Good Friday
1 Cor 15:1-4
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…
NIV
What Made Good Friday Good?
(Luke 23:44-46)
Intro:
A. The phrase “Good Friday” is not in the Bible. For that matter the words “Easter,” “trinity,” “Christmas” or even the word “bible” is not in the Bible.
B. There are over forty calendars currently in use, and many others that have been used or have been invented; for example we have the Jewish Calendar, Gregorian Calendar, Julian Calendar, Mayan Calendar and the Chinese Calendar! The date of when Jesus was born is a best guess using events found in scripture. The date of his death is also a best guess. We can get very tied to our beliefs, but to argue over days is a waste of time. Chronological Bibles don’t have the events of last week of the ministry of Jesus the same, including the day of the crucifixion. Was Jesus crucified on Thursday or Friday? Here is what I know: READ 1 Cor. 15:1-4.
C. While we know Jesus came into Jerusalem on a Sunday and rose the following Sunday, what I want to do today look at the cross. I want us to see what makes the cross so important, so central to Christianity and next week, what makes the resurrection important to our future.
D. So let’s go to that Thursday or Friday and meet Jesus at the cross to understand what makes Good Friday good.
I. The Path To Cross
A. The physical pain Jesus endured at the hand of Pilate before his crucifixion was something many of us don’t appreciate. The beating and the crown of thorns are often overlooked. It is no wonder that when Jesus was in the garden he prayed, “Father, let this cup pass from me.” Knowing the plan, knowing the result of the cross didn’t make it less painful. Once the verdict was given Jesus began the journey through the streets of Jerusalem carrying the cross beam that would be used to kill him. To make the physical pain less because of the spiritual benefit to us is unfair.
B. The truth is that Jesus could not carry that cross all the way. Matthew, Mark and Luke all tell us that a man named Simon from Cyrene was forced to take up the cross of Jesus and carry it the rest of the way. The place of execution is called Golgotha, which means “Place of a Skull.”
C. What part of this story is good? What aspect do you I want to celebrate? At what point do we weep as the women of Jerusalem did? Jesus endured physical pain for no personal wrongdoing. His death was not due to insurrection. This is not an easy description for me to share, but yet, later this week, many will stop to reflect on “Good Friday” this story. Some may fast that day, others may read the gospel accounts of what we are doing today, and others may simply go on with life. For me, the day is not holy, but what Jesus did on that day is part of what makes me holy this day.
II. Cries on The Cross
A. After we understand what happened early that day, we come to Golgotha and find Jesus hanging on a cross between two thieves. Nails were driven through his hands and feet pinning him to pole of wood. That alone causes me to cringe, but it didn’t kill Jesus instantly. Instead Jesus suffers more and begins to cry out while on the cross.
B. The Bible tells us that darkness was over the whole land from noon to 3 p.m. While Jesus hangs there we hear statements like, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” We hear Jesus in his humanity cry out that he thirsts, but he is unwilling to drink their cup while he endures God’s cup of suffering.
C. At the foot of the cross is Mary. How does a mother stay? Yet she can’t seem to leave. Finally, one of the disciples show up and Jesus places his mother in the care and love of that disciple. While dying he thinks about his mom who doesn’t have all the knowledge of God, yet was God’s servant since she was a teenage girl.
D. Jesus even offers life to a dying thief. When their sin brought death, Jesus would say to one of the, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” The cries are about relationship.
E. But what makes Good Friday good? We have yet to answer that question. All I have done with you today is tell you about the pain he suffered, the love he offered and the people who were there.
III. The Good of Good Friday
A. I want to close by sharing two reasons with you as to why I know the good that came from Good Friday.
B. 1 Pet. 2:24. The act of love was not that Jesus died or how he died. The greatest act of love is that Jesus took my sin and bore it in himself and then destroyed my sin on the cross. The only way to pay for sin was to die and Jesus took my sin upon him and died for me. His death was once for all mankind, but it’s personal to me. Jesus died because God didn’t want me to be eternally punished. The price to pay was the cross and by his wounds I am healed. That makes that day not, good, but great for me. The pain he suffered, the agony and the death was done for me. It’s personal to me.
C. There is a second reason why his death was good for me. As Jesus died on the cross, the last act done was the curtain of the temple torn in two. Luke 23:44-46. Matthew and Mark tell us it was torn from the top to the bottom. God himself tore the curtain. For the separation between man and God was finally over. READ Heb. 10:19-20. I take prayer for granted. I have direct access to the father because of the cross. Every prayer I say is then connected to cross.
Conclusion
A. The cross is not a place of defeat, but a place of victory. And the victory that overcomes is when I put my faith in the one who went to the cross. For Jesus did not simply die and was buried, but as we will study next Sunday he rose up, never to die again. I glory in the cross. I may weep for my sin took him there, but without Jesus going there I would still be in my sin.
B. I want to walk worthy of my calling by Jesus. I want to live in honor of the price that was paid. Praise God Jesus didn’t come down from the cross.
Because of Jesus,
Jeffrey Dillinger, minister