Text: Isaiah 66:1-24, Matthew 27:32-50
It feels counterintuitive to call this day good. “Good Friday,” we say, but for a long time I could not understand why. How is the murder of the world’s only sinless person—the only truly, wholly good human—good?
In a very real sense, it was awful. And not just awful, but evil. The dark hearts of men put Jesus to death, causing Him to suffer and mocking Him at each step. It was the height of injustice, a banner day for cruelty. But it was not the end of the story.
In his response to today’s reading over at our brother site, He Reads Truth, author Barnabas Piper explains the paradox this way:
“It was the darkest of days, the most unjust and evil of days. Yet it was good—good for you and for me and every other person who has ever lived. For through the evil, God brought life and hope to the world.
“Isaiah 66 describes God comforting His people like a mother. He promises to wrap them in His arms and bring them peace and joy. He promises they will flourish like grass and that peace will flow like a river.
“How? By way of Good Friday—a perfect sacrifice to satisfy God’s need for justice. Through the evil committed against Jesus came all our joy. We have peace. We can flourish. There is no distance between us and God. He wraps us up in His arms like a mother embraces her children.”
Yes, the darkness of this day is real, and it is painful. It should cause us to wince, to mourn, to grow quiet as we gaze soberly upon the wounded Christ hanging on His cross. It should cause us to repent of our sin—the sin He carried and suffered for in our place. But it should also cause us to worship. It is by His wounds that we are healed (Isaiah 53:5). It is His suffering that brought us peace (Isaiah 66:12).
Good Friday was the day the promised Messiah secured salvation for sinners. It was the day God’s holy and just wrath against sin was satisfied by the sinless sacrifice of His Son. It was the day the curtain of separation from God was torn so that all could enter in.
Yes, this day is good. Thanks be to God.
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50 thoughts on "Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration (Good Friday)"
Timing …. God’s timing versus my own. There are so many times that I speak, react or move on something long before I should and the impact of my actions is far less because I simply could not wait. That was so true for the majority of my marriage prior to my husband’s salvation and even still, I have to stop myself when parenting, to remember that appropriate discipline, hard as it is, *is* great love. Jesus hung on that cross being mocked, listening to folks telling Him, “If you are the Son of God, step down…” and yet, He said nothing to them, He hung. While stepping off that cross completely would have stopped those mockers in their tracks, it would only be temporary and God knew this, He knew that defeat would only come through death, through destruction, through His time, not theirs, His way, not ours. He waited. He endured. He hung. How many times, I cut short the miracles in my life or the opportunities God can work out because I am simply too impatient to wait?! And yet, Jesus … I am so thankful today for a Savior that waited, for a Savior that understood the calling was greater than the circumstance, who knew that enduring meant saving and who loved His mockers so greatly that He hung quietly, patiently, painfully so that He could ensure even their salvation, if they would just dare to believe. And He knew that there was no hope of genuine belief if the miracle fell short and He simply stepped down from the Cross. He had to die so that our wretched hearts would see, so that there would be hope, so that we would be saved from even ourselves. His death was and is an execution of calamity itself, it is a Win, a transcendent victory over sin. Today, my prayer is that I walk out my gratitude to God, to Christ for His immeasurable sacrifice, that I remember in harsh circumstances that I can endure because Jesus did, that I practice silencing sin and my enemy by holding my tongue when I should, by living out God’s timing versus my own and by not insisting on my own way. Today, I am humbled by the cross, thankful that I don’t live in it’s shadow but because of Christ I live at the foot of it, washed by His blood, victorious over rebellion because of it and resurrected myself by the triumph that IS today. Good Friday is hard, it is humbling, it is painful but oh my gosh, is it ever Good!
Amen! Well said B. Have a blessed day and a Happy Easter to all.
“I am so thankful today for a Savior that waited, for a Savior that understood the calling was greater than the circumstance, who knew that enduring meant saving and who loved His mockers so greatly that He hung quietly, patiently, painfully so that He could ensure even their salvation, if they would just dare to believe.” Wow. Love this and everything else you wrote today. Thank you for sharing your heart!
So can we be so bold as to say that if we aren’t living the joy, peace and forgiveness that God provided through the cross, then Jesus died in vain? I’ve never looked at it like that before….
I think about this too, and am convicted by it. Jesus died so that we may not only have life, but have it to the fullest.
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown;
How pale art Thou with anguish, with sore abuse and scorn!
Oh how Your face bends solemn, which once was bright as morn!
Men mock and taunt and jeer Thee, Thou noble countenance,
Though mighty worlds shall fear Thee and flee before Thy glance.
Grim death, with cruel rigor, hath robbed Thee of Thy life; Thus Thou hast lost Thy vigor, Thy strength in this sad strife.
You bled by our hands, You bled!
My burdens You have carried, my sins you have borne,
For it was my transgression which brought this worldly scorn.
I cast me down before Thee, wrath – my rightful lot;
But You have sweet mercy, Redeemer by the cross.
You bled by our hands, You bled for me, for you, for us!
(Lyrics to Page CXVI’s version of “O Sacred Head Now Wounded. On repeat this season!!)
I was humming this song after reading the passage in Matthew ❤
Love this. I wrote something so similar today and called it The Friday that was Good. Even though it is hard to imagine the pain that our Lord and Savior experienced, had it not been for that pain we would not have Resurrection Sunday to look forward to. So thankful the veil was torn in two that we would have access to the King of Kings. http://www.hopeinthehealing.com/2017/04/03/friday-that-was-good/
“We do not have to be in a building to worship God.” Yeeeeessss! We can worship Him, anywhere and anytime. I don’t want to be a Sunday lover of the Lord …. I desire to worship Him in all ways, all days! Love to you, friend. Happy Easter. Enjoy that precious babe!
Thank you for your writing on Good Friday. It was so good! Blessings!!!
God would go to any length to keep His Word. He would die in my place on the cross to keep His promises. I, on the other hand, am often so fickle. My attempts to be trustworthy so often fall short. I am ashamed of my weakness and amazed at His strength. Today I fall to my knees before the cross and I gaze long and hard at the suffering face of Jesus. I am so humbled. Oh how He loves me.
“He would die”… thank you for these words today. I find myself struggling at times with how a Good Father could sacrifice His own son, but yours words were the gentle reminder I needed that God gave himself up. Blessed Trinity. Thank you…
Yesterday my BSF leader said this, “the death of Jesus was a triumph not a tragedy.” She discussed exactly what Amanda and Barnabas are saying this morning. I love when my studies coincide with each other.
The events of the crucifixion are excruciatingly painful to read. It’s hard to see today as good if that’s our focus. I pray, as I focus on the crucifixion, I find a balance of acknowledging the pain Christ endured BUT being incredibly thankful for the victory accomplished that day! The Veil is torn and I am welcomed in as a child of God! Thank you Jesus for your love and sacrifice for us! You are triumphant!
I like what you pointed out about having a balance between acknowledging the pain and the joy of Good Friday. That’s my hope for today, as well. :)
It’s nice to see a fellow BSFer! I’m greatly appreciating how these two studies are coinciding right now.
I feel a need to be so still and quiet today, just contemplating what happened on this day. The horror of the crucifixion is something I can’t bear to even think about. I can’t imagine the grief and fear felt by Jesus’ followers. But, I know the rest of the story and even though this day has such grief and horror in it, there is also such a feeling of the world holding its breath with expectation.
I always listen to this short, three-minute sermon on Good Friday. “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s a comin'”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gx6_rGLz20
Thank you so much for sharing that video, Kathy. It sheds so much light and hope on the fact that it didn’t end at the cross that Friday… Sunday’s coming. Amen!
Thanks for the video, Kathy.
Kathy, thank you for sharing that video. It’s Friday…..But Sunday is coming! Amen
I love that sermon, I was lucky enough to hear that sermon live at a church in California in the 90s, I will never forget that sermon, it has stuck with me since.
This is the best day the LORD hath made… let us rejoice and be glad!