"GOOD" FRIDAY OR... "SAD" FRIDAY..?

By Dr. Stafford Cripps

We Celebrated Good Friday. For 40 days we focused our thoughts and attention on that old rugged Cross where Jesus Christ the Son of God and the Lamb of God was bruised and battered for my sins, your sins and the sins of the whole world...

But can we ever understand the depth, height, width and length of His love which so amazing, so wonderful, so unique even in eternity..?

To understand His love which is so marvelous and amazing, we have to go to a place called Calvary and behold the Lamb of God taking away the sins of the whole world...But it is not a beautiful place. It's not a place that one would go to admire its grandeur. It was here the Son of God and the Lamb of God was brutally murdered. This place is important to us not because of its geographical location or historical benefits. It's important to us because JESUS, the Son of God died there as a supreme sacrifice for the whole human race. The one who never committed sin, the one who was holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners (Hebrews 7:26) was hanging between heaven and earth on those three cruel spikes. In Romans 5:8 we read - God demonstrates His love towards us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Such love of God is not human, it's divine. It is beyond our human comprehension! To understand why the Rose of Sharon was crushed on Mount Golgotha we have to understand the following vital facts -

JESUS WAS BORN ON A MISSION: Jesus was born not to establish a kingdom or religion but to establish a relationship that was broken when man committed sin. In Romans 3:10, 23 we read - When God looked down from heaven, there was no righteous person, no not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Though God became angry, the Bible says, He is slow to anger (Psalm 103:8) and hence His Love (I John 4:8) enveloped His wrath. Being a forgiving God, He prepared a blue print in heaven to save His created beings and that's why John 3:16 is recorded in the Bible! And when our Savior was born he was given a very special name in Luke 1:31 where we read - Mary you have found grace in the sight of God. You shall conceive in your womb a child... and shall call His name JESUS. The meaning of JESUS is recorded in Matthew 1:21 where we read, you shall call His name JESUS for He shall deliver mankind from their sins. And the purpose of giving this name - JESUS was accomplished when He died as a supreme sacrifice on that Old Rugged Cross!

JESUS WAS BORN AS THE LAMB OF GOD: Throughout the Old Testament there was a very important question people asked time and again - Where is the Lamb..? This question was first asked by Isaac, Abraham's son in Genesis 22:7 as he was climbing Mt.Moria with his father. And every time Israelites killed a lamb for the remission of their sins, they too asked the same question - Where is the Lamb chosen by God? When Solomon built the temple he had to slaughter 1, 20,000 sheep and 22,000 oxen! You can imagine the river of blood flowed that day! Even that day the question was the same - Where's the sacrificial Lamb to die as a supreme sacrifice once and for all! This question was answered by John the Baptist in John 1:29 when he saw Jesus Christ walking with His disciples and exclaimed - "Behold The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world!" Here we should remember, Jesus was the chosen Lamb even before the creation of this universe! (I Peter 1:20) and he bought us for a price by shedding His precious blood on the Cross (I Peter1:18).

JESUS DIED AS MY SUBSTITUTE: Prophet Isaiah, son of Amos wrote 750 years ago as to how Jesus would be born in the little town of Bethlehem, what name and titles shall be given to Him (Isaiah 9:6) and how He would die as a supreme sacrifice on the Cross. In Isaiah 53:5 we read - "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed..." We as His children should personalize this statement by confessing - He was wounded for My transgressions, and He was bruised for My iniquities. Then only we will be able to understand His Love which so unique and amazing! Barabbas when he came to know that innocent Jesus died in his place and as his substitute, he might have run to Mt.Golgotha knelt before our Lord and might have asked - Lord Why? Why did you die in my place and on my behalf..? Jesus might have answered - I'm dying as your substitute for your sins, what are you going to do for me? Barabbas might have become the first evangelist! Who knows?

JESUS ACCOMPLISHED HIS MISSION ON THE CROSS: Mission accomplished! Yes, when Jesus uttered the 6th word on the Cross - "TETELESTAI” which means - "IT IS FINISHED!" Satan knew he was utterly defeated and his days were numbered! Just imagine what would have happened if Jesus were to exclaim - "I AM finished" on the Cross..? Missionaries would have not come from the West to proclaim the Gospel to reveal to our fore fathers that Jesus is The Only Way, The Truth and The Life! (John 14:6). The day of death of our Savior is not known as a Sad Friday, Bad Friday or a Black Friday! Because when the disciples went to the sepulcher early in the morning, they heard the glad tidings from the angel - "He is not here, for He is risen!!" (Matthew 28:6) It was the breaking News of that time on the Resurrection Day! Yes! Amongst the million tombs in the world, Only One tomb is empty! Tomb of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! From street to street, lanes and by lanes people made a joyful noise unto the Lord (Psalm 100:1) and exclaimed - HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!

The difference between God of Christians and non-Christians is recorded in I Timothy 4:10 where we read - We TRUST in a LIVING GOD Who is The Savior of All men, especially of those that BELIEVE...What a privilege to Trust in a resurrected Christ Who Cares for us..?