Hello my ‘Walking with Jesus” friends on this Good Friday,
Of course, we understand the only reason this day is referred to as “GOOD Friday” is because the events of this day, 2000 years ago, are the most extreme evidence of the love of God ever extended to our sinful human race! The disciple John, wanting to quiet any debate about love, wrote this: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us.” (1 John 3:16)
The apostle Paul lived continually overwhelmed by the magnitude, the outrageousness of the sacrifice of Jesus: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Jesus Christ died for us!” (Romans 5:8) Jesus Himself explained the reason for the events this weekend in these words: “…the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in Him. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” (John 3:15,16)
For the last three weeks we’ve been ‘walking with Jesus’ and His disciples toward this day, this weekend. There is no weekend with more significance for EVERY person, and ALL humans of all generations, than what we celebrate took place these days in Jerusalem about 2000 years ago. While books have been written, movies made, songs recorded about those events, there’s no better place to look for the accurate description of this weekend than to eyewitness reports of those who were there, and then were led by the Holy Spirit of God to write about it.
All four of the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, give us their perspective and yet only one of them, John, was a faithful eyewitness to every moment of this horrific, world changing weekend. Matthew (Matt. 26:56) and Mark (14:51,52) fled into the night shadows when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Only Peter and John followed the arresting mob to the house of the High Priest where Jesus was interrogated. (John 18:15) But it was there, warming himself by a fire, that Peter was questioned if he was one of the followers of Jesus. Not once but three times Peter vehemently denied it, and then in great shame ran into the night shadows weeping. (Luke 22:54-62)
That left John alone, of all those who had followed Jesus. Many had cheered whenever Jesus performed a miracle, or applauded as He spoke God’s great messages, or even enjoyed a meal together as they sat around a table with Jesus… but only John remained faithfully watching Jesus through that horrible Thursday night, as Jesus was dragged from one interrogation to another. (John 18; Matt. 26,27; Luke 22,23; Mark 14,15)
Every segment of society gave their verdict that night and early Friday morning:
* The Jewish religious leaders who should have led the welcoming party for Jesus and rallied the people to worship Him, instead rejected any notion that Jesus was who He claimed to be… God incarnate, the Jewish Messiah. In their refusal to accept Jesus, they led the chorus of accusations that He was a blasphemer of God, and therefore deserved to die. (Luke 22:68-23:2)
* The Jewish King Herod, representing the Kings of Israel all the way back to Kings Saul, David and Solomon, did as so many other kings before him, totally rejecting God’s provision as He rejected Jesus and any claim, He may have for being Jewish royalty and leader of the Jewish nation. (Luke 23:4-12)
* Roman empire leadership was represented by Pilate, the governor of Judea, appointed by Caesar himself. While Pilate seemed more interested in learning the truth about Jesus, His true identity and His message of God’s truth, fear of the people caused Pilate to wash his hands and turn Jesus over to the mob and crucifixion. (Luke 23:1-25)
* Roman soldiers and executioners did well what they were trained and poorly paid to do.
* The common people did what crowds of people often do, rising up as a mob demanding action by those in leadership.
* A convicted criminal named Barabbas began that day in a dungeon awaiting execution. (Luke 23:18) Suddenly he was dragged by soldiers to stand before Pilate and the mob. In response to the mob insanity, Barabbas was released, a guilty criminal set free to villainize a vulnerable public, while Jesus the kind miracle worker, Jesus the compassionate consoler of the grieving, Jesus the healer of broken lives, Jesus the Son of God, was flogged and taken to be crucified.
Yes, my friends, every segment of humanity spoke their verdict that day… the devoutly religious; the secular government disinterested in anything spiritual; the military establishment; the common citizen, both Jew and Gentile, slave and free… and the verdict was unanimous: “Crucify Him”! (John 19:15)
Oh, there were some who were heart broken, grief stricken, as they watched this unthinkable atrocity. Among them John the disciple, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene and several others who had been friends, followers and travelers with Jesus over these many months together. (Luke 23:26-31)
At first Jesus, beaten and bleeding, dragged His cross, then after falling under its weight, an onlooker named Simon from Cyrene, was pulled from the crowd and forced to carry this horrific instrument of death, all the way to Golgotha hill. Jesus, beaten almost into unconsciousness, stumbled along behind Simon, sent to His knees with each additional lash of the whip on His back.
Tears flowed, cries for mercy were heard in the crowd, but there was no mercy that day, only an unrelenting outpouring of hatred. Yet look closely, there is mercy, an unexplainable mercy flowing from Jesus! For with the same power, He had healed lame people or blind eyes, with the same power which enabled Him to walk on the waves, Jesus could easily have lashed out and struck them all blind, or paralyzed or stopped their hearts from beating or sucked the air out of their lungs.
Yet Jesus did nothing in retaliation. He took the full outpouring of human rejection of God, and the full hatred of all demons and Satan himself, and the full wrath of God for all the sins of humanity… that is what Jesus suffered that horrible Friday!
And the response of bleeding Jesus as the nails were driven through His hands? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing!” (Luke 23:34) Forgiveness? How could Jesus think much less speak forgiveness in the face of such brutality?
That’s the overwhelming, beyond comprehension LOVE of God rooted deeply in His heart for a sin ravaged, evil enslaved human race. Miraculously, as we come to genuinely know Jesus and fully trust Him to rescue us from our sin bondage, the Holy Spirit of God moves in and fills us with this same God style love, so we too can face the injustices and even persecution of our world.
As one criminal, also hanging on a cross near Jesus that day, mocked Jesus, the other crucified criminal said “We are punished justly for we are getting what our evil deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into Your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.” (Luke 23:39-43)
In that moment that criminal was snatched from the very precipice of hell and given God’s assurance that he would be with Jesus in heaven for all eternity! That moment was a picture of our human race and the reason for which Jesus came to earth. Some reject God even with their final breath, others cry out for God’s rescue from their place of helplessness. And a great many others simply stand by as observers, not realizing their eternal destiny hangs in the balance.
So, what will this Good Friday be for you my “Walking with Jesus” friends? Stand at the cross, watching the soldiers, the onlookers, the two crucified criminals, John, Mary the grieving mother, Mary Magdalene, and others who loved Jesus. And watch Jesus if you can, through the eyes of those who describe what they saw that Friday, as the sky grew dark, and Jesus suffered separation from His Father like never before. Watch as Jesus gasps “It is Finished” and His head drops limp.
And today decide again for yourself. Who died that day? A flamboyant preacher who did some amazingly good things, a fraud pretending to be someone He wasn’t. Or was this Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, and did His death pay the full sin price so you and I could be forgiven by Holy, Almighty God, as He accepts the death of Jesus as payment in full for our sin?
I have a song for us to reflect with, and I urge us all to spend some time talking with Almighty God, the Father who sent His Son to die for our deliverance. What words seem appropriate as you and I have an audience with God, on this “Good Friday”?
Today’s Scripture is Luke 23 and John 19.
Choose below to read or listen.
Luke 23
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John 19
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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