Good Friday?
The Death of Jesus
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Reflection:
Today's reading describes the death of our Savior. During Holy Week we call this "Good Friday". Although I wonder if it was so good for Jesus, as three hours into the torturous crucifixion calls out for His Heavenly Father. For his whole ministry he has been connected to his Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. He has been dependent on the Father for everything he has done. He has spent long hours in prayer before any major event in his mission and ministry. In short, the two are inseparable. Whenever we see Jesus doing what he does, he says we are seeing the Father's heart and will.
But right now at the height of emotional and physical pain the Father is absent. Jesus calls out saying "my God, my God why have you forsaken me." These are some of the most stirring and poignant words in all of the bible. The Son of God is forsaken by God the Father. And we might think how could this be? Does the Father not love the Son? What Father would let His Son go through this?
As we now know though, Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross. Our sin and death was transferred to Jesus and he suffered and took our place. In theological terms we call this "substitutionary atonement". He received the judgment we deserved and atoned for our sins. He was innocent and deserved none of this, but willingly took on all of it. Why did the Father allow it and the Son undergo it? Out of love for the world and us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Before we can focus on our salvation, we have to acknowledge and remember God's great, deep love for us. Romans 5:8 says it the best, "God proved His love for us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!"
If we miss the power of this great scene in the bible which we read every year on Good Friday, I dare say we have missed the whole point of Christianity. But if we do recognize what Jesus had done and believe in faith what He has done for the whole world, we will be saved and ours sin forgiven. And as we realize this, our hearts are changed by what we call the Gospel, the Good News. This will be the fuel for the rest of our Christian life. If we are fueled by anything else it might be in vain.
The other application is there might be times in our lives when we feel forsaken by God. Although Jesus promised to never leave or forsake us and God never goes back on promise, there might be times when we feel forsaken by God, or at least that He isn't listening to our prayers. But we know that God does hear our prayers just not always in our timing or our way. Eventually God raised Jesus from the dead just as He promised, and God will raise us from the dead as we trust in the promise of the Gospel. That is why this became Good Friday for Jesus and by application all of us. Amen.
33 At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 34 And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 35 When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.” 36 Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. 37 With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. 38 The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died,[c] he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” 40 Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. 41 In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
Reflection:
Today's reading describes the death of our Savior. During Holy Week we call this "Good Friday". Although I wonder if it was so good for Jesus, as three hours into the torturous crucifixion calls out for His Heavenly Father. For his whole ministry he has been connected to his Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. He has been dependent on the Father for everything he has done. He has spent long hours in prayer before any major event in his mission and ministry. In short, the two are inseparable. Whenever we see Jesus doing what he does, he says we are seeing the Father's heart and will.
But right now at the height of emotional and physical pain the Father is absent. Jesus calls out saying "my God, my God why have you forsaken me." These are some of the most stirring and poignant words in all of the bible. The Son of God is forsaken by God the Father. And we might think how could this be? Does the Father not love the Son? What Father would let His Son go through this?
As we now know though, Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on the cross. Our sin and death was transferred to Jesus and he suffered and took our place. In theological terms we call this "substitutionary atonement". He received the judgment we deserved and atoned for our sins. He was innocent and deserved none of this, but willingly took on all of it. Why did the Father allow it and the Son undergo it? Out of love for the world and us. For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Before we can focus on our salvation, we have to acknowledge and remember God's great, deep love for us. Romans 5:8 says it the best, "God proved His love for us, for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us!"
If we miss the power of this great scene in the bible which we read every year on Good Friday, I dare say we have missed the whole point of Christianity. But if we do recognize what Jesus had done and believe in faith what He has done for the whole world, we will be saved and ours sin forgiven. And as we realize this, our hearts are changed by what we call the Gospel, the Good News. This will be the fuel for the rest of our Christian life. If we are fueled by anything else it might be in vain.
The other application is there might be times in our lives when we feel forsaken by God. Although Jesus promised to never leave or forsake us and God never goes back on promise, there might be times when we feel forsaken by God, or at least that He isn't listening to our prayers. But we know that God does hear our prayers just not always in our timing or our way. Eventually God raised Jesus from the dead just as He promised, and God will raise us from the dead as we trust in the promise of the Gospel. That is why this became Good Friday for Jesus and by application all of us. Amen.
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