Good Friday

  Today is Good Friday. It is celebrated in Christianity to mark the day that Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross for all of mankind. Try to imagine, if you will, the night before that fateful day. Jesus had instructed his disciples to make preparations for the Passover dinner. An upper room was prepared and Jesus and his twelve disciples shared  the Passover meal.Afterwards,Judas Iscariot left to meet up with the religious leaders to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. That night, as was his habit, Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus went off a short ways by himself and began to pray, knowing full well what he was about to face. It is said that his sweat became like great drops of blood, so distressed was he by his upcoming trials. His friends who were there to support him fell asleep three times. Because he knew the suffering that was before him, he asked God to spare him, but nonetheless was willing to do his father's will.  Finally, a group of guards and soldiers, led by Judas came and arrested him. He was taken to the high priest and interrogated. Keep in mind that he was hated by the religious leaders of his time. They felt threatened by him, fearing that he would turn the hearts of the people away from them, thus losing their position of authority. He was  bound and blindfolded and struck repeatedly in the face and asked to prophesy who had hit him. I've read that his beard was pulled out in chunks. The next morning (Good Friday) he was lead to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. After questioning Jesus, and finding no reason to sentence him to death, Pilate wanted to release him.I read that his wife had even warned him not to have anything to do with Jesus because she had suffered much in a dream about him the night before.  The Jews were adamant that he needed to die, so Pilate had him flogged. It's easy to read that last sentence- Pilate had him flogged. From what I understand, flogging involved stripping the prisoner, bending him over a rail so that his back was stretched tight and using a whip made of leather and bits of bone or metal so that the flesh was ripped savagely from the body. It doesn't mention how many times he was flogged, but I read that often the prisoner wouldn't survive the ordeal. The Roman guards then put a robe of purple on him, a sign of majesty, and then wove a crown of thorns and placed it upon his head. They bowed down and mocked him and spat on him. Afterwards he was forced to carry the cross that he was to hang on up to Golgotha, which translated means place of the skull. In Latin it is called Calvary.  Being so weak from the beating that he endured, another man, Simon from Cyrene was pressed in to service to carry it. Once at the site, he was forced to lie down on the rough hewn wood and spikes were driven into his hands and feet. Apparently a hole was dug for the cross and the prisoner was lifted up and the cross dropped into the hole in a bone jarring event that left ligaments torn. Pilate had  a sign made to hang above him that stated Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews, written in Greek, Latin and Hebrew. It is unclear as to whether or not he was totally naked or if he was covered in a loin cloth, but either way, it was humiliating. His mother and his friends were witnesses to his crucifixion, as well as passersby, some of whom mocked him, telling him that if he were indeed the son of God, to come down from the cross and save himself. The bible doesn't say if the day was hot or cold. Either way his body was subject to the elements, and I'm sure that the presence of all that blood would be sure to attract insects. The prophet Isahiah described Jesus on the cross in Isiah 52:14
...there were many who were appalled at his appearance- he was disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness. His pain was unbearable -excruciating. We get the word excruciating from the Latin word excruciare meaning to crucify. To die on the cross was one of the most painful ways a person could die. He was crucified between two thieves, one on either side of him. The one cursed him and wanted him to get them all down, the other believed who Jesus was and was promised paradise that same day. While he was hanging on the cross, the Roman soldiers were down below him, gambling for his clothes. Somehow, amidst all the pain and humiliation and suffering, he asked his father not to hold the actions of the soldiers against them. The final pain, and the most excruciating of all was when his father put the whole weight of all the world's sins upon him and turned away, because a holy God couldn't look upon sin. So I have to wonder, why is it called Good Friday? It certainly wasn't good for Jesus. He died later that day and was buried in a tomb of a wealthy Jew who was a secret follower. The good news is that he didn't stay there. He rose again on Sunday and was seen by a number of people. Because he rose from the dead we know that there is life after death. He paid a tremendous price for you and me. One that we could never pay. I hope that if you aren't a Christian, that you will examine the facts for yourself and realize that you mean enough to Jesus that he was willing to suffer and die for you so that you'll never be separate from him. For us, it was a good Friday indeed.