The Good thing about Good Friday

Today is Good Friday the day Jesus died and that also means that this Sunday is Easter Sunday the day He rose from the dead. If I were to write everything I had to say about Good Friday and Easter it would be enough to fill a book. There is a ton of stuff to write about, but because I need to keep my posts to a moderate length I’ll have to settle for one subject at a time. Being caught in the middle of the triumphant Palm Sunday and Easter I feel that Good Friday is somewhat overlooked; there are no Palm leaves, joyous sermons and hymns yet it is one of the key events in the Gospel, it is what Jesus has been preparing for and dreading for His whole life. The devil tempted Jesus twice, once in the desert and the second time was before His arrest, Jesus could have backed out of the whole thing throughout the beating, humiliation and torture He could have called down legions of Angels from Heaven to rescue Him. Jesus could have been the King that He was but He didn’t, instead He chose to fight the pain for us. Crucifixion was a rare and extremely painful punishment; it was reserved for the worst murderers, thieves, and political prisoners, it was light-years away from what Jesus deserved and even sentenced to (it was originally to be whipped), but He knew that it had to happen. When Jesus died it wasn’t the end of the story the curtain in the temple separating God from man tore in half a bridge was built over the chasm the devil created. Ever since Adam and Eve’s sin a wall was built between man and God and that day when Jesus died on the cross, when He cried out that it was finished, when His body was laid in the tomb that sin was erased and the wall was knocked down. The devil thought he had won, and in time God showed him how badly he lost. Good Friday has been a day of sadness, and it is it was the day our Lord and savior made the greatest sacrifice in history but today I ask you this, aside from the mourning and fasting and usual prayer make today overall a day of thanks and appreciation for the sacrifice God made and the gift of life He offers freely.