It's Friday but Sunday's Coming!

             It’s Friday!  On this day, the Holy One was mocked, spit on, flogged, and nailed to a wooden cross.  On this day, He could have called 10,000 angels to set Him free, but He didn’t.  On this day, God turned away rather than watch His Son bare the sins of the world.  He could have put a stop to the whole thing, but He didn’t.  On this day, the Religious leaders of that time got what they wanted.  The threat to their power was done, or so they thought.  They could have examined the Holy Scripture and seen that this Man whom they despised had fulfilled prophecy after prophecy, but they didn’t. 

            It’s Friday!  On this day, the sun became dark, the earth shook, and the temple curtain split.  God was instituting the new covenant that He had promised.  On this day, Jesus cried “It is finished”!  The first step in God’s plan to save the world was complete.  On this day, a few Jewish leaders who had been hesitant to show their belief in Christ stepped forward to give Him a proper burial.  Perhaps, it was the beginning of a new allegiance to the Risen One.  On this day, His followers were scattered and confused.  Their confusion would soon turn to belief and their unity would change the course of the world. 

            This is the day that we call “Good Friday”.  When you consider the humiliation and the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain that our Savior endured, we might ask:  What is good about it?  The answer is that on this day, Christ became the sacrifice for us!  From the very beginning of His covenant with the Israelites, God made it very clear that blood was essential to purification (Exodus 24: 6 – 8).  He also set aside an annual Day of Atonement for the Israelites’ sins (Leviticus 16: 34).  This was in addition to the daily sacrifices that were required.  God told Moses in Leviticus 17: 11b that “it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life (NIV84).”  Hebrews tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9: 22b NIV84).”  Jesus was the perfect, holy sacrifice.  He was the Sacrificial Lamb, the innocent blood, once and for all.  The writer of Hebrews tells us that “He entered the Most Holy Place, once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9: 12b NIV84).” 

            While we mourn the pain and sorrow of Jesus’ sacrifice, unlike the Disciples who were left with the pain of not knowing the future, we know that Sunday’s coming!  We can now see the need for the sacrifice, and we know that the pain and the separation were only temporary.  Sunday’s coming!  The price has been paid!  Finally, we are free from the law of sin and death.  We are free to live in the Spirit, confident of our salvation if we only accept God’s Son as our Savior.

            Take heart, my friend!  Sunday’s Coming!

Hebrews 10: 10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hi, I'm the Sun Porch Lady

  Hi, I’m the Sun Porch Lady. I recently retired and while most of the world thinks that is a wonderful thing, I've found it to be anything but wonderful. I've been going to school and/or working since I was six years old so finding myself with nothing, but free time is a whole new experience.   I have no structure, no daily schedule, and seemingly no purpose in my life.   While that may sound like heaven, I believe that Christians never retire.   God just repurposes them. As I struggled to find new purpose and bring some structure back to my life, I turned to writing.   Over the years, I have often written devotional thoughts or put various ideas to paper.   I can’t say that I’ve ever been very good at journaling but from time to time, I have written about events in my life that taught me values or made me more aware of God working in my life.   So, to keep busy and hopefully spark an interest in others I've decided to create this blog. I’m callin...
Read more

Freedom Isn't Free!

             On Christmas night, 1776, George Washington engineered a surprise attack on Britain’s German allies, capturing 1000 Hessian troops.   The story of him and his troops crossing the icy Delaware that night gave hope to a new nation fighting for its life.   Regrettably, the celebration was short-lived.   Just a week later, the enlistments of most of his troops were ending, and it seemed unlikely that they would stay to continue the fight for freedom.   As he faced that prospect, Washington lined up his troops and offered this plea. “My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do, and more than can be reasonably expected; but your country is at stake, your wives, your houses and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty, and to your cou...
Read more

My Mom's Legacy

                       As we celebrate “Mothers” this week, I wanted to take this opportunity to remember my Mom and celebrate her legacy.                 It’s hard to know where to start.  After all, she wasn’t famous.  She never went to college.  She never worked outside of the home until after my father retired, and she wasn’t rich.  By the world’s standards, she was pretty ordinary.  So, what makes her special?                 Her legacy starts and ends with family and friends.  She was an extrovert and never saw a stranger.  She would take your arm off if you let her, and she loved being with family and friends.  That was probably one of the few areas of contention between her and my “introvert” father.  He would have...
Read more