Friday, April 2, 2021

What's so Good about Good Friday?

 When they take the Son of God and put Him to death, why is that considered good?


Because when He died that horrific tortured death on Calvary, He took the punishment due us for our rebellion against God.

It was good for us. Was it good for Him?

When He arose from the dead on Easter, He proved that what He said was true. He had been predicting these moments to His followers for a couple years and they did not believe Him.

Until He did it.

The Bible says, "… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 2:2).

So if Jesus came down from Glory, endured the cross, and went back to Glory, what was His net gain?

Us.
We were the joy set before Him.

We are the bride He travelled to a far land to obtain (like Jacob did, among other examples).
Granted we're not the finished product, yet, but if we cooperate with His plan, He sees something in us He wants to spend eternity with.
I'm good with that. That's good.

I want to share a cool thing with you.
If you're not a Christian, please read anyway, because it never hurts to have a little information about what those whackos around you believe.

A few people know that Psalm 22 is a description of the crucifixion of Jesus that was written hundreds of years before the event.
David saw it in a vision and it shakes him up so much that he starts out with:
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Many Christians have been taught that, as He was crucified, Jesus was crying this out to His Father in heaven, because the Father could not bear to look on Jesus, our scapegoat.
That He was separated from the Father.
That Jesus was accursed (and the Father could not be in fellowship with Jesus because it would violate His holiness) because Jesus was carrying the penalty of the sins of the world.

Give me a break.

<< 1 Corinthians 12:3 >> Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed.

Jesus and the Father had this worked out since before the universe was created, and at the last minute The All-Powerful Ruler of More than the Universe flinches?
No.
If the Father and the Son (who with the Spirit are referred to as the "Godhead" in perfect unity) ever separated, I believe the universe would crumble.

As you read the gospels, particularly John's, you see that the Pharisees (some of them, like Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, were good guys, by the way) were asking Jesus for a sign that he was the Messiah. He continually answered them that when they saw Him lifted up, that would be their sign.
Here He is, lifted up in front of them. He's surrounded by "strong bulls" (prison slang for guards), and the crowd is taunting Him. It's the scene predicted in Psalm 22 .
Then He quotes the first verse of Psalm 22.

This is called a "Remez". It's a teaching tool Jesus had used for 3 years.

When they hear this verse, they remember the rest of the Psalm.
The Pharisees had asked Jesus for a sign.
He said that they would have it when the Son of Man was lifted up.
(Remember that joke, "Here's your sign."?)
Can you imagine the look on their face when they get it?
This death on this cross by this man was predicted hundreds of years ago.
Here was their sign.

The ramifications are huge.

Do you get it?

These people did:
https://stream.org/did-god-abandon-jesus-on-the-cross/

8 comments:

  1. Yes indeed, foretold by the Law and the Prophets.

    I think it's curious that evil, like its subset the Left, always produces the exact opposite of its intended result. We see this, epitomized, on the Cross.

    Death produces unconquerable life in the perfect sacrifice of the Son.

    Think on the serpentine, blinded fury of the demons in the light of the glory of God.

    Sorry... I'll stop preaching...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's your job, you vocation, your gift.
      I'm not stopping you :)

      Delete
  2. This was an excellent read. I came to share Hebrews 12:2. It is wonderful you state the same verse (although you missed the 1 in 12 which renders it as 2.)

    Consider the joy which Jesus held for doing the work of the Father who sent him. In John does Jesus repeatedly speak of doing the work of the Father, joyfully, in perfect obedience.

    In our mortal selves, we weep bitterly for the scourging and the crucifixion. Yet, in faith, as believers, we must see this day as God does.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whether people realize it or not, or even if they think they don’t like it, God is with us at all times. The statement bears repeating. We, humans, are God’s creation — as all things are, but among all of His creations, we human beings are especially loved by God; He created us in his image, and all that is needed to feel God’s presence is to acknowledge that He is with us constantly. Getting to know God is more challenging, though. To know God, we must make a choice and an effort to let go of the things that make us fearful, angry, depressed — we must let go of the pain in our lives that keep us away from our fellowship with God and those around us who we profess to love.

    There is a line of dialogue in a popular film where the character of Jesus tells the main actor, “I’m not looking for slaves; I’m looking for friends to join my family.” What a wonderful thought that is.

    We are all sinners — a concept that I think extends far beyond such things as lying, stealing, or maleficent behavior. The remedy for us is a two-fold cocktail. Asking for forgiveness for our unseemly ways, the things we do to cause pain in others is the first part. The second part is forgiving those who have caused us pain. Once we can do these two things, we begin to move into the light. Once we take that first step toward the light, we are able to begin an authentic, deeply personal relationship with Our Heavenly Father. We must open our eyes to see (understand); open our ears to hear (God speaking to us), and open our hearts to let Him in.

    The question for all of us is simple. Do we prefer to remain in the dark with our pain, fear, anger, unhappiness, and malaise — or would we rather enter into the light?

    Either way, the choice is ours — something to think about at Easter other than chocolate rabbits.

    ReplyDelete