Everyone struggled on crucifixion Friday…
Peter struggled to stand firm.
Pilate struggled to save face.
Roman Soldiers struggled to keep order.
Faithful women struggled to help Jesus.
Pharisees struggled to discredit Jesus.
Followers struggled while watching the torture unfold.
Judas struggled with remorse.
John struggled with the weight of the moment.
But no one, no one that day, struggled more than Jesus.
He was called names, falsely accused, He was beaten with sticks and with rocks, and He was plastered with spit. Of the few friends He had, all but one of them turned their backs on Him in His darkest moment. Chunks of flesh were yanked from his back with a hook-tipped whip, He stumbled while carrying weight of a splintered cross, uphill, for about a mile. He was stripped naked – and crucified – in front of family, friends, followers and strangers. He suffered brutal torture and execution on the cross for six hours, struggling to breathe and feeling a sense of spiritual abandonment.
Inspired writer Ellen White says, “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones” Desire of Ages, p. 83.
Well, I find that difficult to do. Bathing in the scenes of Jesus on that Cross and thinking about what was done to Him is painful. It breaks my heart every time I think about what was done to my Lord and Savior that day. The events and how they unfolded, are absolutely gut wrenching. So, if there was so much struggling and suffering on that day, Why is Good Friday good?
Well, too often, we view the cross in terms of the taking of life rather than the giving of life, as a tragedy rather than a triumph. Good Friday is good because we see revealed there the supreme goodness and extraordinary love of God and His offer of salvation to me through forgiveness of my sins. It’s good because Jesus’ death on the cross is not about what men did to God, but instead what God did for me. Christ died for us, not because we are bad people, and worthless sinners, but because we are loved, because we are chosen, because we are His brothers and sisters, children of His Father.
Have you ever wondered what Jesus’ departure from Heaven was like before He set out for this dark and sinful earth? What were the Father’s last words to Him? Imagine the Heavenly Father saying goodbye to His one and only son… Ellen White paints this scene so beautifully that I’ve cut it out and taped it to my wall…
“Having collected the riches of the universe, and laid open the resources of infinite power, He gives them all into the hands of Christ, and says, ‘All these are for man’. Use these gifts to convince him that there is no love greater than Mine in earth or heaven. His greatest happiness will be found in loving Me. Desire of Ages, p.57.
Jesus, who fully embodied purity, holiness and sinlessness, embraced excruciating suffering and death, not as a martyr lacking choice, but as a redeemer who came after me, and paved the path to love and Salvation. His crucifixion is the ultimate demonstration of love removing the barrier of sin that kept me from my Father. This divine love, etched into the history of mankind on the cross at Calvary, defies my understanding.
“Father, I love her… she’s mine!”
So He willingly took the fall and thought of me above Himself. He thought of me above all. This is personal. This is the greatest love story ever told!
