This has been on my heart all week. I've always been bothered by the term "Good Friday." I mean, my savior - the one in which I place all my hope, all my trust - suffered a brutal death on this day. And we call it good? It wasn't pleasant, it was downright painful. It was humiliating. It was traumatic. It was barbaric. It was horrific. But good? Yes, it was good.
Definition of Good: (via dictionary.com)
1. morally excellent; virtuous; righteous;
2. satisfactory in quality, quantity, or degree
3. of high quality; excellent.
4. right; proper; fit
7. honorable or worthy;
10. genuine; not counterfeit
11. sound or valid
23. sufficient or ample
24. advantageous; satisfactory for the purpose
You see, to understand why Jesus' suffering was a good thing, you have to go back to the beginning. I mean ALL the way back. To the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had it all. They lived in Paradise, they lived in peace. Most amazingly to me, they lived with God and were able to see Him and speak to Him face to face.
But then sin crept in. It did it the way it always does, slyly and with trickery. Establishing doubt where there is no reason for doubt. Asking Eve, "Did God really say you can't eat from any tree in the garden?" To which Eve answered, "No, we can eat from the trees, just not the one in the middle of the garden..." to which he replied, "You won't die... you will be like God knowing good from evil." And Eve fell for it. (see Genesis chapter 3)
And with that, sin crept into the world. Before, there was no shame, no remorse. But now, mankind was shameful of their own nakedness, and that is when the first sacrifice was made. God could have used leaves and bark to fashion clothes for them, but instead, he made "garments of skin" for them. It doesn't say it specifically in scripture(after all God could have made the skins out of thin air without killing an animal), but many believe that this was the first shedding of innocent blood to cover the sins of man.
Fast forward a bit to the exodus from Egypt. God had made a covenant with Abraham (sealed with the sacrifice of innocent animals) that he would inherit (what we refer to as) the Holy Land. But here his descendants were, slaves in Egypt. So God sent Moses to command Pharaoh to "Let God's people go." But Pharoah refused so God sent plague after plague after plague. Still Pharoah refused. So, finally, God told the Israelites to sacrifice a year old lamb - perfect, without any defect - and spread the blood on their door frames. That night God passed through Egypt striking down the firstborn of all men and animals. But when he saw the blood on the Israelites doorposts, he passed over them. The lamb's blood saved them from death.
So every year from that point on, the Israelites (as God had commanded them to do) celebrated the Passover. Every year, they sacrificed a lamb, continually reestablishing the covenant they had with God. The lamb's blood was what purified them. It was the payment for their sins. EVERY YEAR. Every year, innocent blood was required to cover mankind's sins.
Then came Jesus.
Jesus was the pure passover lamb. There was no blemish found in him. He was pure of heart. He was perfect in every way. Year after year of seeing innocent blood shed, God took the final step and sent his only son to earth to be the ultimate and final blood sacrifice for man's sins. Though Christ proclaimed only the truth, he was found guilty of blaspheme. Those who accused him called for his death.
They couldn't do the killing themselves, because they wanted to remain clean so they could take part in the passover meal to come. So they turned Jesus over to a Roman ruler to judge and convict him. This ruler found no fault in Jesus, but had him beaten to a bloody pulp in hopes that it would satisfy the religious rulers. And yet when they saw his bloody, almost unrecognizable body, they shouted, "Crucify him!" Humiliation and pain were not enough, they wanted him dead.
The roman ruler saw no other way out, so he handed him over to his soldiers to be crucified. With his back shredded, in places even exposing bone, he was forced to carry his own cross to the hill where he was then nailed to it. He was lifted up for all to see.
The religious leaders looked on with satisfaction. They had, after all, gotten rid of the man who claimed to be God. Then they went on their way to celebrate the Passover meal and to sacrifice a lamb, whose blood would atone for their sins. Jesus followers looked upon the cross, tears streaming from their eyes, wondering what had gone so horribly wrong. They didn't yet fully understand that their sacrificial lamb was hanging up on the cross.
And Jesus? He prayed that God would forgive those crucifying him because they didn't understand what they were doing!
The moment Jesus died, the curtain of the temple was torn in two. This curtain had, for centuries, separated man from God. There is a place inside the temple called the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest, once a year, is allowed to enter the Holy of Holies and even then he is allowed to do so only to offer a sin sacrifice for the nation. But when Christ died, and the curtain was torn, we, who believe in him, were given non-restricted access to the Holy of Holies - to God the Father, through the blood sacrifice of his son.
When you believe that Jesus is who he said he is (the son of God) and you accept that you have messed up and can't fix it on your own; and you ask Jesus to come into your life and take control of it, you then have taken part in the ultimate Passover. You accept the blood that Jesus shed as a new covenant between you and God, acknowledging that Jesus is the Way and the Truth and the Life and that no one can get to the Father except through Him (Jesus).
The best part of the story is that Good Friday wasn't the end. It was just the beginning. Because Jesus, being a perfect, unblemished sacrifice once and for all made atonement for our sins. In other less churchy words, he prepaid for all the stupid stuff we'll ever do. His blood will never run out, it will always be enough to cover whatever it is you or I have done... from now till the end of time. You know how I know it was enough? All the lambs that had been sacrificed century after century stayed dead. But the perfect sacrifice, Jesus, rose again. Death had no hold over him. Satan did not win that day. He did not succeed in killing the Son of God. God won.
And so, yeah, I guess good is the right word to use for this Friday.
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