"IT WAS A GOOD FRIDAY AFTER ALL"
INTRODUCTION: THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS CHRIST
I remember as a child growing up being out of school on Good Friday. I thought it was awesome to get that extra day away from school and books and studying. I certainly thought any day without school was good.
Probably about 9 or 10 yrs old, I became very confused about this so called "Good Friday". I remember sitting in church and my pastor describing what happened to Jesus on that day.
* How Jesus was arrested and taken away to be tried illegally throughout the night. How He was mistreated and beaten and humiliated throughout the night.
* How on Friday morning, He was taken to Pilate.
* How He was beaten and whipped. How the whips with the metal and bone weaved into it would leave deep gashes as the flesh was ripped away from His skin and His blood flowed on the pavement.
* How a crown of thorns was pressed upon His head and pierced His head and the blood flowed down His face.
* How He was given the robe of a king and mocked and humiliated further.
* How they placed the cross on His back for Him to drag up to the Place of the Skull-- Golgotha.
* How they stripped Him of His garments and laid Him on the cross and drove nails in His hands and in His feet.
* How He hung on that cross bearing our sins, our guilt, our shame-- paying the price for all.
* How He died there on that cross that day for me..... for me, you, and the whole world.
And, I remember crying the first time I realized how terrible the suffering that Jesus went through that day.
And I remember asking myself, "How can we call that day 'Good Friday' when such an awful thing happened? How can we call it 'Good Friday' when the Lord Jesus Christ died such a terrible way?"
As I got older, I came to realize what that day was all about. What Jesus accomplished on that day. I realized that, even though it was a painful day for Jesus, He accomplished some very good things for us that day.
WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED ON THAT DAY?
1. PROPITIATION FOR OUR SINS WAS ACCOMPLISHED.
“Propitiation”- to satisfy the anger and wrath of Almighty God.
* If you have never repented and are living in sin, you need to realize that God’s wrath and anger are upon you. You are either His baptized, born again child or you are His enemy– it’s as simple as that.
* Why did Jesus come and die such a horrible death? Because eons ago sin destroyed the relationship that man enjoyed with Holy God.
Rom 6:23 “the wages of sin is death.”
Satan tempts man into sin, blinding him to the Truth. Sin destroys the relationship with God and brings the curse of sin upon man– DEATH.
* Where are you spiritually today? John gives us a simple test.
1 Jn 3:7-8 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
* Notice that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil– SIN.
* What drove God to sacrifice His Beloved Son on the Cross?
1 Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
In order for sin to be destroyed, Jesus died in our place so that the penalty of sin could be paid.
* Who did Jesus die for?
1 Jn 2:2 He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.
* Maybe this morning you think you’ve messed up so badly that God could never forgive you— the Good News is that you are wrong.
Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world...
And you are part of “the world”. He loves you and Jesus died to pay the price for your sins and every person that has ever or will ever live.
* But until and unless you repent, you still live under the curse of sin. You are still the enemy of God and you are still an object to His wrath. Won’t you come to Him and be forgiven today?
2. REDEMPTION FROM OUR SIN WAS MADE AVAILABLE.
“Redemption”- to repurchase, to buy back, to free from captivity by the payment of a ransom.
Jn 8:34 "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.
Today, If you’re not a born again believer in Jesus Christ, whether you know it or not, you are a slave to sin. You are a prisoner of Satan that controls you more than you realize through the curse of sin.
* The Good News of Jesus Christ!
Lk 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed,
* Are you tired of going thru the motions of life?
* Are you tired of living in guilt and shame?
* Do you hunger to take hold of the life God wants you to have?
On that Friday, 2000 yrs ago, Here is what Jesus did to redeem you and secure your freedom!
Heb 9:11-12 11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
* He shed His blood at the Cross to pay the price for our sins. He entered Heaven while His body lay in the tomb and, as the High Priest, He offered His blood on the Mercy Seat in Heaven as the complete payment for sins and purchased our redemption.
* What happens when we repent and believe in Him?
Col 1:13-14 13 {We are rescued} from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
* How are we to live in response to His gift of redemption?
1 Cor 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
You exist in 1 of 2 situations.... You are either living a holy life and glorifying God or you are still a slave to sin. Which are you today?
3. RECONCILIATION WITH GOD WAS MADE POSSIBLE.
“Reconcile”- to resolve a dispute between 2 parties and restore that relationship to one of harmony and friendship.
The reason that Jesus Christ died on the cross was to pay the price for our sins, to satisfy the wrath of Holy God toward us as sinners, and to redeem us from the curse of sin with the outcome that we would be reconciled to God the Father.
Col 1:19-22 19 For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. 21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, 22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach
Notice that the goal of Christ was to cleanse you of your sins by His blood to present you to God the Father as holy and blameless.
* What does Christ desire of us once we have been reconciled?
2 Cor 5:18-19 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
He gives us the mission of sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that we might be part of seeing lost people saved and reconciled to God the Father.
On that Friday 2000 yrs ago:
(1) Propitiation for our sins was accomplished....
(2) Redemption from our sin was made available..... and
(3) Reconciliation with God was made possible.....
These 3 things happened with the goal that the greatest gift ever offered could be made available......
4. SALVATION WAS FREELY OFFERED.
“Salvation”- the deliverance from sin and the consequences of sin- namely death, separation, and eternal damnation.
From the Cross, Jesus offers this message of hope to you, to me and to all the world...
Jn 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His [e]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
His offer to you this morning is to be forgiven and saved.
* How do you receive the gift of salvation?
(1) Repent of your sins.
Acts 3:19 19 Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
(2) Trust Jesus Christ as Your Savior. (And )
(3) Confess Jesus Christ as the Lord of your Life.
Rom 10:8-10 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, 9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
As a child growing up, I always wondered why the day Jesus died was called “Good Friday” because it seemed to me to be the day that the worst thing happened– the day Jesus, the Lord of Glory died. But when we contemplate what else happened that day.....
(1) Propitiation for our sins was accomplished
(2) Redemption from our sin was made available
(3) Reconciliation with God was made possible..... and
(4) Salvation was freely offered
I came to realize something very important–
IT WAS A GOOD FRIDAY AFTER ALL!
