April 2 Is It “Good Friday” For You? Romans 5:6-10
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (Romans 5:6-10)
In the Christian Faith, Good Friday is a special day that recognizes the day that Jesus was crucified for our sins. Why is it that we call this day, “Good Friday?” If you happened to see the film, the “Passion of Christ,” you wouldn’t think of it as good! Jesus suffered beatings and agony and ridicule and torture, yet He remained focused on His mission and His calling. I love what D.A. Carson wrote, "It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will—and it was his love for sinners like me." It is a good day because he traded places for you and for me. It is a good day because it was the day he conquered sin and death so that we will never be apart from God on this side of heaven or for eternity. This man, this Son of God, was falsely accused, beaten, nailed to a cross and was stabbed in the side and a crown of large thorns was pressed into his head and He hung there, on that rugged old cross, for you and me! What happened that day was miraculous… At noon, strange things began to happen. The sky grew dark for three hours and Jesus cried out, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit," and then He died. The curtain of the temple was mysteriously torn in two from top to bottom and there was a great earthquake. It was Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath would start at sundown, but it wasn't just any Sabbath! It was during the Passover celebration, making it a very special Passover. After Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, He was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a borrowed tomb. Roman guards were sent to guard the tomb to ensure that no one would steal the body or spread rumors that He wasn’t dead. Finally, three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death! That Friday was a Good Friday for humanity! That Friday was a Miraculous Day for Humanity! That Friday was, and is, a GREAT DAY FOR GLEN! My God, the Creator of all that is, loved me enough to send His Son to die for my sins, sins that I had not even committed, yet His love for me is eternal and everlasting! Today, I live under the SHED BLOOD OF JESUS and participate in GOD’S LOVE, through JESUS CHRIST! I have claimed His unmerited favor and I have accepted HIS GRACE AND ETERNAL FORGIVENESS! “GOOD FRIDAY?” ABSOLUTELY!! This year, Good Friday will take place on Friday, April 2; and regardless of how you choose to observe and celebrate it, just knowing the story of Good Friday and what occurred on this amazing day, should cause our hearts to cry out to God in humility and thanksgiving and dedication. It is a day that is Holy and makes us Holy because God was drawing this world to Himself, through the sacrificial death of the LAMB OF GOD; that takes away the sin of the world; that is my Savior, Jesus Christ! Is this enough for you to declare that this is, indeed, a GOOD FRIDAY? Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE!