Good Friday? What’s so “good” about remembering the death of Jesus Christ. He suffered and died by means of one of the most horrific ways to die. Not only was Jesus Christ nailed to the cross in form of great humiliation, but was flogged, mocked, beaten, and had insulting remarks made to Him.
Allow me to share a few GOOD thoughts that came to my mind while reading Luke 23 today:
- We all go through trials in life. Jesus went through them ALL. The symbolism of Christ’ crucifixion reminds me that when those trials come our way, there WILL be glory in the end. Y’all…the day of Jesus’ death was horrendous, but Sunday is coming! That’s GOOD!
- And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10
- Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12
- Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12
- I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33
- Today I was sitting on the beach around 1:00pm until 2:00pm. The sun was shining brightly and all was right in my world. The day that The Christ was crucified the world became completely dark between noon until three o’clock. Now, if that were to happen to me today while basking in the sun, I would have been perplexed and thought the world was coming to an end. Honestly, I have no idea what I would have thought, but it definitely would had been a memorable experience. When this happened on that iconic day, it was if the world was mourning the death of God’s Son. Do you think all those who hurled those insults and abused the Savior felt perplexed? Maybe they felt guilty for what they had done. Maybe they too thought the world was ending. Well, in a way, their world did end. Their world of religious traditions ended. Now ALL/EVERYONE had complete access to God. That’s GOOD!
- It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. Luke 23:44-45a
- Oh, don’t stop at the beginning of verse 45. Read the entire verse: for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Whew! Now hang on, read Matthew 27:51a: At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. From TOP TO BOTTOM! Every time I read those verses it takes me back to a Beth Moore bible study when she brought out the significance of those three words. Get this…the curtain was about 60 feet high. 60 FEET! I’m sitting near a tree now that is probably about 30 feet high. When I imagine the height of the curtain, that some say was about four inches thick…holy moly…that’s a curtain! If man were to tear it, it would be from the bottom to the top. But man didn’t tear the curtain, God did. Our Heavenly Father, up above, reached down and tore the curtain of the temple. This symbolizes that we don’t have to go through priest to enter the Holy of Holies for atonement for our sins. Nope. Jesus did that for us when He dies for our sins on the cross. Through Jesus’ death, we now have complete access to God. That’s GOOD!
- And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:19-25
It’s all GOOD, y’all!
Happy Good Friday, and remember that Sunday is a coming!
Blessings to you all, and enjoy soaking up The Son, in the sun. I am. Stephanie