Good Friday

Why is Good Friday good?

God who is holy saw us who were most certainly not and had mercy on us. A very short response, not quite up to par. In truth, we as sinners were as far from the goodness and purity of God as could be. Our works could not save us as we could never be"good" enough to satisfy the justice and righteous of Holy Almighty God. Sin isn't just something we do. It is a part of who we are, a disease inherent to mankind since the Fall. Now when I say disease that does not excuse us from it but explains part of what comes next.

God hurts because we hurt. He loves us more than we can possibly imagine. But as the Righteous Judge, He had to judge our sin. The penalty for sin is death, ultimate and final. But He could not bear that His children that He loves be put through that without giving them a way out.

The Great and Holy plan of Love was created before time began. God the Father knew we would sin and with the full participation of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, designed our rescue. At the right moment in time, a Savior would appear, taking on mankind's sin. But who could that be? Certainly not man himself who was from birth a sinner. Yet it must be a man in order to know our sufferings and take on our sin. Even more he must be innocent, or he could not even save himself.

Enter the incarnation of Jesus. fully God, yet He stepped into this world as a babe. He grew to manhood, a flawless, sinless Savior. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, approved by the Father, He taught in our world.

That would not be enough to save. The sin must still be judged. So Jesus, as per the plan of the Father, allowed himself to be betrayed by a friend, judged by the corrupt leaders of his time, brutalized by the cruelty of soldiers, then murdered in a most excruciating manner. That alone was bad enough but Scripture tell us that on Him every sin was laid. He who was totally without sin had to know our sin, every evil thought and deed we ever came up with throughout all time. He knew a sense of total abandonment by God the Father.

Why would He go through this? Because God --  Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- loved us so much that He did not want us to go through death and hell. Instead He sentenced Himself.

Hear what Jesus said from the cross. "It is finished." Once and for all time, the sin debt was paid for in an act of love that will never be defined or fully understood.

Why is Good Friday good? Because God showed for all time how much He loved us in the redeeming sacrifice of His Son. He showed his approval of the sacrifice by resurrecting Jesus from the dead.

There is more to it. You see this is not an automatic get out of jail free card. God respects our free will. If we want His gift of salvation we have to ask.

This is a sample prayer for salvation:

Father God, we know that we have sinned against You. We are grieved by our sin and how we have hurt You. We ask You in the name of Jesus and because of His redeeming sacrifice on the Cross to forgive us. We gladly accept Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord.

If you prayed this prayer in faith and belief that Jesus is risen from the dead and that He can and will forgive your sins, congratulations. It's your birthday. You have been born again. And from now on Good Friday will have new meaning to you. If not, please don't wait. For those who do not accept Christ as Savior, there is no recourse. Death and Hell are waiting. No amount of good works will save and Jesus is the only Way home.