Why is Good Friday Good?
Luke 22:66 (KJV) And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him into their council,…
Our focus of this day should be on the crucifixion of our Lord.
So why "Good" Friday?
Why not "Sad" Friday,
or "Awful" Friday?
Isaiah 53:1-10 (KJV) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
Yes, there was great sorrow and travail on that day.
During the awful physical darkness from noon to 3:00 p.m. (Matthew 27:45),
Jesus had cried out in utter anguish: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
The earth itself shook and rumbled as the creation was torn apart in reaction to the horrific judgment of the Creator for sin (Matthew 27:51).
"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet" (Psalm 22:16).
The "dogs" that were "compassing" Him may refer to the Roman soldiers or possibly to a mob of homosexuals (who had been called "dogs" by Moses in Deuteronomy 23:17-18).
Deuteronomy 23:17-18 (KJV) There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. 18 Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
Except for John, His disciples were not there to comfort Him.
For the most part, the mobs howling around the cross were His enemies.
The "assembly of the wicked" may well have been a gathering of demons
-- personified as strong bulls and ravening lions, including Satan himself.
The terrible spikes that pierced His hands and feet had been affixed by Gentiles,
but the whole scenario had been arranged by the Jews.
Nonetheless, all of us are guilty of piercing His very heart
as well as His hands and feet,
because He died to save us from our sins.
He "by the grace of God" had to "taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9).
But then came the victory cry, "It is finished" (John 19:30),
and, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46).
His suffering ended,
the payment completed,
eternal appeasement accomplished,
Jesus laid down His human life to await the great resurrection that God might give
"assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:31).
Good Friday will never be as harsh for us as it was the disciples.
We know he was resurrected – they did not.
So, How do you live like he’s risen when you feel dead yourself?
How do you dance for Joy when you’re knocked down to the floor?
How do you celebrate Easter when you’re living Good Friday?
I know that right now, some of you are going through Good Friday Issues.
Good Friday Issues?
Betrayal, false accusations,
standing alone when he should have been surrounded by friends,
beating, torture, pain,
having to keep your mouth shut when your more than able to defend yourself,
the sky grows dark,
despair, Shame, Anguish, Guilt, hurt, regret,
a feeling of uselessness.
And believe you me,
I know if we put our minds to it, we could make a lengthy Good Friday list.
There is no such thing as a testimony without a test
There is no such thing a resurrection without a death
There is no such thing as an Easter without a Good Friday.
Remember John F. Kennedy? 1917-1963. https://fiftiesweb.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/kennedy-grave-jfk.jpg
The first date records when he entered into this world.
The 2nd date marks his exit.
The children he raised,
the education he attained,
the goals he reached,
and the people he affected are all encapsulated by one hyphen between those two dates.
All the things he overcame,
all the men and women he motivated
all the laughter,
all the tears,
all he accomplished is now seen as a simple little slash between two dates.
When they add the second date next to your name,
what will the dash in between represent?
You see when they put that date there,
the cars and the office and the job title
and the amount of alcohol you are able to get through before falling over,
or the number of women you can get through in one night
all of that will mean nothing.
That dash between the dates will mean nothing unless you add another line to it.
The name of that line is Jesus.
For some of us, the blank is FILLED with the precious Name of Jesus
A NAME WRITTEN IN HIS BLOOD
A NAME THAT FILLS UP THE BLANK BETWEEN THE TWO DATES THAT MARK OUR LIVES.
A NAME THAT SUPERSEDES DEATH HELL AND THE GRAVE
AND A NAME THAT ENTITLES YOU SAFE PASSAGE INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER,
THIS NAME MARKS YOU AS A FRIEND AND NOT AN ENEMY
AS FAMILY AND NOT A FOREIGNER.
THE NAME OF THE ONLY PERSON THAT HAS EVER HAD DOMINION OVER DEATH.
HIS NAME IS JESUS....... AND HE IS RISEN!
Revelation 1:7 (KJV) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
That was indeed an awful day when He hung on the cross,
He was surrounded by wickedness,
but many today can call it Good Friday,
because there, on that Cross
all evil men and devils
and even death itself were defeated forever.
Because of the Cross, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him”
He’s coming back soon!
He’s coming in the clouds!
All eye’s will see Him
No one can deny it!
This is what makes that particular Friday -GOOD!
