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Good Friday
Scripture: John 19:16b-30
Today is Good Friday.
On a personal level, I have always felt a link with Good Friday. Although my birthday is still several days away, seventy-two years ago, the date of my birth and Good Friday fell on the same day. I don’t remember how old I was when my mother first revealed that fact to me, but what I do know is that every birthday and every Good Friday since that time, I have reflected on what it meant to be born on the same day that Jesus died.
Of course, on a much deeper and more universal level, all of us are linked with Good Friday. Regardless of our ethnic background, religious affiliation, economic status, geographic location, or any of the other ways we have a tendency to categorize people, we cannot escape Good Friday. Good Friday is that day that affected all of us, whether we are aware of it or not!
Good Friday is that day when we are confronted with the reality of what sin can do. Most of us don’t like to talk or even reflect much on sin. We like to think we have evolved beyond that, or at the very least feel such an ugly subject is not polite to talk about in public. But truth be known, whether through commission or omission, whether as a result of some act, attitude, addiction, comment, or simply the result of turning a blind eye to the needs of others, we all fall short of the glory of God. On Good Friday, we are reminded of what all that sin together can do.
On Good Friday, we are reminded that sin is what…
- Betrayed Jesus into the hands of the soldiers…
- Put a whip into the hands of those who flogged him…
- Humiliated him with a crown of thorns on his head…
- Pierced his heart with the words, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself…
- Forced him to carry the cross to Calvary…
- Nailed his hands and his feet to the crossbeams…
- Lifted the vile sponge filled with vulgar vinegar to his lips…
- Caused people to stand by idly as Jesus breathed his last breath.
The hymn writer asks the question, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” And in one sense, no, we were not there. But in another sense, we were there. Every time we opt for hatred rather than love, resentment rather than forgiveness, gossip rather than compassion, deception rather than truth, selfishness rather than generosity, meanness rather than graciousness, and power rather than humility, the shadow of the cross indicts us. So, yes! I was there!… And so were you!
But there is more. Ultimately, the cross is not bad news. It is good news. That is why we call it “Good” Friday. On Good Friday, we are reminded of the depth of God’s love. On Good Friday, God announces to the world for all eternity, “My love is so great there is no length to which I am unwilling to go, even to the point of allowing my Son to suffer and die, so that you will know how much you matter to me.”
On Good Friday, God announces that redemption is available to all. On Good Friday, God declares, “If I can turn something as ugly as a cross into the symbol of salvation, think what I can do for you.”
So, on this Good Friday, I invite you to join me in gazing at the cross. As you observe how the pain contorts the face of Jesus, think of your sin. But once you have done so, I invite you to lay your sins at the foot of the cross and hear Jesus as he says, “Father, forgive them…!”
Now, walk away a new person, feeling forgiven and loved. And prepare to run to the empty tomb on Easter Sunday and hear for yourselves the most glorious news the world has ever heard.
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