Bible Verse of the Day Friday March 29th, 2024

Isaiah 53:6. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The concept of "Good Friday" is problematic. To begin with, the name itself is ambiguous. Today, we refer to it as "Good Friday;" however, no one during that period considered it good. The Roman government had just killed Jesus by their preferred method of capital punishment, the Crucifixion. Jesus and his closest followers shared a Passover celebration during that week.

However, everything changed on Friday; the term Good Friday does not equate with what was going on between the Jewish leadership and the local Roman government officials. The big problem is the cross. Many people like Jesus's teachings and His miracles astounded and attracted. Everyone likes the stories of his good deeds and loving examples. That's part of the Christian message, but it's not the heart of it, "We preach Christ and him crucified," the Bible declares. "We glory in the cross."

The outlook of the Jewish people in Jerusalem was so much different on "Palm Sunday," his people saw Jesus as the true promised Messiah. Jesus emptied the Temple of the money changers and those who sought to profit from the celebration of the Passover. The early days of the week centered around Jesus and the fact that God indeed sent him as the savior of all people.

Friday was a long day, starting the night before with one event leading non-stop into the other.  After the meal in the upper room, Jesus and his men went to a secluded spot on the Mt. of Olives.  Jesus prayed late into the night.  His men tried to join him, but the late hour and the hectic schedule overtook them, and they fell asleep.  Suddenly in the middle of the night, probably in the wee hours of the morning, the disciples awoke to shouts and the clanging steel of swords and shields.  At first, they probably thought it was a dream, but it was not.

The next few hours were a whirl of activity, the soldiers arrested Jesus and hauled him before the Jewish high priest.  Before sunup, a special called meeting of the Jewish council interrogated him.  Witnessed said they had heard Jesus blaspheme the name of God and the Holy Temple. In fact, they said, he threatened to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days. 

All the charges were false, in fact, the witnesses had been paid to offer their false testimony.   All of that was beside the point because the whole early morning, secret trial process was illegal from start to finish.  But Jesus never protested, he didn’t strike back or talk back.  “Like a lamb before the shearer and sheep before the slaughter,” he didn’t say a word.   There was nothing good about the way Friday started. It may be Friday but let none of us forget Sundays coming. The greatest day in the history of humankind in the history of this world.