Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” Matthew 26:45-54
Welcome to Good Friday!
What is so good about Good Friday? If there were no Good Friday, then there would be no Easter Sunday. No resurrection. No salvation. Yes, it is a hard day. It is hard to think about what Jesus went through. The beatings, the judgement, the death on the cross.
Jesus went through it all for you. He was thinking of you. He was loving you. As they were mocking Him and fighting over His garments, He said in Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
Father, forgive them. That is what He said. He was accused and never defended Himself. He could have called down the angels. He could have disappeared. Evil was surrounding Him and He asked the Father to forgive them.
He willingly went to the cross as a sacrifice for us. He was marred more than any man for us. He died so that we have the opportunity to spend eternity in Heaven with Him. He was on the cross thinking of us.
We may not have been there in person, but our sins put Jesus on the cross. We owe Him everything. The very least we can do is follow Him. When I think about what Jesus has done for me, it is easy to follow Him. To answer the call. To serve.
As you reflect this week, think about what Jesus was doing today. He was doing the Father’s will. He was loving us. Today is a good day to love Him. To place your trust and life in His hands. To accept the gift of salvation.