Good Friday – the day when we remember that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. Why in the world would we call it Good Friday? Why would the cross, the most brutal, vicious, vile instrument of execution that man could devise, become a thing of beauty? We find the cross placed on top of spires reaching up toward heaven, placed in sanctuaries in prominent view so that it is the focal point that people look to. We even find it worn as a piece of jewelry. Why would the cross become a thing of beauty, and the day of Jesus’ death be called good? The Bible is very clear about the answer. This was God’s plan for our salvation. There was no other way for us to be saved.
Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
The people wanted things to be different. They wanted a Messiah who would come into Jerusalem and overthrow the Romans. Jesus came into Jerusalem and quietly overthrew everything. He turned it all upside down. Jesus took everything that stood against us and nailed it to that cross. The veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, because the perfect sacrifice, the one that all the other sacrifices pointed to, had now been offered, and there was nothing else left to do. Jesus opened the way into the Father’s presence by His death on the cross.
As Jesus hung on the cross, enduring horrible suffering, He cried out, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani;” “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The disciples should have known these words. Jesus was quoting the opening lines from Psalm 22.
What was Jesus doing? Jesus was doing what He had done before He went to the cross and what He would do after He rose from the grave. He was teaching His followers that all that happened was to fulfill the Scriptures. “I’m surrounded by dogs (Gentiles). They’ve pierced my hands and feet. All my bones are out of joint. My mouth is totally parched. People are standing there mocking me. They’re wagging their heads back and forth and saying, ‘Yeah, look at him now. Let the Lord save him if he’s really His.’” The words of the psalmist were literally fulfilled.
But later in that same psalm He says, “The Lord has not forsaken Me. He has not despised my suffering.” And the outcome of this is going to be not only victory, but that people all around the world, through all the generations to come, will be brought to faith. They will bow and worship.
When Jesus quoted the opening lines of this great song, He was telling his disciples, though they didn’t get it at the time, that what was happening was according to the Scriptures. “Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.” When we say He died for our sins, what we’re saying is that we are the ones who deserve to die. We are the ones who made a mess of things. We are the ones who would have rightly received God’s wrath if we got what we are entitled to. That is what we deserve.
In the garden Jesus prayed, “Father, if there’s any other way, please let this cup pass from me.” Yet, there was no other way. God did this “to demonstrate His justice…so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” It was not possible for us to be saved apart from Jesus taking our punishment Himself. That’s how serious sin is.
Sometimes we act as if sin is a trivial matter. Tragically, sometimes people who have been taught the gospel of grace, the good news of God’s grace, have a flippant attitude about sin. “It’s not a big deal. I can be forgiven.” It is a big deal! Jesus died for our sins.
If you want to see how much God loves us, look at the cross. Amazing! If you want to see how serious sin is, look at the cross. Jesus became sin for us. God hates sin. May God grant that we would learn to hate it also. May God grant that we would despise those things which offend Him, instead of acting as if it’s no big deal. God have mercy on us!
I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
You who fear the Lord, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
(Psalm 22:22-24)
Imagine Roman soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ clothing. They’d never sung this song, but it was prophesied by David all those generations before. God didn’t just have a general sense of what was going to happen. God knew exactly what was going to take place. God orchestrated the events in such a way as to demonstrate His glory, while purchasing our salvation.
We need to understand that Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures. And after the fact, as Jesus explained to His disciples, scripture after scripture after scripture, their hearts burned within them and they were amazed! They’d never understand these truths before. But Jesus opened their eyes, He opened their minds and He opened their hearts. They began to recognize this is exactly what God ordained from the beginning. In Egypt, when God instituted the Passover, the people were making the sign of the cross over the door of their home with the blood of the Lamb. As John the Baptist introduces Jesus, he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.
