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Sugar Grove Devotionals (March 2008) (3/18/2008)
Why Is Good Friday Good? God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) It has been said that when Jesus was crucified on that Roman Cross at a place called Calvary, it revealed the very worst of what sinful man was capable of doing to another. Yet, we call it 'Good Friday!' What could be 'good' about a day that started with a cruel flogging by fashioned leather whips studded with small rocks and bone? How could it be 'good' that every blow against Jesus' back ripped open the flesh so much so it exposed bone? According to the Scripture, after the beating, Jesus dragged His cross to the execution site. Then came the spikes that were hammered through His hands and feet. How can it be 'good' when unimaginable pain surely exploded through His entire body? For Jesus, and for the disciples, for anyone standing at the foot of the cross, Good Friday seemed anything but good. Yet, there are a few things that we consider 'good' about that Friday. It proved God's faithfulness. Back in Genesis 3:15 the Lord promised to provide His creation a Redeemer, someone to set us free from the grip of Satan. On that Friday, Satan bruised God's heel. But more importantly, through Christ, God crushed Satan's head. The power of Lucifer, that day, was nullified by Christ's blood. It proved God's love for us. We can become so familiar with John 3:16 that we miss the searing emotions the Father suffered as He watched His Son agonize on that Friday. But as we meditate on the unimaginable suffering of Jesus maybe we can better understand the personal nature of--'For God so loved the world that he gave . . .' It clothes us with Christ's righteousness. There is no sin, or sinner that cannot be cleansed by the blood of Christ through repentance. There is no sinner who cannot be made as righteous before God's eyes. 'God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). Standing at the foot of Christ's cross, nothing about that Friday looked good. But on that particular day no one knew that Resurrection Sunday was coming . . .and along with it, the consumation of God's full plan of redemption! Good Friday? It couldn't have been better!
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