Friday, 06 April 2012

• What's So Good About Friday?

  Along the way they came on a man from Cyrene named Simon and made him carry Jesus' cross. Arriving at Golgotha, the place they call "Skull Hill," they offered him a mild painkiller (a mixture of wine and myrrh), but when he tasted it he wouldn't drink it.

  After they had finished nailing him to the cross and were waiting for him to die, they whiled away the time by throwing dice for his clothes. Above his head they had posted the criminal charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. Along with him, they also crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left. People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: "You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days—so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you're really God's Son, come down from that cross!"

  The high priests, along with the religion scholars and leaders, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: "He saved others—he can't save himself! King of Israel, is he? Then let him get down from that cross. We'll all become believers then! He was so sure of God—well, let him rescue his 'Son' now—if he wants him! He did claim to be God's Son, didn't he?" Even the two criminals crucified next to him joined in the mockery.
  

   From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

  Some bystanders who heard him said, "He's calling for Elijah." One of them ran and got a sponge soaked in sour wine and lifted it on a stick so he could drink. The others joked, "Don't be in such a hurry. Let's see if Elijah comes and saves him."

  But Jesus, again crying out loudly, breathed his last.

  At that moment, the Temple curtain was ripped in two, top to bottom. There was an earthquake, and rocks were split in pieces. What's more, tombs were opened up, and many bodies of believers asleep in their graves were raised. (After Jesus' resurrection, they left the tombs, entered the holy city, and appeared to many.)

  The captain of the guard and those with him, when they saw the earthquake and everything else that was happening, were scared to death. They said, "This has to be the Son of God!"
  - Matthew 27:32-54 (Message)
  

  It seems kind of strange that we would call the day some holy guy was murdered as a "good" day.  If you think of the days when other influential religious figures were assassinated, you'd be hard pressed to find any of those days called "good."  So, what exactly is so "good" about Friday?
  
  Unlike other religious figures who have been killed for their beliefs, all of Christianity believes that Jesus died for a distinct purpose: to pave a way for us to go home.  In order to live fully and have eternal life, the Son of God had to die.  It is because of this sacrifice that Christians receive salvation.
  
  So while no death is really great or celebratory, in the most humble and selfless way possible, the death of Jesus is good, because without it we would not be able to have the relationship with God we enjoy today. 
  
  What do you find good in Good Friday?  How has Jesus' sacrifice changed your life? 

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