What's so good about Friday?

This week marks what is often referred to as Holy Week for much of the church world. It is the week when we remember the last week of the life of Jesus: Palm Sunday, when he rode triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey like a conquering king with the crowds cheering and placing palm fronds in the road ahead of him; Maundy Thursday, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and celebrated the Passover feast with his disciples, telling them what he would be facing in the next few hours; Good Friday, when he was crucified on a cross and died; and finally Easter Sunday, when he rose from the dead.

Some of the names for these days are obvious. Palm Sunday comes from the people of Jerusalem placing palm fronds in the road as Jesus rode into town. Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, comes from Middle English maunde, ceremony of washing the feet of the poor. Jesus told his disciples to do the same thing, that any who would be the greatest of all needed to be willing to humble himself (or herself) to serve others; he also told them to remember him each time they took part in the Passover feast, giving new definitions to the bread: "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me"and the wine: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." This is where communion was instituted.

But what about Good Friday? That is the day when Jesus was falsely accused, tried by the Jewish leaders in a mock trial, then handed over to the Roman authorities with a demand that he be crucified, even though he had done nothing wrong. The Roman governor could find no fault in him, but with the same people who had cheered him on Sunday demanding his death now, Jesus was cruelly flogged, mocked, spit upon, and made to carry the very cross he would ultimately be crucified and die upon. If you have seen Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, you have an idea of what a horrible day of suffering that Friday was for Jesus and for all who followed him. How can a day like that be called good?

The reason is because of what Jesus accomplished that day. Friday was not the end of everything, but rather the start of something incredible. Jesus willingly went to his death in order to make a way for all people to receive forgiveness and find acceptance from God. He was the ultimate payment to take away the sin of the world and makes it possible for people to make peace with God and live forever. It certainly did not look like a good Friday that day, but it was followed by Easter Sunday, when the power of death was broken and Jesus rose from the dead.

Easter Sunday is a celebration of life that has triumphed over death  When Jesus came out of that tomb, he opened the way for all who turn to him to find a new life that will never end. Our bodies will eventually die, but we have assurance that we will live forever with God. Now that is what I call good news! Jesus did what no one else could do by living a perfect life, dying to pay the price for what we all have done wrong, and then rising from the dead to live forever. He invites us all to put our trust in him and follow him so that we can enter into that life with him.

I think about that often when I am going through something difficult. If God could take what looked like the end of everything in the life of Jesus and turn it around into life for all who will receive it, he can take the hard things of my life and turn them around as well. It may be Friday, when the sky has turned dark and the stone has been rolled over the tomb, sealing up hopes and dreams, but Sunday is coming. The stone will be rolled away and there will be life where there once was death.

March 16, 2008