Have
you ever stopped and pondered why this holiday is called “Good” Friday? After all, this is a day that commemorates
the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. First
of all, crucifixion was an excruciating, barbaric, violent, and bloody method
of execution. Secondly, Jesus wasn’t
guilty of any wrongdoing; He didn’t deserve to die at all. So why would this day be considered
“good”? This is an important question.
You
have to understand the notion of substitutionary atonement to understand the
ramifications of Good Friday. I recently heard a sermon where the pastor said, “Without
substitution, the death of Jesus is
unintelligible.” I agree. Substitutionary
atonement is the theological truth that Jesus took the punishment that you and
I rightly deserved on the cross. When
Jesus was hanging on that cross, He wasn’t paying for His sins; He was paying
for the sin of every human being. The
Bible puts it this way: “But He (speaking of Jesus) was pierced for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought
us peace was upon Him."
No
one else in all of human history could have done what Jesus did all those
centuries ago. Jesus alone was qualified
to take the price of all that sin on Himself.
Only Jesus was (and is) God in human flesh. The Bible declares, “For in Him the whole
fullness of deity dwells bodily.”
Further, only Jesus was sinless.
The Bible says that Jesus “committed no sin, and no deceit was found in
His mouth.” Therefore, only Jesus Christ
was worthy to be the sin-bearer for all of humanity. The Bible says, “He (Jesus) is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the
whole world.”
In
C.S. Lewis’ wonderful book “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” Lucy,
Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie stumble into the magical land of Narnia. Edmund meets Jadis, the evil White
Witch. She offers him a hot drink and some
Turkish delight. For a time, Edmund allies
himself with Jadis; he even goes so far as to tell the witch where he last saw
his siblings, putting them in mortal danger.
He begins to see the White Witch’s true colors, comes to his senses, and
eventually turns against her. But the
cost for his transgression remains. The
cost, as he is told, is blood.
Seeing the dire situation, Aslan
the Lion, the true king of Narnia, does something that shocks every Narnian: he
gallantly chooses to give his own life to save Edmund’s. Under the cover of night - after having his
mane shaved - and after being taunted and jeered by the crowd, the evil witch, slays Aslan with a knife. This scene points us to Christ’s sacrifice for us.
I’m
convinced that someone reading these words has been tracking with me, and is
even in agreement with everything that has been said. But just knowing these facts are not enough
to be in right standing before God. You
have to put your faith and trust in Jesus.
You have to take the gift of reconciliation with God for yourself. The Bible says, “Come all you who are
thirsty, come to the waters; and you have no money, come, buy and eat…let him
turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God for He will
freely pardon.” He will have mercy
because of Jesus’ shed blood. He will
freely pardon because of Good Friday.
Receive the gift. Move beyond
intellectual understanding, and in faith, say “yes” to Jesus today.
Kevin
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