Friday, March 21, 2008
Good Friday
Luke 23:33 When they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
GOOD FRIDAY
There is more on Calvary to see than criminals, sin and death. We also see how God used evil to defeat evil. We see how God used cruel men, sin, and death to grant all mankind hope and new life.
At first glance we might conclude that there were only two criminals on Calvary. We know that Jesus Himself was innocent. He had been falsely accused and condemned. Some would say that He was just the unfortunate victim of an unjust system. Others would say He is one reason we should outlaw capital punishment. If we were to agree with those who say such things and then turn away from Calvary, we would miss the truth.
Look again at the man who dies on the middle cross -- through the eyes of the Holy Writers. Jesus is the innocent Lamb, but the sins of the entire mass of humankind are nailed to the cross with Him. He was Himself innocent, but made guilty by God, saddled with our sins and cursed. All the horrifying and gross sins that have ever been committed by human beings in thought, in word, or in action are also nailed in all their blackness on that cross. For there: " . . . God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation . . . For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21).
This is not merely an example of human injustice, but of how God's love determined to deal with the whole of human injustice and sin.
If when we see Him bleeding and dying, our fickle human hearts would take him down and nurse Him back to health -- then we would foolishly take back our sins. If we would give him life, we would be taking back death for ourselves.
We cannot help! We can only watch. We must leave the working to God. We can only stand back in wonderment, as God's wrath over sin is unloaded upon Him. If you shed tears, let them be tears of thanksgiving, tears of joy caused by the knowledge that He did this for you.
We love Him because He first loved us.
