Good Friday?

I have always wondered why the most painful day in the life of Jesus is called Good Friday. To the world, the death of Jesus is the ultimate sign of defeat. Yet Christians all over the world proclaim this particular Friday as good.

Before he is crucified, Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. This act of lowering himself to being “beneath” the feet of his disciples breaks the mindset of what a “god” is supposed to for the people. Culture dictates that gods and deities be powerful and worshipped vertically, from the people to the gods.

But throughout his ministry, Jesus reminds us that it is the weak that will lead strong, the poor that will become rich, and what it means to be a servant before being the one who is served. The constant deconstruction of what a powerful god is supposed to be is one of the focal points of Jesus’s ministry. Still, no example or lesson could have prepared for the coming events of the crucifixion.

We now turn to the scene of Jesus standing before the judgment of the people. As he hangs on the cross struggling to breathe and naked before the people who mock him as they sell his clothing, he cries out.

Father forgive them for they do not know what they do

Luke 22:34

Even before death and the final moments of his life, Jesus does not react. Any sane or logical god would have enacted their status and judged the mockers, yet Jesus in his fullness of power, did not. Rather the story continues with the death of Jesus. For most of us, we already know the ending of the resurrection story. But for followers of Jesus in that moment, they watched in horror and sadness. They had ultimately put their hope and faith in Jesus, and even the safety of their lives to follow him. Now, all they could do was watch him be crucified from a distance utterly helpless.

And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things.

Luke 23:49

I don’t not know if you have experienced losing a family member, friend, or even a pet. But having personally experienced all three, truly, it has been the most painful moments of my life. There is trauma and a sense of darkness that you feel will never go away and as you lay their bodies to rest in a tomb, you feel hopeless and emptiness. I relate this story to serve as an example of what the emotional atmosphere of laying Jesus’s body may have felt to those present.

This was their moment to say their final goodbyes as they laid him to rest.

Good, Friday.

At that moment, there was nothing good about that day. There was only darkness, sadness, trauma, and pain. How can we label this as good?

I want to share a little something Pastor Sam Lee from Eden Tree wrote.

[Wherever the cross looms around us with it’s intimidating and seeming finality. God has rendered it powerless. In disease, accident, murder, poverty, false accusation, and injustice we hear it’s sinister voice. All the while we realize that it was shouting out to us from our own bodies, a false shepherd driving us with fear, anxiety, pleasurable distractions, and false promises. Idols that lead nowhere, false Pharoahs leading in a wide circle road of destruction. God has rendered all powerless. On the door to the narrow way we see blood on doorpost and lintel. Christ Crucified bleeding from hands and head he is our door. Where if the “I AM” is with me on my cross what can separate me from a joy that endures ex”cruciating” pain, a hope that bulldozes through death, a love that will never die. Heaven is not a place or time. It’s a person His name is Yeshua, He is the Salvation of YHWH. Give us Jesus here and now. Your name, Your Kingdom, and Your will on earth He is. Good Shepherd guide us through these days. To You be all glory for finishing it making it a Good Friday!]

When we understand the grand narrative of the gospel of Jesus, the cross becomes a symbol for us to reflect on the goodness of God and also the cost of forgiveness. Although a horrible event took place on Good Friday, it can also serve as a reminder that Sunday is coming, resurrection is coming, and we will see each other again.

I pray that we as a church can understand what it cost for us to experience Resurrection Sunday.

Take a moment to reflect on what Good Friday means to you.