How could something as terrible as a tragic death
have any good associated with it?
They were a young couple involved in a rocky
marriage. She had a drinking problem. He came from a different atmosphere.
Neither, however, allowed God to have much influence in their lives.
One night, the wife drank a little too much and
decided to drive home with their small child. On the way, she ran off the road
and crashed. She wasn’t seriously injured, but the child was killed. Shock
overcame her, and a short jail stint awaited her after the shock. What happened
to her, I’m not sure. But I do not know what happened to the father. He
recommitted his life to the Lord and became a strong Christian.
Christians also experience something good that
results from something tragic when we celebrate the Friday before Easter Sunday
and call it Good Friday. The day Jesus was crucified for claiming to be a rival
king. Jealousy was the real reason. Religious leaders who refused to believe he
was God’s Messiah—and who were upset that many of their followers were
following Jesus instead--trumped up charges against him and forced the Roman
governor’s hand. With Rome’s permission, nothing stood in their way of having
Jesus crucified and out of their hair once and for all.
A dainty picture of Jesus cleanly hanging on the
cross hardly mirrors how he actually looked after the beating, mocking, and
crown of thorns he received. Add to this the nails through his hands and feet,
the shame of hanging almost naked before passerbys, and the pain of trying to
breathe while hanging suspended in mid-air, and we can only imagine the pain he
endured.
Just before his death, Jesus asked his heavenly
Father why he had forsaken him. No answer. But the entire message of the Bible
tells us why. Jesus’ pain was more than from the agony of the crucifixion. His
actual pain came because he was paying for humanity’s sins.
God is holy, and when Jesus made the sin payment,
the Father had to look away. But God’s turning away from sin made it possible
for him to turn toward us. Now he could view us through the perfect sacrifice
of his Son.
Jesus’ payment on Calvary on Good Friday makes it
possible to change life situations. We come into the world as sinners, but
through faith in Christ, we can change positions. Saint is the biblical word.
Though we’ll never be perfect this side of heaven, we can live with victory
over sin and our arch enemy, who seeks nothing more than to kill, steal, and
destroy.
Good Friday is good because forgiveness is always
good news. Resurrection Sunday is even better. An empty grave testifies that
the Father accepted the Son’s sacrifice.
Make sure Good Friday is good for you.
