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Good Friday. We use this label to identify the day Jesus was betrayed, arrested, tried, and crucified. When you compare the title and description, it sounds almost irreverent, doesn’t it? What takes place on Good Friday is the most wicked, egregious, sinful act in all of human history: the murder of the Son of God.
So why is it, then, that we call it Good Friday? What could be so good about the worst event in history?
That is what we will discover in our short time together tonight.
Framing the discussion
To answer this question, we need to start at the beginning… the very beginning, not just of human history, but from the very foundations of the world.
Adam and Eve’s fall into sin did not catch God unaware. Before He uttered creation into existence, He knew that humanity would fall and that a plan of redemption needed to be in place. Even in the Garden story, the concept of the necessity of a blood offering to pay for sin was established. We see this in the shedding of innocent blood – an animal – so that Adam and Eve’s nakedness could be covered. From the very beginning, it is understood that sin must be atoned for (atonement = payment for wrongdoing that reconciles). That is crucial for our understanding.
But, going back even further than the Garden of Eden, we see that God has fully developed and laid out this plan of redemption that would ultimately take 4,000 years to unfold. This is declared in the Acts narrative when Peter delivers his first sermon after the Pentecost event. He stands in front of a Jewish crowd and exclaims:
Acts 2:22–23 ESV
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
and is reiterated in Revelation 13:8
Revelation 13:8 NIV
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.
Passion Week
Now, with that understanding in mind, let’s turn our attention to Passion Week. This past Sunday, we celebrated Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, where the people lovingly accepted him as they cried out, “Hosanna!” The very same people, mind you, who would cry out in a matter of days, ‘Crucify Him!”
Throughout this week, Jesus cleansed the Temple of Money Changers, confronted the Pharisees, taught many parables, and warned His people of coming destruction. These were His final parting gifts to His disciples and ended with the Passover meal, a prophecy He fulfilled in their presence.
The Passover
In the book of Exodus, we see God miraculously deliver his people from their oppression in Egypt by striking down the firstborn of every household in the final act of a series of judgments over the land. On this night, the firstborn of every household would die by the Lord’s hand unless the blood of a lamb covered their house. The Hebrews were instructed to bring a lamb into their home and sacrifice it. It was to be spotless, and none of its bones were to be broken.
When the lamb was sacrificed, its blood was to be spread over the doorposts of the home using a hyssop branch so that when the Lord came to that house and saw the blood covering, he would pass over that house, leaving the firstborn unharmed. This is where the name ‘Passover’ came from.
This event was being celebrated during this time. Jesus was keeping the commandment to partake of the Passover meal but was also bringing about its final fulfillment, just as John the Baptist announced at the onset of Jesus’ ministry:
John 1:29 ESV
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Jesus is the Passover sacrifice – the Lamb of God – who covers us with His blood. But this still begs the question: why is that necessary in the first place? We caught a glimpse of it in Eden, but why is it necessary?
The Sacrificial System
By the time we get to the book of Leviticus, we see the initial blood sacrifice from Eden develop into a complete system of atonement. The people were numerous and needed a way to remain in God’s presence as His holy people, but they couldn’t if they were tainted by sin. To remove their sin, the blood of bulls, goats, lambs, and even doves had to be offered as a substitutionary atonement for the sin of the individual. There was no other way to deal with sin. Blood was the payment, and if you wanted to continue living, it couldn’t be your blood poured out on the altar. Thus, God allowed animals to be sacrificed in the individual’s place.
This was the divinely prescribed method of dealing with sin for generations, but it was not the ultimate plan. The entire sacrificial system was set in place temporarily so that it could point to a permanent reality. As the author of Hebrews tells us:
Hebrews 10:1–4 ESV
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
The problem with the blood sacrifice of animals is that it could only atone for the current sin, not all sin. So, the next time an Israelite sinned, another animal went down. The only sufficient sacrifice for humans is a human. The only spotless, unblemished person (meaning someone who has never sinned) to ever walk this earth is God Himself – Jesus the Messiah.
And, as we walk that road from Jerusalem to Golgotha with Him tonight, we are witnessing the final stage in redemptive history lived out.
In our last few minutes together, I want to walk you through the crucifixion, reading from the gospel accounts. And, as we do, we will also read from the Old Testament scriptures, seeing clearly how God’s eternal plan of redemption fits perfectly with Jesus’ final day.
The Crucifixion
As I said before, according to numerous Old Testament Prophecies, Jesus is betrayed, arrested, tried, beaten, and crucified.
Let us now witness together the pain and suffering that brought us peace.
Let’s stand beside Jesus while on trial under Pilate:
Matthew 27:11–14 ESV
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Isaiah 53:7 ESV
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
Lambs don’t resist, you see. They go where they are led.
Let’s humbly witness the mockery and beating he bore:
John 19:1–3 ESV
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2 And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3 They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
Mark 15:20 ESV
20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
Psalm 22:14–17 ESV
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
it is melted within my breast;
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
17 I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;
And let us stand at the foot of the cross, bearing witness to the cost of our redemption
Luke 23:32–35 ESV
32 Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. 35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
Isaiah 53:3–4 ESV
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
Psalm 22:18 ESV
18 they divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
Mark 15:33–34 ESV
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Psalm 22:1 ESV
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
John 19:28–42 ESV
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” [Ex. 12:46]37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.” [Zech. 12:10]
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Psalm 69:21 ESV
21 They gave me poison for food,
and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
Isaiah 53:5–6 ESV
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Conclusion
And for three days – from Friday to Sunday – it would seem like all hope had been lost. To the disciples of Jesus, it would seem like this was game over. To them, it was not Good Friday.
But for us, we know that this was the apex, the crescendo of God’s eternal plan of redemption, and we can have confidence that when Jesus said, “It is finished!” it truly is finished! At His death, the veil of the Temple was torn in half – signifying that the way to God was restored. He is our atoning, substitutionary sacrifice.
The price for removing your sin and mine had been paid in full – once for all time! That is why it is called Good Friday!
So, as we leave here, we will do so in silence, contemplating the profound truth that the very God we rejected is the one who endured the punishment for our sin. Let us be somber in our meditation of this reality today and tomorrow as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the final victory of the resurrection.