The Light of Resurrection - Pt 8

We are coming to the close of this little series leading to our celebration of Easter. You should begin today with only one of the candles burning. Spend a moment and reflect on the difference in the level of light given by one candle versus the seven we began with just a few days ago. Now read our Scripture for today. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:22-32 ESV).

After reading the Scripture today, extinguish this last candle. Spend a moment and concentrate on the darkness that has become complete. What we call “Good Friday” was the darkest day in history. The Son of God himself was killed by people who weren’t satisfied simply to reject him; they couldn’t stand to have him exist. They really believed that they could erase Him from existence. And, incredibly, this move was incited and led by the religious leaders of the day. The images conjured in my mind of that day drive me to wonder about calling it a “good” day. In fact, that has often been the case with Christians through the ages. There are some Christian traditions that seek to express the emotion of this day differently. In German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” Actually, In English, the origin of the term “Good” developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” In all of this, what I have come to understand is that, regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins. In order for the good news of the gospel 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. 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 Easter. 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. That does make it GOOD!