This is undoubtedly the worst possible time for me to write anything. Being my favorite week of the year, I am filled with excitement and joy (and too many words) today as my family remembers and celebrates the death of Jesus. Without His death, the punishment for all the wrong I have committed would still be upon me. If my sin were still upon me, then I'd have no hope and no future. Many believe that their ;wrongs' aren't a problem, especially compared to others. According to Scripture though, all of creation has been given a standard to live by (The Law) and we have all fallen short of reaching that bar.
Romans 3:23 states, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God..." No can, no matter how good they are compared to others, has measured up to God's standard. As with anything in life, there are consequences. In this case, the punishment for our sin is death and separation from God (Hell). Paul says in Romans 6:23 that "the wages of sin is death, but..." Ah, and there is our hope! While the punishment for our sin is death, there is more to the story.
After the first sin, God said that He would provide a way out of this sin/death problem. He told the Devil, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring, and her offspring; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3:15)
Many years later, God gave Moses The Law, giving Israel the above mentioned standard to live by. This law points to the holiness of God and reveals our inability reach Him without help (a topic I will cover in a future post). The Nation of Israel tried to follow The Law, but always faltered (as we do today) and came up short. God required that they make sacrifices to Him as an atonement for their sins. " For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life." (Leviticus 17:11)
Over and over this had to be done. But, God sent prophets to tell of One who be the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. The Old Testament is filled with hundreds of prophecies (another great site) about the one who would be this sacrifice, and they were all fulfilled by Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
One of my favorite prophecies is found in Isaiah 53:1-6 (written some 700 years before Jesus was born).
"Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Psalm 69:21 states, "They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink."
Crucifixion wasn't even a form of death until invented by Alexander the Great around 350 BC, yet King David spoke of it in Psalms 22:16.
I could go on and on sharing these prophecies but I want to switch now and just provide a brief account of what happened to Jesus and why we observe Good Friday.
"Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and struck him with their hands. When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, 'Crucify him, crucify him!' Pilate said to them, 'Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.' The Jews answered him, 'We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.' So he delivered him over to them to be crucified." (John 19:1-3, 6, 7, 16 ESV)
"And Jesus went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called Golgotha. There they crucified him. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), 'I thirst.' When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and he bowed his head and died.". (John 19:17-19, 28, 30 ESV)
" As [the disciples] were talking about [the empty tomb], Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, 'Peace to you!' But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a ghost. And he said to them, 'Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.' And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them. Then he said to them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.' Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, 'Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.'" (Luke 24:36-48)
Through His death, Jesus - who had no sin Him - took upon Him the sins of all mankind...past, present and future. HE became the sacrifice.
"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.' Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:1-9)
Once and for all, the sins of mankind are taken care of...no more sacrifices. However, while Jesus took our punishment upon Himself, not everyone will enjoy the benefit of this gift. Those who reject Jesus as Lord and walk in the darkness still have sin upon them. One must simply believe that Jesus was who He said he was - the Son of God, our redemption and our hope. Jesus said, "“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) Going back to Romans 6:23 Paul wrote, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Paul says in 10:9-13, "...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, 'Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.' For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'”
After believing and accepting this free gift of salvation, we should strive to live as Christ, for we are "a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Why do I feel as giddy as a child on Christmas morning? Why did I sing a song of praise to the drive-thru work at McDonalds this morning? Or dance while filling up the car? Simply because I have hope. I am not chained by my sins. Jesus, spoken of centuries before His birth, took up my punishment. He paid with His life that I might be forgiven. And in return He simply says, "Follow me". It is my prayer that you too would hear Him calling and would follow.
Grace and peace to you all.
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