What’s up brothers and sisters? Hope everyone is having a good week so far. As I am recording this video, it is Good Friday, and this is going to be a really short episode. Don’t have a lot of notes. Don’t have a lot of Scriptures. Just have a quick spoken word I want to give to people. Each time it’s Good Friday, or when Good Friday would pass, I used to always kind of just blow that day by. Sometimes, I mean, when I was in school, I would look at it as a day like “Oh, just a simple day. Cool. I get to have a Friday off. Quick four day weekend.” When I gave my life to Christ, I really started looking at this day as a day that was meant to be effectively celebrated, and if you really think about it, not a lot of people take Good Friday too serious. And what is Good Friday? For those who are listening and may have no idea what I’m talking about but, there is a good chance everyone who’s listening knows what I’m talking about, and that is of course, the day Jesus was sent to be crucified.
Jesus’ crucifixion has so much meaning behind it that a lot of people don’t realize it today in our world, and as I’m recording this video, I’m just watching how our world has been these last few months. Even going back into last year, all the way back into Covid, and I think I’m realizing now the full purpose of what Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, what that truly meant, and how effective it could truly be today. Jesus was mocked. I mean I think about the time when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was spending his last supper with his disciples. He was preparing them for the new beginning that was about to happen. Then he goes into the garden by himself; of course with James, Peter, and John with him, and literally just goes into this panic frenzy, knowing that the time has come. As he says in John. I believe it’s in John chapter 15, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son.” And knowing that what was up ahead of him.
And long story short, I mean he was kidnapped by The Sanhedrin, betrayed by Judas, and questioned by The Sanhedrin. Everybody was angry at his claims, claiming to be The Messiah. Went through the trial of Pontius Pilate. Was whipped. Flogged. Probably beaten to a pulp that I’m sure no human being would want to suffer today and realistically I don’t think we see that many human beings having to be chained up and just whipped repeatedly until your body can no longer take it; which if you’ve watched The Passion Of The Christ, his body was still somehow able to take it, which really shocked the Roman soldiers who were whipping him. He was standing right next to a murderer, Barabbas, and thousands of people were all shouting, “Crucify Jesus! Free Barabbas!” Wanting him to be crucified over a murderer. To being brought before Herod. Being mocked by Herod and his kingdom, to eventually, now being sent to be crucified, since Pontius Pilate had no other choice.
We all can think of, while he was carrying that heavy cross, just as he was looking around, the people, almost a week ago from Palm Sunday, were praising his name, to all cursing him and throwing rocks at him. Speaking all kinds of curses against him. To the point where he goes to the cross, they nail him, and he screams in severe pain, wanting this pain to be over, but knowing that it had to keep going. And being up on the cross, and saying the seven sayings. One of them, as all the people were mocking him, saying “If you’ve saved others, why can’t you save yourself? Come down from that cross.” People laughing at him, although he was in severe pain, looking like roadkill up on the cross. Being unrecognizable, and yet he still had the
strength to say, aside from his human being anger, his human being hurt, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
To doing the other sayings, speaking of he was thirsty. To looking at two different men on the cross right next to him. One man challenging him saying, “If you are the Son of God, come down from that cross and save us.” While the other one said, “We are justified by our sins. You would be right in condemning me, but I just ask that you would remember me when you are going into your kingdom.” And he tells the other man, “And I say unto you, you will be with me today in paradise.” To realizing that his suffering was not only to the brink of its end, but he had to look up in the sky, and realize that his Father, the One who sent him into earth, turns His face away from him, and he feels that separation. He feels that pain. That strong, unbearable pain. More unbearable than the whips. More unbearable than the punches. More unbearable than the spit and the verbal abuse that he faced. And he shouts, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And he knows it’s the end, but even though he is lonely up on that cross, he looks up and knows that it was all worth it, for that’s why he says, “It is finished.”
And he looks up and commends his spirit, and that’s it. That is what Good Friday is meant to be celebrated for, and you may say, “Well, that’s a very terrible way to die, and you are right’ but little did anyone know, the Sanhedrin, the Roman officers, Pontius Pilate, even his own followers, did not expect that on Sunday morning, a bright light would appear on his tomb, and that huge stone that was very unmoveable, would all of a sudden break apart, and he would actually look up into the sky, and you actually realize that he rose on the third day. The one man who was unrecognizable to many people, in the eyes of many people back then, is now a brand new creation, and is risen. And this is a holiday that is not just meant to be celebrated because of the victory of Christ. We celebrate this as Christians because we know that this is why we have the choice of salvation.
And not only should we celebrate the people that are saved today, but the people that will be saved tomorrow. The people that will be saved a month from now. Two months from now. A year from now. Many years from now, until his Second Coming. So I just wanted to give everyone an encouragement if you’re listening. Take the time with your family, and just simply thank God, thank Jesus, for his sacrifice on the cross. It’s amazing, and it’s meant to be celebrated and taken serious, more than any holiday that we want to celebrate. And let’s just give praise to Jesus, for what the sacrifice that he did, on Good Friday. In Jesus’ name. Amen.