Easter is coming! I remember as a kid getting a solid chocolate rabbit on Easter Sunday. You can’t hardly find them these days and if you did the price would have you reaching for a hollow one anyway. I admit I already picked up a bag of my favorite Easter candy, malted milk eggs. I love those things!
Of course, Easter is certainly more significant than a chocolate rabbit! It is the day we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, better known as Resurrection Day. Before we start thinking about Easter Sunday or Resurrection Day with new clothes and a special Ham dinner, we should spend some time thinking about what happened to Jesus that ended up putting Him in the grave in the first place.
It was the especially cruel execution of Jesus by crucifixion on Friday, known as Good Friday. Doesn’t that designation seem like an oxymoron? How can the horrible suffering and death of Jesus be called “good?”
I believe we can call it “good” because it was “good” for us. He died for us, thereby, paying the penalty or debt that was ours to pay, but was impossible to accomplish on our own. Whenever we think, say, or do something that is against God’s perfect standard the Bible calls it sin. Even if we commit just one sin in our lifetime, we are guilty before a perfect, sinless God. Because He is a just God He can’t simply look the other way, and therefore, determines us guilty. No matter how good we are compared to one another, our “goodness” does not remove our guilt.
This is where the famous Bible verse, John 3:16 is applied. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
God loves us too much to go through life and into eternity without having our sins forgiven, paid for. So, He sent His Son, Jesus to pay our debt for us. The only acceptable payment was the life of His perfect, sinless, Son. Therefore, Jesus died by crucifixion to pay for every sin committed by every person that ever lived or would ever live so we could have a loving, personal relationship with Him today and for all eternity! That’s good news! Yes, it was a Good Friday!
If Jesus would have stayed in the grave, He would be no different than any other person claiming to be God who is still in their grave today. Jesus Christ is uniquely different in that three days later He rose from the dead, defeating death and the grave! Our singular hope for forgiveness and peace, as well as, eternity in Heaven with our loving God is in Jesus Christ, our Risen Savior!
Have a Meaningful Good Friday and a Wonderful Easter,
Corporate Chaplain
Mike Bynum
chaplain@newbymanagement.com
941-297-9467