What Really Happened on Good Friday?

It is the dawn before Good Friday. I read this passage with a mixture of sorrow and gratefulness:

My God, my God, why have You abandoned me? Psalm 22:1 CSB.

How many of the redeemed have walked this path – seen the heart of our Savior in this psalm? I don’t know, but as I sit here in my prayer chair and weep, I’m overwhelmed with so great a sacrifice.

No one has ever experienced such spiritual suffering as the Lord. His life and death culminated in a spiritual battle against the powers of darkness. His resurrection was pure victory.

No mere human could defeat Satan and live to tell about it. Only Jesus.

The early Christians read Psalm 22 and knew with confidence that Christ’s death and resurrection were an act of God.

For dogs have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22:16 & 18 NKJV.

In Scripture, there’s no other place for us to behold the depths of agony and the amount of sorrow Christ faced. Taking on the sin and shame of the world killed Him. My sin pierced His side and set His heart to ache so much.

The grief of Christ at Calvary was real.

The Gospel is more than a sermon at sunrise on Easter morning. The blackness and darkness were horrific that day, and the separation from the Father hurt Him deeply. Sadly, there was no other way.

He died for all the accumulated sins of generations past, present, and to come. Is the burden not unbearable? He clothed Himself with darkness so we could enter the light of God’s love.

The victory at Calvary was real.

At the sorrow and bitter grief of the Savior, the earth quaked, and the world sat in darkness. Even creation could not bear to see such heartache and suffering. Death could not keep even those it had already taken. Saints who had fallen asleep before Jesus’ resurrection came out of their tombs for a time.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over the all the land until the ninth hour. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying. “Eli, Eli Lema Sabachthani? “ that is “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?… And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many of the bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matt 27:45-46 & 51-53 ESV.

Easter is more than being seen and seeing others. It’s more than a song, a sermon, and a handshake. With His own full consent, Jesus suffered and committed Himself to take our place.

They pierced Him who committed no sin, and for Him who knew no transgression, they flogged. The Romans’ pride, the Jews’ bigotry, and the Gentiles’ anger came at Him full force.

Freely He gives, and freely we receive. But let us not forget that what He freely gives cost Him dearly. We belong to the Lord, and He paid a high price for us.

The sacrifice at Calvary was real.

It is finished! What a joy unspeakable and full of glory! Three days later, He has risen from the dead. Easter! The victory is ours now. The Victor, our Savior. God’s measureless, unfathomable, and inconceivable love has accomplished the impossible: life over death.

Love’s endurance is real

So, here I sit in the prayer chair, praising my Lord and Savior. I look forward to Easter morning with a grateful heart, and I hope you do too.

I will take communion to remember what He has done; no other place in the world offers a love as profound as this. My spirit, my soul, and yes, my body rejoices and will be present in His Presence forevermore.

The live-with-God life is real.

Easter! A remembrance! A Celebration! A Victory! Let God arise, and His enemies be scattered. Let God – Let God arise!

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:16-17 CSB.

Call to Action

I don’t know if this is your first Easter celebration as a Christian or your 50th. Break away from the noise of the world and the demands of those around you.

Get alone with Jesus.

Set your heart to thanksgiving and your lips to praise gratefully. Now is the time to celebrate. Thank Him, for He is your salvation – the resurrection and the life.

His life in you is real.

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. John 11:25-26 NKJV.

I ask of you only one thing: If you believe, then live like it. Freely has given. Have you freely given your all in return? If not, then today is the day – now is the moment.

Even Job believed.

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. Job 19:25-26 NIV.

May the Lord bless and keep you.
Christine

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