Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the day in the Easter story when Jesus was crucified. Jesus' crucifixion was the bridging of the gap between the promises of the past and the promises of the future. When God became flesh and walked on this earth it started the end of the beginning of God's plan for redemption of the human race. There were so many things that Jesus' death accomplished. He was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies, the Messiah, the One to whom every one had looked forward to for salvation from Adam to Jesus' own parents. He was the Saviour to whom all could look from His parents until all eternity. Those living before Jesus were saved by their faith in the promise of God that one day the Lamb would come that would take away the sins of the world. Those who lived and are living after Jesus are saved by their faith in the promise and realization that Jesus was that Lamb, the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Jesus' death, which served as a sacrifice, also opened the way for our direct communication with God. When Jesus died the veil of the temple was torn in two symbolizing that no longer would man need a high priest to go before God and plead for forgiveness for his sin. Now we can "go boldly before the throne of grace" having been washed by the blood of Jesus. Perhaps the most important thing Jesus' death accomplished was the defeat of sin and the devil. When Jesus died all sin and all that is born of sin was nailed to the cross with Him and it was put to death. As I think of Jesus and all that He went through I cannot help but be awed by the love that drove Him to do this. He bore the beatings, the tormenting, the cruelty, the intense pain, the shame, the loss of loved ones, being falsely accused, being separated from God, and ultimately death without ever saying a word in response or giving up on His mission. His mission was salvation for all and that means salvation for me. Every lashing He took, every blow of the whip, every drop of His blood bought me freedom from sin, healing from all sicknesses and disease, restoration from all hurts, and death to a life that has eternal death as its end. "Oh the love that drew salvation's plan, Oh the grace that brought it down to man, Oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary!" In looking at Jesus' death the one thing that most stands out to me is how much Jesus loved me and Jesus' love is not a fake, phony love. It is real love; in fact it is the very definition of love; a standard to measure all other declarations of or acts of love by. "Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends." "For God loved the world so much that He gave His Only Son so that anyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." "But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." I am so glad Jesus loved me enough to complete His mission and give me life.