Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
Luke 23:44-46 HCSB
Black Friday is called black Friday, according to Wikipedia because the term black usually denotes something tragic or bad and the Friday after Thanksgiving officially launches the start of the Christmas shopping season. We have heard all the black Friday horror stories of shoppers being trampled, fighting over the last sale item and throngs of people waiting in line for stores to open. Some people leave their families Thanksgiving day to begin their shopping while others awake in the middle of the night to catch stores that are opening at ridiculously early hours. It saddens me to think that this is what our Christmas has become.
The start of the Christmas season is the day after Thanksgiving. This is how we celebrate it, by trampling people or fighting over a sale item? This morning my husband saw on social media where people were wrapped around a JC Penney store waiting for it to open? Can you imagine how awesome a nation we would have if people did the same to their local church? Could you just imagine if people were as zealous about their church attendance and participation as they are about catching the big sale?
So we celebrate the start of the Christmas shopping season with Black Friday. But today I want to talk about the first black Friday. We celebrate Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, but our scripture passage tells us that this was the original black Friday because the whole land went dark from noon until 3pm.The land was dark because Jesus Christ had been crucified. He had taken on your sin and my sin and died to give us eternal life. The veil was torn in two because we no longer needed a priest to give offerings for our sins. Jesus paid the price for you and for me.
In a month we will celebrate Jesus’ birth, but we must not forget why He was born. He was born into this world as a sin offering so that we may have eternal life. Sadly, many will choose to ignore this great gift and toss it aside like a pair of socks, but I pray that you will not do that. I pray that you will see those manger scenes and realize that from the manger to the cross, Jesus was all about us. He came for you and me. He died for you and me and praise God, He rose for you and me and lives today.
So today, I ask you to stop for a moment from all the frenzy and think about the very first black Friday over 2,000 years ago. Think about the great sacrifice that was made for you and for me. Think about that baby that was born in the manger and how just 33 years later, He gave his life on the cross. I pray that this is the most important thing on our minds today and every day. I pray that we can live as though this is what really matters.
This holiday season should not be about the best gift you can give to someone, it should be about the best gift that has ever been given to each and everyone of us. But that gift is useless if you choose not to trust in Christ as your savior. That gift will just sit there unused if you don’t turn to God and give your life over to Him. He gave his life for us, but in return we need to give our lives over to Him. Trust Him today. He died to give us life. He wants us not only to have life, but to have an abundant life (John 10:10)
The term black Friday was first used because of all the bad things that happened like the traffic nightmares and the crowds of shoppers flooding the streets. But on the very first black Friday, something wonderful happened. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, gave His life to ransom us from the slavery of sin and death. Isn’t that worth your attention? Isn’t that worth much more than the most popular gift item on sale? Attend church with the same zeal that you attend the sales. I promise that what is waiting inside for you on Sunday is much better than any sales item you will find in the stores today.
Have a great day!