Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration (Good Friday)
Open Your Bible
Isaiah 66:1-24, Matthew 27:32-50
BY Amanda Bible Williams
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.
50 thoughts on "Final Judgment and Joyous Restoration (Good Friday)"
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Glory to Your name God for this day in history! The day that set it all in motion! “It is Finished” was just the Beginning! Thank you Lord!
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❤️
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I decided to fast today so that I will think about this amazing sacrifice when I am hungry. I rarely fast (it doesn’t suit me very well!), so I am deliberately using it for this purpose only. Praise God for all that Good Friday represents.
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I recently heard another way of looking at the Jesus story. Jesus put an end to redemptive violence by dying on the cross. Redemptive violence meaning: when someone does or says something hurtful to you, you do or say something hurtful back… and this cycle goes on and on and on and on. Jesus CHOSE to say no to this cycle and instead decided to live out God’s plan of love.
I think one of the reasons why I’ve enjoyed Isaiah so much is because I haven’t been reading it literally. I’ve read that authors in this age didn’t really write literally. They told stories to explain truths. I don’t think I believe in God sitting on his throne actually crushing babies because people were disobedient (I forgot which verse this actually was, but it was definitely in what we read). And I don’t think our God has ego. Our God doesn’t *need* to be worshipped to *feel* satisfied and appreciated. That’s human projection. Instead, I see the book of Isaiah as a guide to right living. If you do this (like worship idols), there will be havoc in your life. Not because God brings the havoc. But because it’s a natural consequence for that kind of behavior. Another example in Isaiah is if you’re arrogant, eventually disaster will find you. And again, I think this is a totally natural consequence of being arrogant. In this way, God is so much like a parent. He knows how certain paths will lead to destruction, but his children can’t see that. So he tries to warn them off and convince them not to go down there, using graphic and scary imagery to hopefully keep them on track. I’m reminded of my mom who taught me to say no to drugs. She would go on and on about how they would ruin my life. She gave me examples of lives they have ruined. Painted pictures of people dying in allies alone. Pictures of people selling their bodies for drugs and stealing from loved ones. Pictures of horrible and gruesome deaths. And you know what? I listened. I’m aware of the consequences and I would rather stay on a sober path. This is what I see God doing in Isaiah and it’s so loving. It’s exactly like my mom in this way and I’m so appreciative for the lessons.
Worshipping God and surrendering is an act of humility. We aren’t 100% responsible for all the good things in our life. There were so many things that had to line up for us to receive our blessings – and God is responsible for that. I believe that’s the purpose of worship. Not that it satisfies God’s ego. Worship keeps us humble, and it’s hard to be arrogant and self-righteous when you live in a state of humility. It’s so much easier to love our neighbors when we realize we have all been Judas.
So I don’t think I believe God *needed* Jesus to die on the cross as justice for our sins. Because all throughout this second half of Isaiah, he’s been offering redemption all along. Instead, I believe Jesus is a perfect example of human life. The way I look at it, all sin is a form of abuse. When you sin, you’re either abusing yourself or abusing others. You’re either being physically/emotionally violent to yourself or physically/emotionally violent to others. This is sinful nature. But Jesus showed us we could overcome this nature. And even in the hardest most painful time in his life (when people were being physically violent towards him), and when they were saying mean things to him (being emotionally violent towards him), AT THE SAME TIME, mind you!!!! He didn’t crack. He still chose not to participate in the violence. You know how easy it would have been to make just one snarky comment back?!! JUST ONE SNARKY COMMENT. But he didn’t. He refused his ego. He stayed obedient to love until the very end. What an AWESOME God.
I apologize if this is rambly. I’m on my phone :/
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Thank you for sharing.
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Such good words Lana! Thanks for that ❤️
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I have really struggled with reading Isaiah. I wish you would have written this a few weeks back because it helped me see things a little clearer. Thanks for sharing your thoughts
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Lana, thanks for sharing sister! What you said about God not “needing” Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and about Jesus being a perfect example of human life has me thinking though….if the blood of His Son wasn’t necessary for forgiveness of sins; why would God make His Son go through that? As Isaiah 53 says though, it was through His punishment that we are healed (vs 5), He is our guilt offering (vs 10), and because He bore our sin we can be justified (vs 11). If Jesus was JUST a good example, then that’s bad news because we could never be perfect like Him. If He is our substitute on the cross and because of His death we can be forgiven- that is some good news!
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What a great way to explain Isaiah . Really helped hearing what you wrote to help me better understand what I read. Thanks for sharing ❤
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I love this and your perspective! Thank you for taking the time to share this.
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Although I will say, God did need Jesus to die. Like oil and water, we could not mix with him until we were atoned for. God is all capable, but he is all just. And his ways are above our ways. Jesus did need to die in order for us to have eternity in union with God. After all, God created a universe where for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction… we separated ourselves from God and yes, Jesus in all His glory, divinity, and sinless DID have to die in order for us to be atoned for.
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Yes Zoe, you are right! Jesus DID need to die because God’s holiness could not tolerate our un-atoned sin. Our condition (sin) is directly opposed to God’s character (purity, holiness). Sorry Lana, but that is false doctrine that Jesus didn’t need to die. The death of Christ accomplished reconciliation, or reconnecting us back to God. Romans 3:25 says, “…whom God Set forth as a propitiation” for our sins. Propitiation literally means “something that appeases a deity” also “a reconciliation by blood.” But in the Biblical sense it it means much more than that. It also means “to forgive” or to “show mercy.” As sinners we are transgressors of God’s law and cannot co-exist with Him. The Bible says that Jesus IS the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Passover reminds us of the blood that was applied to the door posts so that the Angel of Death would pass over those who were covered. Sacrifices were made for thousands of years based upon the promise of a coming Lamb of God who would become the Ultimate Sacrifice. I love the words of the Steve Green song, “Broken and spilled out just for love of me Jesus; God’s most precious treasure lavished on me…”
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Thank you for sharing this! I didn’t realize the depth of the meaning of “propitiation”!
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Jesus DID need to die, because God’s holiness could not tolerate our un-atoned sin. Our condition (sin) is directly opposed to God’s character (purity, holiness). Sorry Lana, but that is false doctrine that Jesus didn’t need to die. The death of Christ accomplished reconciliation, or reconnecting us back to God. Romans 3:25 says, “…whom God Set forth as a propitiation” for our sins. Propitiation literally means “something that appeases a deity” also “a reconciliation by blood.” But in the Biblical sense it it means much more than that. It also means “to forgive” or to “show mercy.” As sinners we are transgressors of God’s law and cannot co-exist with Him. The Bible says that Jesus IS the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25, 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Passover reminds us of the blood that was applied to the door posts so that the Angel of Death would pass over those who were covered. Sacrifices were made for thousands of years based upon the promise of a coming Lamb of God who would become the Ultimate Sacrifice. I love the words of the Steve Green song, “Broken and spilled out just for love of me Jesus; God’s most precious treasure lavished on me…”
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Thank you for rambling then . I appreciate your insight.
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I was struck this morning by the mocking at the cross- don’t you think that if Jesus had removed himself from that cross when they were mocking him that they would have believed he was a divinity?! I’m sure they would have. But getting people to believe in God was not the end goal for Jesus on the cross. He died so that we can have a relationship with God. That is what God desires from us- relationship!
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I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit and trembles at my word. Is. 66:2. To tremble at God’s word. This stopped me and caused me to think about how easy it is to take reading God’s word in so many forms–including this site–as something I take for granted. As demonstrated on the cross, God’s word is powerful enough to erase our sins and His wrath–and to conquer death. “It is finished.” It’s a sobering truth to know that the words we read are HIS. The almighty King of Kings. And their ours to read and find strength, guidance, hope, truth, identity–and salvation. Wow. Just wow.
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Listen and REJOICE!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2JpvW9FU_Rg -
Nothing can separate ❤
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