Today is Good Friday, and I'm reflecting on what today represents. One thing I get concerned about is that we would treat the cross as a story that we've read, or heard about, so many times that we allow it to lose it's significance and let it fail to change our hearts on a daily basis. To understand the significance of the cross and what Jesus did for humanity, we have to first understand sin, and how we are all guilty of it, before we can wrap our heads around the magnitude of what God has done for us.
If we go way back to the beginning of creation, we can see that when God made the world and humanity, he said it was good and blessed it. Initially, Adam and Eve enjoyed a close relationship with God the creator, frequently walking together in Eden. God essentially gave complete freedom to Adam and Eve in the garden except for one thing, stay away from one tree. God set a standard for living right in relationship with him and they couldn't do it, they fell short and sin entered in and the world was forever changed. So what is sin? Well, that can be a huge theological discussion that I'm not really equipped to get into, but how I look at it is framed pretty well by what happened with Adam and Eve: God has given humanity his standard for righteous behavior or living, and to sin is to behave in a way that goes in opposition to that.
In our modern culture, sin is not a popular idea and I think in general a lot of people struggle with this concept. We find it offensive that anyone could be labeled as a sinner, including ourselves, and more and more we struggle even with the basic idea of right and wrong. Afterall, who are you to tell me that my behavior is sinful? Well, good news here, God does not discriminate and the bible is clear that from the beginning "The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time," (Genesis 6:5 NIV). The book of Romans tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23 NIV) so we are all in the same boat when it comes to sin.
So, with all of the above considerations, how then can anyone be saved and reconciled with God? The problem of evil must be dealt with, because we have a holy and just God, we can't simply go to him as we are, something needs to atone for our sin so we can enter into his presence unblemished. Luckily for us, he had a plan from the start. The old testament is full of prophecies and language that all point to the coming messiah, who as Christians we believe was Jesus Christ. Jesus the messiah was God's offering to humanity to provide that atonement for our sin, sending his own son so we could enter into a right relationship with him again, to in essence undo the damage that sin has done to it. God knew there was nothing that we could do on our own to restore that relationship, so out of his love for us, he intervened on our behalf. One of the most well known verses of the bible sums this up well, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life," (John 3:16 NIV).
In order that we not become numb to the depth of this sacrifice, the bible gives us much insight into the agony of what Jesus went through on our behalf. It is remarkable to me that our God chose to enter into his own creation, suffering the same pains that we do, because of his love for us. The prophet Isaiah said this, "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed," (Isaiah 53:4-5). In the gospel of Luke, we get a picture of Jesus' humanity as he wrestled with the horrific events that he was about to endure as he prayed on the night before his crucifixion, "He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground," (Luke 22:41-44 NIV).
Today is Good Friday, and it is good indeed when we consider all that God has done for us. The gift of the cross is one we could never earn, yet Jesus willingly stepped into it knowing full well how it would end up for him. Despite the presence of evil and suffering in the world, although we may not be able to fully understand why God allows it, what we can know is that it's not because he doesn't love us. Even though we are not naturally inclined to obey God and "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way," (Isaiah 53:6 NIV) by his own choice Jesus "bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors," (Isaiah 53:12 NIV). The bible provides vivid detail of the torture he endured in the events leading up to, and obviously during the crucifixion itself, yet it says that "After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities," (Isaiah 53:11). Did you see that? After he has suffered, he will be satisfied. Wow. The implication that Jesus would endure the agony of the cross and find it worthwhile, that is absolutely mind blowing to me. Thank you Jesus for what you have done for me, and for all of humanity. Amen.
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