Good Friday Meditation

Tomorrow is Good Friday. It is the day we remember and celebrate the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My family is going to observe it by going to see "The Passion of the Christ" again. Afterwards, we are going to share in the Lord's Supper. I hope to answer for my children the question that has been asked at the Passover meal for thousands of years and that was indeed asked at the Last Supper; "Why is this night different than all others?"

During the Easter season we sometimes put more emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus than on his death. The resurrection is no doubt very important, it is the proof that Jesus was who he said he was and the guarantee of our own eternal life and resurrection. But, the central focus of the Bible, indeed of all history, is the Cross of Christ. In the Bible, Christ's death is mentioned in the third chapter of Genesis and the central figure of the Revelation is the "lamb, looking as if it had been slain". Indeed, the cross is the central message of everything in between. You see it in the sacrificial system of the old testament. God even instructed the Israelites in the wilderness to set up their camp in the shape of a cross (see Numbers chapter 2) with the tabernacle in the center! His death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice for our sins. It is what makes us righteous, reconciled to God and deserving of eternal life. As Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished!".

I want to share with you something that I think is very significant in the account of the crucifixion. Read the account of the events from Matthew 27 of Christ's death on the cross and as you read it pay close attention to all of the details of things that happened.


"MT 27:27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

MT 27:32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"

MT 27:41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.' " 44 In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

MT 27:45 From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

MT 27:47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He's calling Elijah."

MT 27:48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to save him."

MT 27:50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

MT 27:51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52 The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

MT 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" “
When I study the Bible I always try to pay particular attention to things that seem unusual as I read. Something unusual appears in verse 45 when Jesus cries out; "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" . The thing I find remarkable about this statement is that the Bible records that the statement was spoken in Aramaic when nothing is mentioned about what language anything else in the story is spoken in. Most modern teaching says that the reason Jesus said this is that at that moment all of the sins of the world were on Jesus and since God is holy he can not look on sin and so he had to turn His face from Jesus. I will explain later why I don’t believe this is the case.

I believe the scripture tells us that this was spoken in Aramaic because God wants us to realize who that statement was intended for. You see, virtually everyone who witnessed the crucifixion were Roman and spoke Greek or Latin and would not have understood Aramaic. Jewish people would not have attended a crucifixion as it was Passover and being around blood and dead bodies would have made them unclean and unable to participate in Passover that week. There was one group of Jews that were present: 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!"
MT 27:41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, "I am the Son of God."

That group was the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. These folks understood the language and more importantly the message he was speaking to them. You see, the priests and the Pharisees memorized all of the Old Testament as a part of their training and they knew immediately that was the first verse in the 22nd Psalm. They also knew what the rest of the 22nd Psalm said:

"PS 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?
PS 22:2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.
PS 22:3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.
PS 22:4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
PS 22:5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.
PS 22:6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
PS 22:7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
PS 22:8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
PS 22:9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.
PS 22:10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.
PS 22:11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
PS 22:12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
PS 22:13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
PS 22:14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.
PS 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.
PS 22:16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.
PS 22:17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.
PS 22:18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.
PS 22:19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.
PS 22:20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
PS 22:21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.
PS 22:22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.
PS 22:23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
PS 22:24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.
PS 22:25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.
PS 22:26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him--
may your hearts live forever!
PS 22:27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
PS 22:28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
PS 22:29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him--
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
PS 22:30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
PS 22:31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn--
for he has done it."

The 22nd Psalm was written some 700 years before Christ and detailed everything that the people at the crucifixion had just witnessed, from Jesus hands and feet being pierced to the guards dividing up His garments! I don’t believe it is any coincidence that Jesus uttered this statement immediately after the priests and Pharisees heaped insults on Him. I believe the message He was giving them was, “Boys, you just killed the Messiah”!

Another one of those interesting things happens in verse 6 of the 22nd Psalm. Jesus calls Himself a worm! When I first read that I wondered why in the world Jesus would say such a thing about Himself. A little bit of study revealed the answer. This worm was not just any worm. The Strongs lexicon gives this description of the worm in question:
"1) worm, scarlet stuff, crimson
1a) worm-the female 'coccus ilicis'
1b) scarlet stuff, crimson, scarlet
1b1) the dye made from the dried body of the female of the
worm "coccus ilicis"
2) worm, maggot
2a) worm, grub
2b) the worm "coccus ilicis"
++++
When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give
birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of
a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would
never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were
thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter
their own life cycle. As the mother died, the crimson fluid
stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies
of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of
antiquity were extracted.

What a picture this gives of Christ, dying on the tree,
shedding his precious blood that he might "bring many sons unto
glory" (#Heb 2:10)! He died for us, that we might live through
him! #Ps 22:6 describes such a worm and gives us this picture of
Christ. (cf. #Isa 1:18)
( from page 73, "Biblical Basis for Modern Science", 1985,
Baker Book House, by Henry Morris)"

AWESOME!!!!!!

By the way, that thing about God hiding his face from Jesus while he was on the cross, the 24th verse of the 22nd Psalm says: “ For he has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

In conclusion, the 22nd Psalm says:
PS 22:26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him--
may your hearts live forever!
PS 22:27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
PS 22:28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.
PS 22:29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him--
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
PS 22:30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
PS 22:31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn--
for he has done it.

This Good Friday let us bow down before Him, serve Him and proclaim His righteousness.
God Bless,
Mike