I've always been confused by the name "Good Friday" being given to the day we remember Jesus' crucifixion. It seems so strange to call the worst day in the history of humankind "good."
I received a fresh reminder at Church last night. What a profound time I had with the Lord remembering His sacrifice for me. Won't you remember with me today, as we approach Easter?
God humbled and displaced Himself when He left His heavenly throne (where He was praised non-stop...as He is worthy of). He willingly put on flesh and experienced life's temptations, frustrations, sorrows, limitations, disappointments. In the midst of his human existence, He remained connected to the Father. He did everything God told Him to do and nothing which would displease God. He did not sin in thought, action, or word. He relied on God to be His strength and His guide; through Jesus, God did amazing signs and wonders.
And yet, read this prophecy about the King of Kings, and think about how it was fullfilled in His death:
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
WOW. I don't have words to describe the sorrow that brings my spirit. "Good" Friday? If Isaiah's prophecy and the story of Jesus ended there, "Good Friday" would make no sense. Yet, it does make sense, because our God is bigger than death and the grave! Our God is bigger than sin and pain.
Read the rest of Isaiah 53:
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied ;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Praise Jesus for Easter Sunday. It is Jesus' resurrection which makes the day of His death "good." It is what He accomplished on that cross that makes it beautiful.
Check out this song that we sang with the Church last night and ponder the depth of the words and of God's great love for us.
Go on up to the mountain of mercy
To the crimson perpetual tide
Kneel down on the shore Be thirsty no more
Go under and be purified
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night
Follow Christ to the holy mountain
Sinner sorry and wrecked by the fall
Cleanse your heart and your soul I
n the fountain that flowed
For you and for me and for all
At the wonderful, tragic, mysterious tree
On that beautiful, scandalous night you and me
Were atoned by His blood and forever washed white
On that beautiful, scandalous night
On the hillside, you will be delivered A
t the foot of the cross justified
And your spirit restored
By the river that poured
From our blessed Savior's side
