Good Friday - Why is it "Good"

GOOD FRIDAY – Why is it “Good”					Isaiah 53  1 Who has believed our message    and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,    and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men,    a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4 Surely he took up our infirmities    and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,    smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,    he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,    and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,    each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him    the iniquity of us all.  7 He was oppressed and afflicted,    yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,    and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,    so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.    And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living;    for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,    and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence,    nor was any deceit in his mouth.  10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,    and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,    and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul,    he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledg] my righteous servant will justify many,    and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,    and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death,    and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many,    and made intercession for the transgressors.
INTRODUCTION:  My dear friends in Christ, There is a story a man tells about a time when he was standing in line at a bank and heard a commotion at the counter. A woman was distressed, exclaiming, “Where will I put my money? I have all my money and my mortgage here!! What will happen to my mortgage?!” On the counter was a sign that read, WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD FRIDAY. I guess she wasn’t familiar with the events of Holy Week, because she thought that the bank was going to be closed “for good” that coming Friday. “WE WILL BE CLOSED FOR GOOD . . . FRIDAY.”   It turned out that she had misunderstood a small sign on the counter. That brings us to a commonly asked question concerning the name given to this day in the Church Year.  We can ask: What is “good” about Good Friday?  Well I thought of three things that are “good” about “Good Friday.
I.   First of all, we see Christ’s courage in the face of unbelievable cruelty.
	A.   He knew it didn’t matter how many palm branches they threw at his feet that first Palm Sunday, the crowd would turn against him.
		1.  His head was not turned by the hosannas or the garments which paved the road. He knew what lay ahead. He had been sent with a purpose.  He boldly went and fulfilled His purpose.
				a. Our faith teaches us, humanity was held hostage by sin and death. Christ was sent to infiltrate our world in order to set us free. He was sent to break the yoke of sin that kept us in bondage.
		2.   Christ knew salvation could not come without suffering. Nothing worthwhile ever does, and this was the most important endeavor ever undertaken by a human being. He faced the cross with great courage.
	B.   There are many Christians who are uncomfortable focusing on the cross, yet it is the very heart of our faith.
		1.  In those barbaric times, crucifixion was regarded as the worst form of execution, reserved for the worst of criminals. It was utterly cruel and demeaning. So terrible was it that it was used only on the lowest classes of society and for the most heinous crimes such as treachery or treason.
				a. Roman crucifixion generally followed flogging, which could itself kill. Generally the victim carried the crossbeam to the place of execution. b. There the person was nailed to the crossbeam; then followed the period of their slow death, partly caused by thirst, dehydration and hunger.
			2. Christ, who had emptied himself completely and became as we are, chose to experience the full depths of human suffering that he might deliver us from death and despair. So we see, first of all, Christ’s courage as he faced incredible cruelty and suffering.
II.   But there is a second reason to describe this day as “good”. It is that God’s love poured out in the death of His Son.
	A. That cross shows us just how much God loves us.
			1. God watched as Jesus, His Son hung on the cross.
	B.  It is unimaginable that God would do this, unless you understand it shows just how much God cares for you and me.
			1. We trust that God has performed what He promised.
III.  And it’s true. We see Christ’s courage. And we see the Father’s amazing love poured out. And here is the most astounding thing of all: It was all for us. We didn’t deserve it, but Christ died for us.  Maybe this is the most personal of all the reasons for calling this day “good.”
	A. A mother living in a tenement house went shopping for groceries. While she was in the store, a fire engine raced by. She wondered, "Is the fire engine going to my home?" She had left her baby asleep at home. Forgetting about the groceries, she ran toward home. Her building had fire hoses aimed at it. It was burning like a matchbox. Rushing to the chief, she cried out, "My baby is up there." He shouted back to her, "It would be suicide for anyone to go up there now; it's too late." A young fireman standing by volunteered, "Chief, I have a little baby at home, and if my house were on fire, I'd want someone to go up to save my baby. I'll go." The young fireman climbed the stairs; he got the baby, threw her into the rescue net, and just as he did, the house collapsed and he was burned to death. The scene is 20 years later at a graveside. A 20-year-old woman is sobbing softly. Before her, at the head of this grave, is the statue of a fireman. A man stopping by asks respectfully, "Was that your father?" She replies, "No." "Was that your brother?" "No," she says. "That's the man who died for me." B. Now we can look at the cross and say “That’s the man who died for me.”  And because He died for us you and I are victorious over sin and death. That’s the reason Good Friday is so important to us. It is the cross on our altar that tells us that someone died in our behalf. We are the recipients of an everlasting love.
CONCLUSION:   The cross of Christ shows us His courage as he faced the unspeakable pain and suffering of the punishment we deserve.  The cross of Christ speaks of amazing love God the Father who sent His only son to that fate. The cross of Christ is a message that says to us all that this happened for us all.  Christ’s courage sustained him in the face of barbaric cruelty, God’s heart broke as that cruelty was laid on Jesus, but His love came shining through, and it was all for us. We have been bought with a price.  Yes, this day is really the “good” Friday”