Good Friday

After being betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus was arrested. He was taken before the Sanhedrin, and the High Priest where they began to interrogate Him. In Luke 22:67-70, We see some of this dialogue. It reads, “If You are the Christ, tell us’ But He said to them, ‘If I tell you , you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on THE SON OF MAN WILL BE SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND of the power OF GOD.’ And they all said, ‘Are You the Son of God then?’ And He said to them, ‘Yes, I am.” What happened next is described in the book of Mark. Mark 14:63, “Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, ‘What further need do we have of witnesses?” So what just happened? The high priest asked Jesus if He was the Son of God, and Jesus answered with two very important words, I AM. This is important because when Moses was being sent by God to deliver the Hebrew people from Egyptian slavery, Moses asked God, what shall I tell them your name is? Exodus 3:14, “God said to Moses, I AM WHO I AM; and He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.” The next thing to note is that the high priest tore his clothes. This was customary when someone heard something that upset them or broke their heart, they would literally rip open their clothing exposing their chest in the heart area, and beat their chest.

We know how the story goes, Jesus was beaten, mocked, scourged, and eventually nailed to the cross to be crucified. This had to happen to fulfill Scripture, He was to be the final sacrifice that would completely atone for our sin. His body crushed by the weight of our sin that he carried to the cross. When He was nailed to the cross, He prayed to God the Father to “forgive them, they know not what they do.” Even as He was being hung on the cross to die for our sins, He prayed for us. In the end, He said the three most important words in the history of the world, “It is finished.” At that moment the Scripture says He gave up the spirit, meaning He died. He died for your sins, He died for my sins, He died for all of our sins so we could have a chance to be with Him in heaven.

Now this is part I do not want you to miss, something amazing happened. When Jesus gave up the spirit and died, God tore the veil in the temple ripping it in half. The Father in Heaven tore the veil as His Son gave up His life. The same way the high priest, and the Jewish custom of the time would also tear their clothing. Luke 23:48, “And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, began to return, beating their breasts.” After Jesus died, many of the people were heart broken. So as we are celebrating “Good Friday” I pray that you keep this in mind, It is good because we have a chance at a relationship with Christ. It is good because we can be saved. It is good because we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. All you have to do is ask.

 

J. Steven Kight Jr.