Good Friday

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{/source} Good Friday

“Good Friday” should be called “Black Friday.”  On this day the most scandalous betrayal of justice in human history took place.  But when we remember what happened on this day we’ll know why we call it “Good Friday” today.

The night before, Jesus was arrested and tried illegally by the Jewish authorities.  Their trial was at night, without credible witnesses, and asked Jesus to convict himself—any of these factors should have set him free.  He could have fled before they arrived or refused to incriminate himself and Good Friday would never have come.

Instead, he convicts himself by claiming to be the Son of God, a statement he knows will lead to their condemnation for blasphemy.  Then they take him to the Romans, where they change the charge to insurrection.  He can easily show that he is innocent, but he stays silent instead.  He can rally the crowds to himself with a single demonstration of his miraculous powers, but he refuses.  So he is condemned to crucifixion.

He is stripped and tied to a post, then scourged with a long whip in which are imbedded nails, lead balls, and pieces of shell.  They rip the flesh from his back; many men died under such torture.

A crown of razor-sharp thorns is pressed onto his head, impaling his scalp and forehead.  He is forced to carry a wooden cross to Calvary.  There nails are driven through his wrists and ankles into the wood and he is left to die.  He could call ten thousand angels to his side, but he refuses.  Instead, he dies there for you and for me.

Never again wonder if you are loved.  God thought your eternal life worth the death of his only Son.  If you had been the only sinner on the planet, Good Friday would still have happened, just for you.  Someone asked Jesus, “How much do you love me?”  He answered, “This much,” as he spread out his arms and died.  All for you.  Just for you.

Have you thanked God today for Good Friday?