He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth, like a lamb led to slaughter and like a sheep silent before his shearers, He did not open His mouth.  Isaiah 53:7 HCSB

Thursday night, after they had shared the Passover meal which would be the first Lord’s Supper, Jesus along with several of His disciples went into the garden to pray. He was betrayed by Judas there in the garden. He was seized and arrested there on false charges. We are told in Mark 15 that early Friday morning the chief priest, the elders, the scribes and the whole Sanhedrin met. They tied Jesus up and took Him to Pilate. Pilate was a weak governor who let personal and political considerations outweigh his awareness that justice was not being done in Jesus’ case. Even though Pilate could not find where Jesus had done wrong, he gave the crowd a choice and they chose to let Barabas, a robber, go free.

Pilate turned Jesus over to be mocked. He would be flogged; this refers to being beaten with a leather whip that has pieces of metal or bone imbedded in it. This type of treatment was reserved for murderers and traitors. This flogging would rip skin off the back to the point that organs were sometimes exposed. In some cases, the flogging itself caused death. Jesus would then be brought to Golgotha or Calvary. He was nailed to the cross and hung there. Those crucified were usually left on the cross where it would take them two to three days to die. They would die of thirst, exhaustion, exposure and finally asphyxiation. The hands were often nailed to the crossbeam which was upright and then there was a peg which the victim would sit astride that would support the main weight of the body. Sometimes death was hastened by breaking their legs, but not in Jesus’ case. We are told in John 19:33 that when they came to Jesus to break His legs, He was already dead. Psalm 34:20 speaks of how God preserves the righteous man though he may be severely afflicted, it says, “He keeps all his bones, not one of them is broken.” This Scripture had a unique fulfillment when Jesus was crucified.

Even as He hung on the cross, Jesus was not bitter against those who crucified Him. He said in Luke 23:34, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus was always the perfect example of how we should live as Christians. He who know no sin, became sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). It was my sin and your sin that nailed Jesus to that cross. It was for me, and you that He was crucified. He died so that we might have eternal life. 

We are told in Scripture that darkness fell over the land at the sixth hour which was noon and remained until the ninth hour or 3:00 pm (Mark 15:33).  At the ninth hour Jesus cried out, “Eli, Eli, IAMA, Sabachthani?” or “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 26:46). Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus let out a loud cry and yielded up His Spirit. We are told in John 19:30 that Jesus said, “It is finished!”, bowed His head and gave up His spirit. There is a single Greek work that translates into it is finished and means paid in full. Jesus’ death paid for our sin in full. He paid the price so we wouldn’t have to, all we have to do is accept Him. 

Today we celebrate Good Friday. Our pastor explained it to a group of children today that it was not a good Friday for Jesus because He suffered a horrible death, but it’s a wonderful day for us because it commemorates the day He died to save us from our sin.

Can you say, “It is finished?” Can you say that you are done with a life of intentional sin? Can you say that you are done with believing the devil’s lies? Can you say that you are done living with bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart? Jesus died so that we may be set free from the bondage of sin and death. For Jesus it was finished when he died on that cross. He had done what He had come to earth to do.

The rest is up to you. Can you say it is finished and you have accepted Christ as your savior? When you draw your final breath do you know that you will be spending eternity in heaven?

Have a wonderful Good Friday!