It’s an ordinary sort of day. I have been running errands
and grabbing breakfast at our favorite greasy spoon. I woke up late and had to
drag myself out of bed as it was chilly and rainy and staying curled up under
my blankets was quite cozy. I decided it would not be a pajama day as tempting
as it was and got out of bed and got ready for the day.
I didn’t take the time to think about the significance of
the day, at least not until now. It is Good Friday and Christians throughout
the world celebrate this holiest day in the Christian calendar. I don’t have to
recount the story as every believer knows it by heart. But still it is right to
pause and meditate on the significance of the day.
The road Jesus walked on the way to Calvary was both
glorious and labor intensive as he spent the last three years of his life trekking
roads throughout the holy lands. He was worshipped and adored for the miracles
he wrought. His teaching amazed all who came to listen as scripture says he
preached with an authority unlike the scribes in the synagogues. With a word he
could heal the blind and the lame. He was able to raise the dead and yet take
time to bless little children. He could thunder at willful and flagrant cheapening
of the temple in Jerusalem and speak gently about the love and endless mercy of
God. And when confronted by the self-righteous Pharisees he confounded them by
wisdom that left them speechless.
His wanderings took him to hills and lakes where crowds of
people sought him to listen to him preach and they would speak among themselves
that he must have been John the Baptist come back to life. It was all set
straight when he dared to declare himself as equal to the Father. The crowds thought
him the long awaited Messiah who would deliver Israel from the Romans not understanding
that he came to deliver them from a different bondage, sin’s seemingly unbreakable
grasp. The Pharisees thought him a false prophet who was leading the people
astray and hated him for turning people from their allegiance to them. When Jesus claimed he was deity it was the
last straw. What happened next is the story of the greatest gift God would
bestow on humanity. His fate was sealed and he set his face like a flint toward
Jerusalem.
Believers from the days of Jesus have made attempts to make
the sufferings of Jesus as realistic as possible. I have seen displays and
heard ministers describe in full detail how the Pharisees and Romans treated
our Lord, as they subjected him to unbelievable torture, degradation and humiliation.
It was the last step toward the final act of the most profound love that has
ever been bestowed on humanity.
We call this day Good Friday because we have the benefit of
hindsight. The disciples and Mary did not have the clarity we do. It was not a
good day in their limited understanding. It was a brutal end to what was
seemingly a journey to a new order on earth. Though Jesus prophesized his end,
they did not understand and in that terrible death of their leader they hid as
wanted men do.
This is Good Friday and as we remember the sacrificial death
of Jesus, we are given the gift of greater faith in the amazing love and mercy
of our Father and our Redeemer King. So while you go about your day, take a
moment to reflect on the cross and say once again it is good.
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