Good Friday
“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all…” (Rom. 8:32)
What makes Friday “good”? For many, Friday marks the end of a long week of wear and tear, of hustle and bustle, of striving against mountains of paperwork as an ant against an oak tree. Friday marks the end of a week and the beginning of the rest and relaxation. But what about this Friday? What about Good Friday? Good Friday isn’t good for everybody, is it?
Well, for Jesus, his Friday did not fit into our expectations. Jesus began his morning caught between two false witnesses; He ended his morning hanging between two crosses. His life was marked by humiliation – God taking on flesh, King of Heaven and Earth raised in poverty, the Lawmaker being under the Law, the God of Israel suffering disbelief and discouragement from His own people; but who can fathom the suffering upon the Cross? Not just the whips, the wounds, and the woes – who can fathom the wrath? Who can fathom the sinless Son of God, hanging naked upon the cross as He feels the guilt of the world’s sin pressed down upon Him, of the first experience of shame in its most violent expression? Who can fathom the Father’s frown when all Jesus has known is the Father’s smiling face? Why would Jesus spend a day of celebration in such grave sorrow? Jacobus Revius pens the answer best:
No, it was not the Jews who crucified,
Nor who betrayed you in the judgment place,
Nor who, Lord Jesus, spat into your face,
Nor who with buffets struck you as you died.
No, it was not the soldiers fisted bold
Who lifted up the hammer and the nail,
Or raised the cursed cross on Calvary’s hill,
Or, gambling, tossed the dice to win your robe.
I am the one, O Lord, who brought you there,
I am the heavy cross you had to bear,
I am the rope that bound you to the tree,
The whip, the nail, the hammer, and the spear,
The blood-stained crown of thorns you had to wear:
It was my sin, alas, it was for me.
What makes Friday “good”? Out of mere good pleasure, God gave up His Son to endure all the miseries and curse of the Law that His people may be free from the wear and tear, the hustle and bustle, the driving dominion of sin and Satan. Good Friday may be the day we celebrate the death of Christ, but each and every Sunday exists to worship the risen and reigning Christ. With such a priceless gift given to us, ought we not spend and be spent worshipping this Savior?
