on that cross were ours. During the six hour ordeal Jesus suffered on the cross, He proclaimed, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46) Now, from our vantage point, it doesn't seem too good at all.
Yet, as consider Good Friday, what we see on the surface is not what makes it good. It is good in that the Son of God was completely obedient to the point of the cross. Though He prayed that His Father would change His mind as to the progress towards the cross, He was willing to do His Father's will. It is good that He demonstrated this obedient attitude.
And, as we consider Good Friday it is good for all that it provides for lost sinners. Justification, redemption, salvation and reconciliation are just a few of the things we receive because of the work of Christ on the cross. Without Good Friday we would never have any good days! We can praise His Name for all He provided for us on that Good Friday.
Of course, as we move toward Easter Sunday, we also know that Good Friday would not have been good if it hadn't been for Easter Sunday. The resurrection of Jesus is the seal of our salvation. By it the Father showed He had approved of the work of His Son. So, praise the Lord for Good Friday.
How many of us while growing up looked forward to Friday? I know I did. I would complete each Friday by saying, “Thank goodness it’s Friday!” I was so glad another week of school was over. The weekend was beckoning me and I was ready for FUN. Mondays were just not as joyful. Fridays; sometimes they were really good for me.
One particular Friday in human history has been called “Good Friday.” If we didn’t know better we might conclude some really exciting event happened on that Friday. We might decide it is so called because a happy event happened. I doubt many of us, if any of us, would call the day a loved one died as a good day. It is, rather, a day of sorrow, mourning and pain. Good? I don’t think so.
Can anyone imagine calling “good” a day on which they were beaten, rejected, and died? Our enemies might call that day “good.” But, if we had a chance I doubt that is what we would call it. Yet, the day on which Jesus Christ died for lost sinners, paying the penalty of death and separation from HIs Father, we call it good. So, for whom is this day good?
To be exchanged for a murdering, thieving, rebel isn’t good. To die for his crimes wouldn’t be good. To be spit upon by a crowd of hecklers wouldn’t be good. To see your friends deny they know you wouldn’t be good. To have one you considered a close friend betray you to killers wouldn’t be good. To be nailed to a wooden cross to die a slow excruciating death would not be good. So, why do we call it good?
It was good because Jesus willingly followed His Father’s will. It is good because He obeyed His Father in the face of death. It is good because His Father had already declared that Jesus was “His beloved Son in whom He was well pleased.” It was good because even though the perpetrators didn’t know it, they were part of God’s plan. It was good because so many prophecies from the Old Testament were fulfilled that Friday. It was good because this one Lamb would provide redemption for so many. It might not have been so good for Jesus, but it was GREAT for us.
Today you need to stop to reflect upon the events of that day. You and I need to contemplate how horrible it must have been, how painful and how humiliating it must have been. Take time to consider the Gospel chapters that tell the story. Meditate upon Hebrews 12:1-3. Think about what the writer means when he says, “..endured…despising…shame…hostility…” Go back to reread the passages that relate Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Ask yourself, where would I be if I was part of the story? Would you do better than they did? Would run and hide or stand up? Would any of us be Judas? Do we secretly posses a heart of stone? What would come out of our mouth? What?
But, as the now famous saying goes, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s comin’.”
Good Friday? Not so much for Jesus, but so much for us. Don’t finish today without taking some time to give thanks to your Saviour for providing you with redemption.
