Romans 5:6-10 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"
Have you ever been physically or emotionally hurt so badly that you had trouble breathing and the gasp of every breath took what it seemed, like a monumental effort that continued to labor on and on and on with no end in sight? As I ponder tomorrow, "Good Friday", I can only imagine that this was how the disciples and the Christ followers felt when they witnessed or heard about Jesus' crucifixion. These precious people had given up everything they knew to follow someone who had some pretty radical thinking. They loved Him and put their trust in Him and now it seemed that everything that appeared right and pure was taken away in an instant. It had to have felt like someone punched them in the gut and left them reeling.
Jesus had tried to prepare them for what was going to happen but none of them truly understood. Their heartache and anguish was very real! Their beloved was gone and then darkness fell on the land. The earth trembled, rocks split and the curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn in two. I'm sure that fear and panic spread among them as they grieved like they never had before. Looking back we can see why it has been called "Good Friday" but at that moment in time they had nothing and no one to explain all that was occurring.
So, why do we call it Good Friday? Because with out Friday there would be no Easter Sunday! On Friday, Jesus willingly laid down His life for the sins of the world to be forgiven once and for all. His ultimate sacrifice made a way for us to be able to have a relationship with our heavenly Father. The Grave Held the Son of the Living God, closed, dark and never to be no more . . . so they thought!
Good Friday was the day that God's wrath and mercy met at the foot of the cross! Let's don't rush into Easter too quickly without remembering the high price of our sin. May we linger a little longer and ponder the remarkable events that not only changed history but changed lives as well.
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Personalize this prayer.
Dear Lord,
Don't let me rush into Easter too quickly without taking the time to understand the unimaginable price you paid so that I could be forgiven. Please make your death very real to me. I want to feel your pain so that I might truly understand the measure of Your forgiveness. Don't let me settle for just another emotional experience but help me to grasp the extent of Your sorrow. As I mourn Your death, help me to see how You conquered death once and for all and ushered in victory for all who believe. Thank You, Jesus! You died, and You asked me to follow in Your footsteps, now please, help me to die so that I might live victoriously through You.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
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