What is good about Good Friday? Easter 2016

Pastor Chris Timm

​Darkness reigned on Friday. Darkness is pain; darkness is sorrow, darkness is grief, darkness is confusion. Jesus knew sorrow, he knew darkness but His words from the cross quote Psalm 22 where David, another man who knew darkness and sorrow, said:

​"My God, My God why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night and am not silent."

​Now the debate over the meaning of Jesus’ words on the cross. Was he reminding people of Psalm 22 and the prophesy that is in it or was he drawing on this scripture for comfort in His darkest times. We don’t know and in reality we really don’t need to know.
 
What is good about Good Friday? It was a dark time but on Sunday light is coming. Sunday is pain soothed, Sunday is sorrow overcome, Sunday is grief relieved, Sunday is confusion ended, Sunday is hope resorted, faith strengthened, love lived out. But today is Friday and darkness reigns. Reminding us while it is finished it not done. Still there is a ray of light at the cross.  At the cross sin was defeated so we no longer need to live in darkness. Jesus was abandoned by God the father after having such an intimate relationship with Him so we wont be. The cross is the bridge from darkness to light. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

And so Psalm 22 becomes a reminder to us because after that cry of the darkness David wrote in verse 3 to 5 

“You are enthroned as the Holy One; “you are the praise of Israel. In you or fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed."

​Prophetic words that came true on the cross.
 
How did the people respond to that cry? When he cried out “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” and Matthew recorded these words in the 27th chapter He said:

"When those standing around him, they herd this and said “’He’s calling Elijah.’ Immediately one of the ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, he put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said. ‘Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.’ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit."

Where was there focus? They missed the point and they missed it. Jesus death means that there is choice to live in darkness or embrace the light. There is a saying that maybe you’ve heard “it is darkest right before the dawn”. Now there is no basis in science for that but it speaks to hope. The cross was a very dark time but it was the darkness before the dawn of light and light now prevails.
 
Jesus last words before he gave up his spirit we read in another one of the gospels is “it is finished” meaning it is complete, meaning sin and darkness has been defeated, there is no need to fear because the light has come.