It’s a dark day. It’s Good Friday. I joke that Black Friday would’ve been a much better name for this day—while Black Friday (you know that giant shopping day after Thanksgiving) seems to be good! I don’t want to make today too good for you; let’s wait on the hope until Sunday. Because today, our Savior dies. Sit with that for another few minutes … Jesus dies.
This death is not dignified. It’s not fair. It’s not peaceful. And it’s not quick. This is deep, horrible suffering. Certainly, Jesus is in the most gruesome physical pain a body can take, but this is also emotional and spiritual suffering. Jesus is being mocked. He’s a joke to everyone. Even his friends have left him.
At noon, darkness falls across the whole land. It’s the middle of the day and it’s dark. It’s in this literal darkness and aloneness that Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” The most perfect, intimate relationship—the Trinity—is seemingly severed in this moment. Jesus cannot feel God’s presence. He shouts again, takes his last breath, and dies. Separated from God, utterly alone, Jesus is dead.
There’s a song we sing on Good Friday that always makes me cry, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.” It’s the specific lyric, “It was my sin that held him there until it was accomplished.” Jesus enters separation from God—he enters death—so that my sin and your sin dies. He enters death so you and I don’t have to. Jesus dies today for you.
I don’t know how you’re feeling today. I tend to just weep; it feels raw. I don’t know what you’re facing. It was on this day in 2021 that I went with my mom to get her hair shaved. Mom had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the chemo journey was beginning. In the couple-hour gap between Good Friday services, we went to the hair place. I looked at my mom, both of us crying, and said, “Jesus died today so that your cancer doesn’t win, Mom.” Your trials, suffering, struggles, losses, pain, grief, even your death—they will never win because Jesus crucifies them today. He’s with you in your darkest moments because he faced his darkest moment with you in mind.
“Behold the man upon a cross. My sin upon his shoulders.” It’s a Good Friday to feel all the feels. To recognize how deep his love is—for you.
Reflection:
- Sit in this text today. Take your time reading the crucifixion narrative. What details stand out to you? What do you think God is trying to tell you?
- A prayer: Lord, thank you. Thank you for this sacrifice. And Jesus, I confess that there are some days I take your death for granted. Lord, help me to truly live in the life you afforded me through your death. May I always remember that your love and grace are freely given to me, but they are not cheap. They cost you your life. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.