Is Good Friday a time to mourn the death of Christ or is it an opportunity to celebrate? Most would say that Good Friday is a time for mourning and Easter Sunday is the celebration party. Who am I to disagree with them?
I will offer this suggestion, though. In my studies, I've come to realise that the victory wasn't just in the resurrection. Sure, the resurrection was God the Father passing judgement on His son, Jesus Christ, and declaring Him to be good, so He raised Him up from the dead. Jesus was resurrected. That's a powerful victory, showing that God has control of all things, even in death (which Christ Himself had shown throughout His ministry).
The victory was on the Cross. Jesus, in complete obedience to His Father, was humiliated upon the Cross. God humbled Himself, walked a path of humiliation and was hung on a tree, crucified for all the world to see. He died a man, who had been completely obedient to God the Father, where we couldn't be. He died and conquered death, that we might live and have eternal life. He died that we could have a relationship with the Father, as He does.
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus' last words upon the Cross were "It is finished". All that had been prophesied had come to pass. The price God chose to pay to redeem us, you and me, was the blood on His son on the Cross. Everything came to a head that day that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. God's plan had been fulfilled: to buy back everyone with the blood of Christ.
It is humbling to know that God did that, so long ago, for me. He did it for you. He always planned to do that. Before the foundations of the world, before the dawn of time, before the creation of the universe, God knew the Eternal Son was going to be sacrificed to redeem you and I, so that we could be adopted into His family and have a relationship with Him.
God did it so that we could be exalted with Him. See, Jesus, a man (yes, both God and man), is seated right now at the right hand of the Father. Just so you catch what I just said, right now there is a man, a human being, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. A human being is in heaven right now! Not dead, alive!! When Christ ascended, He ascended as both God and man. Remember, He was resurrected as a man. He ascended as a man. This is so we could be exalted as humans with Him in heaven.
The victory here, though, is on the Cross. See, when Christ died, he conquered death. He overwhelmed death and made it life. He fulfilled God's plan, living a life of complete obedience. Jesus wasn't fearless. He was scared stiff knowing what was coming up. In Gethsemane, He prayed that there might be some other way. He knew He had to die, and He didn't really want to. If you knew you were going to be arrested tomorrow and that it would result in you being crucified, dying an excruciatingly long and painful death, would you do it anyway? Jesus did.
The victory is on the Cross. So while we mourn because it is a sad moment for those of us who love Christ, it is also a time to celebrate His victory over sin and death. We celebrate because we are justified by Jesus' victory in death. By Jesus' death, we are totally accepted by God. The death of Christ is the great redeeming act that restores our relationship with God, enabling us to stand with our heads held high.
So on Good Friday, while we may feel some sorrow for the pain and humiliation suffered by Christ, remember that the great act of redemption was Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, which is a reason to rejoice and celebrate because we are now brought closer to God and share in a loving relationship with Him.
I will offer this suggestion, though. In my studies, I've come to realise that the victory wasn't just in the resurrection. Sure, the resurrection was God the Father passing judgement on His son, Jesus Christ, and declaring Him to be good, so He raised Him up from the dead. Jesus was resurrected. That's a powerful victory, showing that God has control of all things, even in death (which Christ Himself had shown throughout His ministry).
The victory was on the Cross. Jesus, in complete obedience to His Father, was humiliated upon the Cross. God humbled Himself, walked a path of humiliation and was hung on a tree, crucified for all the world to see. He died a man, who had been completely obedient to God the Father, where we couldn't be. He died and conquered death, that we might live and have eternal life. He died that we could have a relationship with the Father, as He does.
The Gospel of John tells us that Jesus' last words upon the Cross were "It is finished". All that had been prophesied had come to pass. The price God chose to pay to redeem us, you and me, was the blood on His son on the Cross. Everything came to a head that day that Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. God's plan had been fulfilled: to buy back everyone with the blood of Christ.
It is humbling to know that God did that, so long ago, for me. He did it for you. He always planned to do that. Before the foundations of the world, before the dawn of time, before the creation of the universe, God knew the Eternal Son was going to be sacrificed to redeem you and I, so that we could be adopted into His family and have a relationship with Him.
God did it so that we could be exalted with Him. See, Jesus, a man (yes, both God and man), is seated right now at the right hand of the Father. Just so you catch what I just said, right now there is a man, a human being, seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. A human being is in heaven right now! Not dead, alive!! When Christ ascended, He ascended as both God and man. Remember, He was resurrected as a man. He ascended as a man. This is so we could be exalted as humans with Him in heaven.
The victory here, though, is on the Cross. See, when Christ died, he conquered death. He overwhelmed death and made it life. He fulfilled God's plan, living a life of complete obedience. Jesus wasn't fearless. He was scared stiff knowing what was coming up. In Gethsemane, He prayed that there might be some other way. He knew He had to die, and He didn't really want to. If you knew you were going to be arrested tomorrow and that it would result in you being crucified, dying an excruciatingly long and painful death, would you do it anyway? Jesus did.
The victory is on the Cross. So while we mourn because it is a sad moment for those of us who love Christ, it is also a time to celebrate His victory over sin and death. We celebrate because we are justified by Jesus' victory in death. By Jesus' death, we are totally accepted by God. The death of Christ is the great redeeming act that restores our relationship with God, enabling us to stand with our heads held high.
So on Good Friday, while we may feel some sorrow for the pain and humiliation suffered by Christ, remember that the great act of redemption was Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, which is a reason to rejoice and celebrate because we are now brought closer to God and share in a loving relationship with Him.
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