Luke 23: 34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…‘
BLESSED GOOD FRIDAY!
Oh Friends, it’s Friday! But a Friday with a big difference. We’re not joyously calling out ‘TGIF,’ because most of us have the day off and are at home anyway. But this Friday is special, one we call Good Friday. And though it’s termed Good, it’s somewhere in between good and bad, because it bears much sadness and grief as well as joy and gladness. It’s sad because our Lord Jesus Christ was humiliatingly crucified on this day, some two thousand years ago. It was a horrific death. I don’t know if anybody else ever suffered such an agonizing death, with nails in both hands and feet, a spear wound in His side, offered bitter vinegar to drink, then viciously left to perish in the noonday sun, betwixt audible jeers and sarcastic cheers. To put it truthfully, it was a tortuous death of great proportions. That’s the sad and grievous part. The good and joyous part is that Christ’s anguished death was sacrificial; a sacrifice to pay for our burdensome sins. The Father wanted to reconcile us to Him, but since He’s holy, just and righteous, He can’t be remiss about sin. His Word says: ‘For the wages of sin is death…’ (Rom.6:23) So all who sinned, meaning all humans, would have had to face death and eternal separation from Him. But He LOVED us so much, that it broke His heart to see His most noble, though oftimes most foolish creation, all congregating with Beelzebub in Hades at the end times. But to do anything worthwhile for us needed someone on whom all our sins could be placed and then sacrificed or written off. The traditional animal sacrifice wouldn’t cut it. But just as animal sacrifices had to be unblemished, whomever God used also needed to be unblemished, not touched by sin. And sadly, the only sinless being beside Himself, was His only Son, Jesus. Wow! What a quandary! Certainly one deserving the term, between a rock and a hard place. He wanted to bring us home, but the only way to do that was to sacrifice His only Son. And we think we have tough decisions to make. But in the long run the Lord decided to bring us home. And all God’s people shouted with joy: ‘Thank you Lord for sending Jesus to die for us!’ But it was indeed a heavy price paid by both Father and Son, and it just shows their exceedingly great LOVE for us sinful, undeserving humans. So although Jesus’ death saddens us, it also gladdens our hearts, because without it there’d be no possibility of reconciliation through salvation, and we’d all still be headed for Hades to spend eternity with Lucifer. Please note Friends, this doesn’t mean that we forego our Friday Chant, because we still need the Lord’s help, especially after this long and joyous Easter weekend. We possibly need it more than ever to recover and go back out to work in reasonably good shape. So let’s chant, with a combination of sadness, for Jesus death, but also for joy with His selfless sacrifice on our behalf. ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Now my brethren, let’s consider our Bit: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…’ Those were some of the last words Jesus spoke as he hung on that rugged wooden cross, dying to pay for our heinous wrongdoing, for the wrongdoing of all the ingrates who scourged and ridiculed, then crucified Him with sadistic delight, with much more cruelty than the two thieves beside Him. But even in the throes and agony of death, our Saviour still shone forth like the bright light He was, still is today, and always will be. ‘Glory Hallelujah!’ And besides, He was correct in His assessment of the situation, for as Peter later said to the Jews, when he appealed to them to repent and be forgiven: ‘But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you (Barabbas); And killed the Prince (author) of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses….And now brethren, I wot (know) that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before had showed (foretold) by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should (would) suffer, he hath fulfilled.’ (Acts 3: 14-15,17-18) Yes mih breddren, the people who railroaded Jesus didn’t truly understand the Father’s plan. And I guess it was fitting that they didn’t, else they might not have crucified Jesus, and His precious blood would not have been shed to pay for our sins, meaning we’d still be facing purgatory today. What a dreadful thought! That’s why God keeps on saying that His thoughts and ways are higher than ours, but yet we refuse to believe Him. (Is.55:8-9) If we could, we’d be on God’s level, and therefore have no need for Him. Like Lucifer, who tried to overthrow God and ended up walking the earth in sorrow, then Adam and Eve, who foolishly tried to usurp God’s power by eating of the tree of Life, and got kicked out of the Garden of Eden in to an earthly life of sin, sorrow and death, continually hounded by the same evil Lucifer. But our wonderful and ever-LOVING Father, in His time, eventually sent His only Son Jesus to pay the high price needed, so that we, like undeserving prodigals, could come back home to the glorious sound of rejoicing and partake of the fatted calf. Oh Friends, this Good Friday, please, let’s all sit down and seriously consider what this day means in our lives. It’s possibly the most important in a believer’s earthly sojourn, for it’s the day that Jesus died on the cross with forgiveness on His lips and His precious blood flowing forth, so that His heavenly Father could justly and righteously forgive us the sins of our souls. Much LOVE!…Jesus…the epitome of…help, humility, sacrifice and selflessness, forgiveness, faithfulness, obedience and LOVE…
SCRIP-BITS 