“What’s so good about Friday” asked the voice over the two way radio; the demands of an understaffed and overwhelming night shift had exasperated the man to the point of asking a question that I could not ignore.
So, what makes this particular Friday – good?
My honest answer and the answer of the scriptures is – nothing….nothings good about it….IF Sunday hadn’t come.
Let me ask you, if death had gotten the last word in Jesus’ life would there be any basis for our faith?
The answer comes from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth where we read the following [1 Cor. 15:12-19] :
“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”
Paul’s answer to our question is “No, there would be no basis for our faith at all if Jesus had not risen.”
The Passion Week as Jesus went through it was the conclusion of the Lord’s mission on earth, the fulfillment of His obsession with the work of His Father to redeem mankind. The Passion Week is, above all other descriptors –the week of Jesus’ most incredible suffering and cruelest torture as our substitute, in our place, paying the price for the sins of all mankind.
At His crucifixion, Jesus Christ was dishonored and humiliated, a fact which led one modern church historian, the late Dr. Bruce Shelly to make this statement:
“Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event, the humiliation of its God.”
With His own blood mixed with the spit of His torturers clinging to and dripping from His face, falsely accused and mockingly adjudicated by the religious leadership of the day, Jesus was nailed to and hung from the cross to pay for the sins of mankind – yours, mine and everyone else”s.
The Apostle Paul said in (Colossians 2:14) that God in Christ had “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.N
The “handwriting of requirements which were against us God nailed to the cross of Christ” was the Law of Moses, both the ceremonial and the moral code. One commentator wrote:
“Three expressions describe the law: (1) it is written in ordinances, expressed in decrees and commandments; (2) it was against us, had a valid claim on us; (3) it was contrary to us, because we couldn’t meet the claim. Paul states that bond was: (1) blotted out; (2) taken out of the way; (3) and nailed to His cross. This was once-for-all removal (2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:15–16; Gal 3:13). In the East, a bond is cancelled by nailing it to the post. Our bond of guilt was nailed to Christ’s cross.”[i]
In a very real sense Jesus became not only the perfect and final Passover lamb but the perfect scapegoat and sin offering to God, slain to atone perfectly for our sin (Heb. 9:12) “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” You and I once stood as debtors condemned under the Law of Moses – the Ten Commandments but Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses (Matt. 5:17) liberating us from condemnation and cancelling the debt against us.
The Psalmist wrote in (Psalm 30:5)
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.”
What’s so good about Friday? The supervisor who asked that question has, no doubt, long forgotten the answer I gave which resulted in a memorable silence on the usually crowded radio frequency. But I told him what I’m telling you: Friday is “good” because it was on that day that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and on Sunday, He arose from the grave alive again!
Apart from the resurrection, the Lord’s death would have been a painful moment of grief and loss for a handful of men and women who had loved and trusted in Him but because He did not remain dead – because He rose again both His death and His resurrection have impacted the lives of millions upon millions over the ages.
God has placed great significance upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ – He has seen to it that it is written (Romans 10:9-10):
“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Apart from faith in the Risen Savior and His resurrection – you cannot be saved.
Death did not have the last word in our Savior’s life and I for one rejoice in that fact. The question is, will it have the last word in your life? It doesn’t have to…you don’t have to die in your sins; you don’t have to face God’s judgment alone. Jesus died for your sins as well as mine and he rose again to make everlasting life possible for you in Heaven with Him – all that is required of you to start off is faith.
Joy awaits – will you trust Him today?
[i] Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (pp. 2461–2462). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
A bloody religion indeed. The correct, precise and solitary sacrifice that erased the sin debt of eternity, capped by the conquering of death and the grace to pronounce victory and eternal life for all who believe. Good Friday is good because Resurrection Sunday sealed the pardon of all who will yield themselves to be servant to this King!
Amen!