Our Living Savior!
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)
Good Friday, what’s so good about this holy day? Isn’t this the day that portrays a picture of pain, darkness, and death?
For Christians, this is a holy day. A day that reminds us of the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. Without the unknowable suffering of Jesus, there would be no resurrection, and without the resurrection there would be no Christianity. The third day had to happen, and Isaiah’s verse tells us that God promises this – “though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.”
Once upon a time, my former church would host a special Good Friday service where local churches would come together for three hours – from noon to 3 PM, to “experience” the stations of the cross – that day of suffering and death of Jesus. I do believe what the prophet Isaiah tells us in this verse – it is the Lord’s will, but in those moments, being involved in the service, I couldn’t help feeling that what happened to Jesus was just wrong and unjust. How can such a dark day be deemed as Good?
One of the hymns sung during this service I’m sure you know, “Were you there?”. Every time I listen to this song the line "Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble" always makes me visualize the crucifixion of Jesus – and brings out emotions of sorrow and anger for what was done to Him. But I know that I cannot just focus on just this part of the crucifixion. Yes, Jesus did die in a terrible fashion, but death is NOT the final chapter. There is good to come out of this for all of us. In fact, if we are really paying attention to what Jesus taught His disciples in the gospels, His death and resurrection are talked about in the same conversations. Jesus told them that He would suffer, be killed, and on the third day be raised. He didn’t speak of just the pain and suffering, of the crucifixion. Jesus’ complete expression was reinforcing that His mission was not to be a martyr for truth and justice, but rather that He is the Messiah long spoken of and He was and is the one to lead us back to our relationship with God.
I chose this Isaiah verse for this devotion to highlight God’s will is never absent. It’s most beneficial to understand and appreciate the connectedness of the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible. God’s story is a “through line” if you will, and to appreciate the magnitude of this holy day we must understand both the law and the gospel. Both have the hand of God in them. We need the law as a measure of our hopelessness to sin. We need the gospel of Jesus’ grace to bring us salvation. God pours out His wrath on sin onto Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, so that all nations receive forgiveness and salvation. We have the confluence of God’s demands, His righteousness, and His mercy.
He came to take away all sin and to usher in forgiveness and healing, allowing us to live a new life because He lives!
Heavenly Father, we remember this day of pain and suffering that Your Son was willing to endure to set us free. By His wounds we are now healed and know that it is finished! We praise You for making all things new. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, AMEN.