My son asked me this question on our way to school as we played worship music and anticipated the Hope of the coming Holy Week.
A six year old who knows Jesus as his personal savior, an innocent child with pure faith and awe and wonder – he asked a question so many of us adults ponder as well.
I know I did. And maybe you have, too. Or maybe you don’t care for religion and you’re still asking why the heck we call it Good?
The Hard Truth
The hard truth is that the death of Jesus was not good. It was brutal. It was beyond anything we can mentally comprehend because we are not exposed to that kind of torture.
The real and raw PG version I shared with my son was that Jesus was beaten and mocked. The crowd that a week earlier praised Him was now chanting “crucify him!” And despite being able to end it all, Jesus instead took all that pain so that we would never have to. He died so that we can find real and true and EVERLASTING life with God once and for all.
The real and raw unabridged version is that they flogged Him so many times that just one more could have killed someone. Then they kicked, spit, and punched Him so that there was not a single area of flesh that wasn’t covered in blood. With open wounds and bleeding out, Jesus carried the cross they would hang Him on. He carried that massive piece of wood – with all its weight and splinters – uphill and He did all of this for one reason and one reason only. For you. And for me.
“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.”
Isaiah 53:5 ESV
Don’t let the brutal torture of the crucifixtion deceive you into believing that Jesus did not have the power or authority to call on the angel armies to take out every soldier who mocked Him or every person crying for a murderers release over His own. He could have wiped out the entire earth if He wanted to, but that wasn’t the plan. That’s not who He is.
The Good Father
““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
Jesus knew why He had to take up that cross. And He knew WHO He was taking it up for: not only the righteous or the believers. Not only for the good and the kind. Not only for His disciples and religious leaders.
No. He took that cross for ALL.
“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 ESV
For the mockers, the chanters, the murderers that hung beside Him. We live because He took the punishment we all deserve but could never and – honestly – would never pay.
He took that cross up that hill and felt every ounce of pain as He did it for us. He felt the impossible pain of burying your family. He felt the agony of losing your spouse. He felt the incomprehensible ache of not watching your baby live. There is nothing emotionally, physically, financially, or mentally He did not feel and conquer upon that cross.
If you’re still reading and thinking, ok, Nicole, so that is what makes it good?
Not necessarily. That’s what makes it heartbreaking.
It should make you uncomfortable and cause you to pause and check your heart. It should. For some it will, and for others, it may not be the time. So what is it?
The Hope & Promise
Hope is what makes Friday good.
Jesus told His disciples over and over that His death was good for them. Because of His death, Hope would come alive.
You see, as Phil Wickham sings, “Friday is Good because Sunday is coming.”
You see, the cross is not the end of the story. Redemption and reconciliation are reborn as Christ is risen! When everything in this life feels lost or broken or failed or flawed.. Sunday is coming.
For my sisters and brothers in Christ – may we remember the Hope that today offers. It should remind us that we were never promised an easy cross to carry. We were never promised that God would act as a genie and grant our every selfish wish or desire.
Instead, as I told my son on our drive last week, Friday is good because Sunday is coming. The Hope and the Promise Of eternity that cost us NOTHING is right around the corner to remind us, as we walk and wail in exile on earth , that Hope is here and Jesus Is alive.
For my friends who don’t know this truth – it’s for you, too. Sunday is coming. Are you ready?
Good.
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