Good Friday

 

On this day, we remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and reflect upon a solemn, profound truth: it is through his sacrifice on the cross that we are saved. It is the death of Jesus that gives us new life. By his wounds we are healed.

The longer you think about the suffering we put Jesus through, the harder it gets to call this a “Good Friday.” After all, this is the day we saw humanity at its worst. There is nothing good about the betrayal of Judas or the cowardice of Peter or the duplicity of the chief priests and teachers of the law. There is nothing good about the mob mentality that saw Jesus condemned or the cruel contempt that same multitude of mockers leveled at him. There is nothing good about the state-sanctioned torture Jesus was forced to endure—the whips striking his back, the nails hammered through his hands and feet, the thorns piercing his brow, the asphyxiation of his lungs as he hung on the cross. That terrible day 2,000 years ago put the depravity of humanity on full display; it showed in the starkest terms how far we’d fallen from Eden.

But if that Friday was the ultimate proof of our wickedness, it was also the purest revelation of God’s mercy. For Jesus to give himself up for suffering when he could have called down a legion of angels for rescue, for him to go like a lamb to the slaughter, for him to suffer and bleed and die—for him to do all of that, and all for a humanity that had rejected him outright, is an unfathomable testament to God’s love for us. The moment humanity was at its worst was the moment when Jesus came into his glory.

By the grace of God, Jesus turned an execution into a sacrifice and a humiliation into a victory. He transformed scorn and mockery—the placard declaring him “King of the Jews,” the thorny crown upon his head—into gospel truth. He redeemed a tool of torture, making his cross the instrument of our salvation. Jesus took the worst we had to offer and somehow made it new.

Were it not for Jesus, this would be a day of shame and guilt, a day we’d like desperately to forget. But because of his redemptive power, our sin gives way to his forgiveness and our deserved condemnation gives way to his grace. Left to our own devices, this would be a day of infamy. But because Jesus is Lord, this is Good Friday.