Interlude - Good Friday, by Richard Neufeld

Today we’ll take a moment from our regular readings to observe the significance of Good Friday. As we’ve seen in our readings from the beginning of humankind in Genesis up until the waning days of King David in 2 Samuel, all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God. Even the most upright and heroic figures in the Old Testament are worlds away from what God originally created.

                Adam and Eve deliberately disobeyed God out of their pride; Noah became drunk and did acted shamefully; Moses lost his temper and dishonoured God; Saul was prideful and arrogant; David was lustful and deceitful. Israel had been promised the Messiah who would come and bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth, and even those people who started out most promising ended up making a mess of it all. All the covenants that God made with His people were broken, and His people were unable to repair them. We all needed new hearts, we all needed to be saved from our sins. There was a debt to pay that none of us could afford.

                Finally, in the fullness of time, Jesus dwelt among us and brought with Him the Kingdom of Heaven. In His perfect life He became the one by which all former covenant requirements were met. In His perfect life, a good and flawless example was given – our King who never sinned nor stumbled. In His perfect life, He showed us what it was like to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves. He gave his time, His heart, His care, and eventually, His life.

                This Lamb of God came to take away the sin of the world. This High Priest acquits us by His death. This spotless Lamb’s blood was smeared on the lintels of the cross and saves those who gather beneath it from the shadow of death. God sent His son to pay the price for our rebellion. He was scourged and humiliated, mocked and left to bleed His precious blood onto the cracked dirt of our own stubborn hearts. This God of endless glory took on human frailty and did for us what we could not have done for ourselves. Today is the day in which we reflect most solemnly on our Saviour’s precious life and death and look forward to His resurrection!


Apply:
Take a moment and genuinely try to imagine what life would be like if Christ had not given Himself for our sins. What emotions does this evoke in you, knowing that “if Christ had not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins”? The season of Lent is that of reflection, and Good Friday is that more than ever before. Let us not take lightly the life and death of our Saviour, for it is by His life that we live, by His resurrection we are raised up, and by His wounds that we are healed! No matter what happens in life, you have a friend and Saviour in Jesus Christ who, at the end of all days, will bring you to your true, eternal home. Thanks be to God!

Pray:
Father God, we thank you for the infinitely amazing gift of Christ crucified. Let it always be the center of our hearts and Him the cornerstone of our lives. We pray that this weekend we might fully have the weight of this life-changing event impressed on our hearts. May we treat this day with reverence and bring others to the cross so that all might worship and glorify the Lamb who was slain.

Song - His Mercy Is More (Matt Boswell)