“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good…” – Genesis 1:31

You might call it Holy Friday or Easter Friday but Good Friday is good, just as God sees creation in Genesis. The betrayal… the suffering… all the things leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion aren’t by themselves “good”. But God’s purpose for it all was good.

Every year the Lenten season is a long journey but it all comes down to this weekend as Lent comes to an end, and as Holy Week reminds us of the selfless sacrifice of Jesus Christ… for Good Friday is the day we look to the cross – that tree where Jesus bore our sins in His own body and died for us. This is the demonstration of God’s love for us all (Romans 5:8).

Do we know that to be true? Do you believe that Christ died for you?

I’m reminded of the story of Peter denying Jesus in Luke 22:54-62. Peter is asked three times if he knew Jesus, but denies it… “I don’t know him”, he replies. As you can imagine, this could be due to fear or weakness in that moment. But what if Peter denied Him because, like the crowds on Palm Sunday, he expected a conquering Messiah? A heroic king?

We know now that Jesus wasn’t a conquering Messiah but a suffering Messiah… He conquered not the government, but sin and death… He rode into Jerusalem not with an army, but on a colt. Perhaps today you have your own misunderstandings of who Jesus is. Or maybe you’ve taken for granted all that He’s done for you, brushing Lent to the side this year and forgetting the cost that was paid for your life. But remember the purpose for it all, a good purpose, that makes this grim day a Good Friday: God sent His one and only Son to the world, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

If you are feeling a little lost lately and are trying to focus on Christ today, remember that He is the way to the Father. Jesus told Philip, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”

How do you see Jesus? Today we recognize the Savior that Jesus is and the sacrifice He made through the Father’s love for us. May the cross remind us of the death that was necessary in order for us to have new life. Draw closer to Him today, know who He is, and know that it is a Good Friday.

Reflection Song: Here I Stand

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