MPC 6th April 2007.April 6 - John 19:1-22 - "Good Friday?"
Derek Hanna MPC 6th April 2007.
Good Friday? That depends…
It seems like every day of the year has some sort of anniversary, remembrance or celebration on it. Some more widely spread than others – like Easter – but some more obscure.
One I was reading about the other day was a day called “Plan your own epitaph”, where you spend a day each year planning what you want on your own tombstone.
Now experts differ on when exactly this day is supposed to be celebrated, but the point of it is pretty clear.
Because you don’t know when you’re going to die, plan ahead and make sure you’re prepared for when you do.
While you’re alive, write your own epitaph so that you get something on there you like and are happy with.
And it seems sensible to me, because all the famous and influential people who have ever died seem to have something witty or insightful on their tombstone. When people come and visit me, I want them laughing, not crying.
Here are some examples:
Here’s an unnamed one in a Georgia Cemetery:
“I told you I was sick!”
For all those lawyers out there:
Sir John Strange. Here lies an honest lawyer,
And that is
Strange.
One in England:
On the 22nd of June - Jonathan Fiddle - Went out of tune.
See, I think it pays to plan ahead. You may not be funny in life, but you can be funny in death. I for one am going to start celebrating “Plan your epitaph” day.
But what about Good Friday? Isn’t this a bit of a strange day to celebrate, if that’s what we’re doing?
What is it about a guy that gets crucified that makes it a good day?
Surely it would be more accurate to call it Unfortunate Friday or Remembrance Friday.
But it’s not – it’s called Good Friday, and for good reason.
It’s not just a remembrance. It’s not meant to be ironic – it’s a celebration.
And so I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if you don’t understand why it is a Good Friday, then you’re never going to understand what God thinks of you.
It’s funny in a way. Lots of people spend a lot of time talking about what they think of God. Like, I’m an agnostic. Or I’m an athiest. But the bigger question is, what does God think of you?
And if you don’t understand why it’s Good Friday, then I’m making the bold claim that you have no idea what the God of the Universe thinks about you.
But what can possibly be good about this day?
When you read these chapters, Jesus' last day or two seem anything but good.
In John 18:2 we’re told that “Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples.” The insider, the man who had spent 24 hours a day with Jesus for the last 3 years led the arrest.
In John 18:19-22 we get our first glimpse of the kangaroo court which is set up to try him on trumped up charges, which are really just a pretext for getting rid of him. When they ask Jesus questions, he tells them that he (v.20) “always spoken openly to the world…[he] always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. [He] said nothing in secret.” But in response, in v.22 they struck Him. They weren’t interested in trial, they were interested in verdict.
In John 18 we see one of Jesus closest friends, Peter, deny 3 times that he even knows Jesus. In 18:17 when asked if he was a disciple he replied, “I am not”. He said the same again in 18:25 when questioned, and denies again in 18:27. Jesus was abandoned by those closest to him.
In John 19 we see that he’s flogged (v.1), tortured (v.2), mocked (v.3) and convicted not because he’s guilty, but for political expediency. In 19:6 Pilate states there’s nothing there to convict, and in fact he did try to get Jesus free in v.12, but the end result is that he gives in to the Jew’s to avoid trouble. (v.16) “Finally Pilate handed him over to be crucified.”
And to top it all off, we’re told in John 19:17-18 that he has to carry his own cross to the place where they crucified Him. “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull...Here they crucified him, and with him two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”
Things go from normal, to bad to worse very quickly. One moment he’s praying in the garden at the start of Chapter 18, next he’s betrayed, tried, abandoned, tortured, sentenced and finally crucified.
What’s good about that day?
And so often the explanation will be that while Jesus had a sad ending, his life has been an inspiration to many. Even in the midst of this kind of unjust evil, he loved those who were persecuting him, and he left behind a great legacy in his teaching.
But I don’t think that’s a very good explanation. And I don’t think it justifies calling it Good Friday. Maybe “What a Waste Friday” instead, but not Good Friday.
The catch is, when you read the story of Jesus in the Bible you’re left without any doubt that he knew this was going to happen.
In fact, ever since he started his public ministry at the age of about 30 – 3 years before this event – he had been saying he would die at the hands of the religious leaders of the day.
Jesus knew not only that he would die, but he knew the way he would die as well. It’s remarkable – what other person has ever known the place and manner of their death?
But, just because the event was expected, that still doesn’t mean it was good. In fact, you could argue that it is even more tragic because he knew it was going to happen.
Take for example the Tsunami in the Solomon islands this week. We knew of the earthquake, and we knew of the possibility of a tsunami, and we knew there a likely chance of destroyed homes and livelihoods and loss of life – but just because we knew that, that doesn’t make it’s happening any less tragic.
It’s a terrible thing to have happened, and we’d do anything to reverse it and have those people back.
But with Jesus’ death, it wasn’t just that he knew if was going to happen, Jesus makes it clear that it needed to happen.
And here’s what makes it Good Friday…
That there is something about Jesus and these events which make it very different to any other day in history – that the death of this one man brought many people to God.
That’s what Jesus had said his death would do – that his lifting up, that is, his crucifixion, would mean that everyone who believed in Christ would have eternal life.
But it’s not just Jesus who’s been saying that actually. One of Jesus’ enemies, a guy named Caiaphas the high priest said exactly that. In the previous chapter to that which we read today, it says that “Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for the people.” (18:14)
And he was spot on. It was good for one man to die for the people. And not just the Jews though, but for all people past and present, including you.
Not so there would be peace in Roman times as Pilate wanted, but so that there would be peace between God and man.
Gee, God must take the way you treat him seriously.
If he wasn’t really that interested in the way you acted and the way you treated him, he wouldn’t have organised to have His Son come to earth, be betrayed, mocked, tortured and crucified.
If that is what it takes to deal with God’s punishment, imagine what would have awaited you and I if Jesus hadn’t come?
So you see why it’s a Good Friday?
Because it’s on this day that mankind was given the opportunity to come back to God. It was on this day that one man, Jesus Christ, died for many.
So what is today to you? What will you make of it?
Is it more accurate to call it “What a Waste Friday”? A good man with an unfortunate end. Someone to learn off, teach our kids about, but who is really just a historical figure.
Or is it Public Holiday Friday? A day where you can be thankful that you don’t have to go into work? Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great thing. But I think it may be missing the mark.
So consider what God is saying to you on Good Friday.
He takes the way you treat Him seriously. He takes the way you respond to His Son who died a humiliating death in your place seriously.
If you believe in the Son, in his death for you, then you have eternal life as Jesus says. But if you do not believe, you don’t have eternal life, and God’s wrath remains on you – instead of on the one he provided in your place – Jesus Christ.
So let me encourage you on God’s behalf not to take this day lightly – not to write it off as just another public holiday. Today we remember that God himself died so that you might know Him – that is no small thing. God will not respond kindly to those who ignore his goodness.
Trust in the one he sent, Jesus Christ, and you will have life.
But if you are already a Christian, do not be blasé about what today is.
Remember your God who died for you. Remember the sacrifice and pain he went through so that you might have eternal life.
Celebrate the fact that you don’t have a God who is aloof and distant, but who is interactive, personal and cares deeply about where you stand before Him. Celebrate the fact that you are now right with Him through what happened on this day. Part of me thinks we should start a movement renaming this day Fantastic Friday – it’s a better alliteration. Good Friday was not just good. It was world-changing.
Good Friday is a day of celebration. It is the day God provided the sacrifice in the form of His Son, for the sins of his rebellious world. The story does not end with Christ’s death though. The confirmation of His victory, and the hope that death is not the end for us is seen in his resurrection which we will celebrate on Sunday.
Death does not have to be the end. But life starts on Good Friday. And it starts with the death of Christ.