The Message of Good Friday
Across the country millions will celebrate Good Friday, the somber reminder of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. What are the messages of this sobering day?
One, the first message of Good Friday is the seriousness of sin. Sin is brutally deadly. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. There can be many faces of this death. If you steal from your company, the wages of that sin could be the death of your career. If you cheat on your spouse, the cost could be the death of your marriage. If you are caught in a public lie, the wages could be the death of your reputation. But the ultimate price for sin is spiritual death which is all about separation from the holy God who created us, in a word hell. Christians talk a lot about the “good news” but before we get to the good news, we have to acknowledge the bad news of the Bible. Each of us is a sinner. Adam and Eve began the rebellion against God but each of us have joined it. The late theologian R.C. Sproul said we all have committed “cosmic treason.” Only the ugly, painful death of Christ on the cross could pay the price for the sins of the world. We see him feeling the full weight of the wrath of God the Father against that sin when he cried out from the cross, “My God my God why have you forsaken me?” Good Friday begins with bad news. Thankfully it does not end there.
Two, the second message of Good Friday is that God loves us profoundly; despite our rebellion. Despite our ingratitude towards Him, God still loves us deeply and passionately. Like a parent with a way ward child, he scans the horizon hoping we will return to him. He knew that there was no way that we could build a bridge back to Him, so He did it for us through the cross of Christ. Jesus became the substitute for us. He voluntarily took our punishment, the wrath of God against sin. This sacrifice was made of love. We are told this in one of the most famous passages of the Scripture; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Paul sums it up this way “God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). I have never ever had someone die for me personally, but Jesus did.
Third, the last message of Good Friday is that the cross is not the end of the story. Good Friday did not feel good at the time. Jesus was dying in agony. Peter was hiding in shame after denying he even knew Jesus. Judas had taken his own life because of the depression and regret that clouded his vision. He saw no way forward. Most of the apostles had fled for fear that they were going to be next. Friday was a day of confusion and panic, but Resurrection Sunday would be a day of clarity and conviction. On Friday Jesus had made predictions and promises but on Resurrection Sunday the world was forever changed. And now on Sunday the rest of the story….
Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church
One, the first message of Good Friday is the seriousness of sin. Sin is brutally deadly. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. There can be many faces of this death. If you steal from your company, the wages of that sin could be the death of your career. If you cheat on your spouse, the cost could be the death of your marriage. If you are caught in a public lie, the wages could be the death of your reputation. But the ultimate price for sin is spiritual death which is all about separation from the holy God who created us, in a word hell. Christians talk a lot about the “good news” but before we get to the good news, we have to acknowledge the bad news of the Bible. Each of us is a sinner. Adam and Eve began the rebellion against God but each of us have joined it. The late theologian R.C. Sproul said we all have committed “cosmic treason.” Only the ugly, painful death of Christ on the cross could pay the price for the sins of the world. We see him feeling the full weight of the wrath of God the Father against that sin when he cried out from the cross, “My God my God why have you forsaken me?” Good Friday begins with bad news. Thankfully it does not end there.
Two, the second message of Good Friday is that God loves us profoundly; despite our rebellion. Despite our ingratitude towards Him, God still loves us deeply and passionately. Like a parent with a way ward child, he scans the horizon hoping we will return to him. He knew that there was no way that we could build a bridge back to Him, so He did it for us through the cross of Christ. Jesus became the substitute for us. He voluntarily took our punishment, the wrath of God against sin. This sacrifice was made of love. We are told this in one of the most famous passages of the Scripture; “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Paul sums it up this way “God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). I have never ever had someone die for me personally, but Jesus did.
Third, the last message of Good Friday is that the cross is not the end of the story. Good Friday did not feel good at the time. Jesus was dying in agony. Peter was hiding in shame after denying he even knew Jesus. Judas had taken his own life because of the depression and regret that clouded his vision. He saw no way forward. Most of the apostles had fled for fear that they were going to be next. Friday was a day of confusion and panic, but Resurrection Sunday would be a day of clarity and conviction. On Friday Jesus had made predictions and promises but on Resurrection Sunday the world was forever changed. And now on Sunday the rest of the story….
Pastor Derek Dickinson
Journey Christian Church
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