30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. – John 19:30
There is a dark hope to Good Friday. As Christ followers, the sum of our faith rests on the event it celebrates. Every year we boil down doctrine and belief to this great injustice.
It wasn’t fair.
It was unjust.
A calculated exaggeration of penalty and punishment.
Yet, we call it “good”.
There is to be a painfully patient hope in our faith as well. When we come to the cross, we are trained to hold a longer view of history and hurt. We know the darkness on Friday leads to the joy of Sunday and now our Fridays never hold the power they once did under the redeemed shadow of Calvary.
We are to be a Sunday people.
When we call Friday “Good”, it is not to belittle our pain or injustice but to stare deeply in such heartbreak and recognize the kingship of the One who holds sway over our worst of days. The cross had to be unjust. Our savior had to be on the receiving end of absurdity and corruption in order for us to be able to relate our own tragedies with Him. It was this Friday event that we pour own heartbreak and sin into – now choosing to trust that it truly is “finished”.
And so as we reflect on what this day signifies, we must be diligent in both our need for the Father, and our need for a resurrection. We humbly lament the darkness of our Friday, while grasping the real hope and redemption found in the rising morning of Sunday. We are commanded to deal with the injustices around us with the grace of Easter. The sins of our soul and the corruptions of this world can now be radically crucified and resurrected in hope.
Sunday is ours.
Father, thank you for Friday. Grant us hope in the midst of our heartbreak. Help us to see Sunday clearly from underneath your cross.
*This originally posted April 19, 2019
Matt simon blog 