Behold the Lamb of God

For over two millennia, Christians around the world and from all walks of life have taken time to remember and reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on this day—Good Friday.  While Resurrection Sunday celebrates the ultimate victory and new life with the empty tomb and vacant cross, Good Friday comes first.  This day can only be called good because through it our redemption was bought; however, for those present on that day it was far from good. 

It was a day of darkness and evil.  A day when the worst side of humanity was on display.  A day filled with suffering, anguish, and grief.  It was a brutal day marked by pain, torture, and ultimately death.  And while it would be more comfortable to gloss over the details of this day and leave it behind in distant memory, we are called to remember and carefully consider what Jesus did for us.
 
Therefore, let’s linger near the cross—and not a bare, sanitized, jewelry worthy cross, but one bearing the perfect Son of God.  He was the One who knew no sin and was completely innocent, yet willingly chose to take our place, become sin for us, and bear the wrath of God and pay the penalty for sin in our stead.  While the physical pain and agony of the cross is extremely sobering and gruesome, the gravity and magnitude of what took place on the cross in the spiritual realm is difficult to wrap our minds around.
 
Jesus became sin for us.  The holy God eternal in human flesh, who had never sinned, never walked in darkness, and never known separation from God the Father, experienced all this as He hung upon a tree on Calvary’s Hill.  As Jesus took on our sin and hung in our place, God poured out His just wrath on the evil, vile, and abominable sin of the world.  As Louie Giglio so concisely and pointedly stated recently, “An innocent man went to the cross, but a guilty man died there.”
 
This is what Good Friday is all about.  This is the central message of the gospel.  Jesus, the perfect Son of God took our place and bore the punishment of death we deserved.  Therefore, take some time today to stop, ponder, reflect, and worship the Savior who took your place on Calvary’s Hill and bore the wrath of God so that we might receive forgiveness of sin, reconciliation with God, and adoption as sons and daughters into the family of God. 

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
~1 Peter 2:22
 
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
~2 Corinthians 5:21

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Man of Sorrows
by Hillsong

Man of sorrows, Lamb of God
By His own betrayed
The sin of man and wrath of God
Has been on Jesus laid

Silent as He stood accused
Beaten, mocked, and scorned
Bowing to the Father's will
He took a crown of thorns

Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah"
"Praise and honor unto Thee"

Sent of heaven God's own Son
To purchase and redeem
And reconcile the very ones
Who nailed Him to that tree

Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah"
"Praise and honor unto Thee"

Now my debt is paid
It is paid in full
By the precious blood
That my Jesus spilled

Now the curse of sin
Has no hold on me
Whom the Son sets free
Oh, is free indeed

Oh, that rugged cross my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah"
"Praise and honor unto Thee"

See the stone is rolled away
Behold the empty tomb
Hallelujah, God be praised
He's risen from the grave

Oh, that rugged cross my salvation
Where Your love poured out over me
Now my soul cries out, "Hallelujah"
"Praise and honor unto Thee"
"Praise and honor unto Thee"