The Ultimate Paradox, The Upside-Down Religion: Why is this called "Good Friday"? All hope seemed to be lost. How could God allow this to happen? Wasn't there another way to atone for our sins? How does this tie into today's readings?
My Lessons / Applications: This, I think, encapsulates much of what we have been studying. It is, at its essence once again, God's perspective vs. the world's perspective. What the world calls good, God does not. What the world sees as evil, God sees as necessary. Remember the commanded annihilation of ALL living things that breathe in the cities which God gave the Israelites in the Promised Land? (Deut. 20:16) We cannot understand this with our finite minds, given our present cultural mindset. This is the mind of the Almighty God of creation and of eternity - not of finite, fallible man. When Israel did not follow these "hard" commands, they suffered the consequences for generations, and continue to do so even to this day. This is prophecy again and again in many ways: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20) Man - without knowledge of God and the entirety of Scripture - sees this "Good Friday" as evil, dark and bitter. It is - from a human perspective temporally. The necessity of this blood sacrifice of His Beloved Son was a "crash on the heart of God as well - costing Him everything but given freely for us" (Spurgeon). We can only partially see and understand with the limited human mind this that is clearly taught throughout Scripture - that for centuries God has been moving sinful humanity to this point of redemption to enable us to enter our eternal Promised Land - with the greatest sacrifice paid by Holy God - out of love for us - to give His only Beloved Son as a sacrifice - Holy, Pure, Undefiled Divinity standing in the gap for you, for me - that we might spend eternity in fellowship with Holy God. There is no greater good, no greater sacrifice, no greater love, no greater Savior, no greater God. From what was originally called "God's Friday" many possessing Christians have come to understand in heart, soul, and spirit as now being "Good Friday" - the greatest evil done for the greatest good for mankind by our loving, merciful God and His Promised Messiah. Human history pivoted on this memorial day. But an even greater day is coming in our study...the resurrection of our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ...and then another, the ascension of our Lord to sit at the right hand of God - to make intercession for us...always...and then another: (1 Cor. 50-58)
"Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is
the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
Jesus said (Luke 4:43) I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." "Peace be to you! As the Father sent me, I now send you." (John 20:21) Again, we have been given our Great Commission.
(Charles Stanley's Life Principle for Today: The Awareness of God's Presence Energizes our Work." (Deut 20:1)
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