3/21/2008
Good Friday

Isaiah 53:10-11: “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

 Good Friday. In the Bible there are seven days that have the word “good” connected to them: the days of creation. Seven times in the first chapter of the Bible we hear a day, or, more properly, the works done in it, called good. God creates all things and brings forth life, and they are good. God declares them good.

 We have appended the label “good” to the day of Christ’s crucifixion. Is this presumptuous on our part? After all, Jesus was put to death, not because of His own sins, but because of the sins, the evil, of others.

• Of Judas, one of Christ’s closest followers, who betrayed Him. This was evil;

• Of Peter, who denied that he even knew Jesus. This was evil;

• Of the Jewish leaders, who condemned Jesus in a sham trial and then pushed Pilate to condemn a man whom he knew to be innocent. This was evil;

• Of Pilate, who gave in to pressure and condemned Jesus. This was evil.

Notice that these sins – betraying, denying, lying – are all sins of the mouth. We often think that sins of the mouth are pretty minor – “They’re just words, just a little white lie,” , but words can never hurt me” – but Jesus says: “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These defile a person.” (Matt. 15:18-20) They defile us, for we are all guilty of such things as speaking against others out of jealousy or dislike, or remaining silent instead of speaking up in defense of others. Our mouths reveal that our hearts are evil, just as evil as were the hearts of those who cried out for Jesus’ death. We human beings are all evil, for our hearts, our very natures, are sinful, filled with evil. We are the cause of Christ’s death. How, then, can we ap are the cause of Christ’s death. How, then, can we append the label “good” to the day in which we remember that we crucified Jesus? We cannot call any day good, or make it to be so – and especially such a sad and solemn day as this day.

 But, God can, for He is good, and all that He does is good. If we pay attention to what He says about this day and its events, if we hold on to His words in steadfast faith, this day will indeed be good. It will be good for us, as He intends it to be.

 “It was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,” God tells us through His prophet Isaiah. “the Lord makes his life a guilt offering.” This is what Good Friday is all about. God was at work. This is what makes Good Friday good, a day that is good for us forever. This is what you must hold on to, keep in your mind and heart and never let go of. This faith is the only thing that can benefit you.

 Jesus doesn’t want your sympathy, you see. Crocodile tears and cries of, “Unfair!” do not move God’s heart. God chose to crush His Son and cause Him to suffer. Jesus chose to bear your sins and offer His life as an offering to remove their guilt. Be thankful for this and rejoice in this! God was at work and was bringing forth life on that first Good Friday, even though to the eyes of those present He seemed to be far away. The only thing that moves His heart is believing this, confessing this, and thanking Him for this. Only such faith receives the forgiveness of sins and eternal life that Jesus died to win for us.

 “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, the new has come!” Scripture promises. You were in Christ as He hung on that cross. You were there; your sins  were bringing God’s judgment down upon Him and putting Him to death. But, more importantly, God was there. God was putting to death your sins by putting to death His Son. He was bringing forth a new life for you, a life that is good and holy and eternal. This was confirmed by what took place right after Jesus died. “The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,” Matthew tells us (27:52-53). “Coming out of the tombs after his resurrec-tion they went into the holy city and appeared to many.” God brought forth sinners from death to new life by the death of His Son.

 Is it presumptuous on our part to call this day Good Friday? No. It is never presumptuous to affirm what God says. Rather, it is good; it is right; it is holy. We are confessing God’s work, proclaiming that this is His creation day, the new creation day. “Though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” (Is. 53:10) “by his wounds we are healed.” (Is. 53:5) Thanks be to God!