The Darkest Day

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49 ESV). It is somewhat of an oxymoron to call the Friday of Jesus’ crucifixion as “Good Friday.” There was nothing humane or good about the manner in which he was tortured and killed that day. Roman execution by crucifixion was one of the most inhumane methods of capital punishment known to man. Even today it makes other forms of capital punishment pale in comparison. As horrible as the beheadings are in the Middle East today, at least death comes relatively quickly compared to crucifixion. So, how can we possibly call that day “good.” Let’s begin with the good news of the gospel. In order for it to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is important to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then the gospel of Jesus’ grace comes and brings us relief and salvation. In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of resurrection. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (cf. Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the deathblow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage. The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. The psalmist sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other” (cf. Psalm 85:10). The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin. Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace. That makes it a Good Friday!