Good Friday Service by Rev Gideon Lee
Tonight I just want to share a few words with you. Are we here to celebrate Good Friday? Is celebration the right word. What about Good Friday? Looking at the events that happened 2000 years ago, I don't think we can call it good. It would have been considered a tragedy. More than 2000 years ago, an innocent man was sent to his death, and it was the worst kind of death meant for the worst kind of criminal. More than 2000 years ago, our savior was treated worst than an animal.
Mel Gibson tried to show the suffering Jesus went through on Good Friday but I think it failed to show its significance.
The bible says that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. A kiss was displayed as a mark of friendship. But one of the most trusted disciple whom Jesus considered more than a friend was betrayed with a kiss. All for the price of thirty pieces of silver. That was the price for a slave.
It is kind of weird that Jesus was betrayed for just thirty pieces of silver when He was worth much more than that.
When brought to Pilate, he said Jesus was not guilty of any crime so why punish Him. At that time, Pilate told the people to choose one to be set free but Barabbas, a known criminal was chosen to be set free instead by the angry crowd.
When Jesus was whipped it was by a whip called cat with nine tails. Basically it was a whip with nine pieces of leather. The leather is not the smooth type you use for your nice sofa but it was rough. And according to history, on this leather was shards of stones and bones to inflict maximum damage. The forty lashes that Jesus received many criminals would already have died. Many died before even going to the cross. By then His back was like ribbons. He was beaten, whacked and kicked. As if that was not enough they jammed a crown of thorns on His forehead.
We can hardly call that a Good Friday. Jesus was made to carry His own cross. He was already beaten to half dead and now He had to carry the instrument of His own death. It was like digging your own grave.
And He had to carry it up a hill, called the hill of Golgotha. Jesus was nailed to the cross. They pulled Him up while He was still alive. He was on a very slow death. Some survived days and weeks even before they die.
The Romans, in order to be merciful to you, is to break your knee cap so that you cannot support yourself and die of suffocation.
But Jesus did not go through that. They did not break His bones. But instead He was pierced for our transgressions. Then raised together with criminals.
How can we call it Good Friday? Some countries call it a different name. They call it the Long Friday. It's like how we sometimes call today a long day. Like the whole day you were busy and at the end of the day your work is not finished yet. The disciples would probably see this as a long Friday. In Germany it's called a Friday of Mourning. In some Latin country, it's called a Holy Friday.
Back in those days when they said good, they meant holy. Hence Holy Friday. Some said it's a bad translation and that it is actually a God Friday and spoken quickly sounded like Good Friday.
Whatever it is, it is difficult to see today as good. But we must not see Good Friday as just an event. Because if we only see today, it would be a sad day. We must look at Friday also through Sunday. Like what we saw on the video. Sunday is coming.
Today we can call it good because on Sunday Jesus rose from the grave. One of the reason we call today Good Friday is because Sunday is coming and Jesus is alive.
But I tell you three reasons why we can call today good. When we look at the events today, what happened to our savior. It shows us how good Jesus is. Jesus need not endure all these things. He could call on the angels to come and rescue Him. It was not the nails that held Him to the cross but His love for you and me. That is the wonderful part.
Romans 5:7-8
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Today we can see a glimpse of God's love for you and me. Whatever He went through, He never said I give up.
How many of you watched wrestling before. When two of them are fighting there are only two ways to win. One is he surrender or you pin him down and he is immobilized. Then a count happen and you win. Jesus took everything the devil threw at Him. Jesus took it and never surrendered. Aren't you glad He didn't surrender. He said it is finished.
Today is good because I see God's love for you and I. Maybe for a good person someone is willing to die but He died for us while we were still sinners, enemies of God. We can never understand and fathom God's love. Today we see His love for us.
What Jesus did for us that day we can now enjoy His good salvation. While in the garden, Jesus asked for this cup to pass from Him. But He ultimately said, not my will but yours. There was no other way except to go to the cross for us. No other way.
I thank God that Jesus said not my will but your will be done. During Jesus' temptation the devil brought Jesus to a hill to show Him all of humanity at a glance. The devil said "Jesus if you bow down and worship me, I will give you all these things." In other words, no need to go to the cross, just bow down and I give you all. The devil is a liar. But I love what Jesus said, it is written, thou shalt worship the Lord your God and only Him shall you worship. This is how we counter the devil.
But you can only do that if you know His word. Isn't God good? He gave you all the answers. If only we read His words. It is written. You cannot say it is written if you don't know what is written.
When I look back at my life, I wonder why God would forgive me. But God came and died on the cross for me. All the world's sin was borne by Him and for a moment, God's presence departed from Him. That was why He shouted, "why have you forsaken me?"
Jesus did it all for us. We are no longer victims but victors. Let me hear an amen. Jesus can turn your scars into stars. We look at our scars and remember the hurts. But when I look at His scars, I remember His healing. When I see the scars of the spears I remember He was pierced for my transgressions. Today we see His good plans for our salvation. No other way except the cross.
And lastly, when I see today, I know Sunday is coming. Sunday is coming. Jesus has risen from the grave. It tells me that Jesus can take something back. He can turn something bad and turn it to good. He can take a tragedy and turn it for good.
We re all familiar with this verse.
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
We often say this in our prayer. But how can we say this if we don't know what is written? That is why today we can call this Friday good because He can turn a tragedy Into something good. Throughout the bible we see this happening. How something bad, hopeless is turned to good when we see how God turns the situation around.
We remember Joseph, sold by his own brothers. In fact one of them said let's kill him. Don't kill him but sell him and make some money. And his blood will not be on our hands. So he was sold and landed in Potiphar's wife. And Mrs Portiphar saw handsome Joseph and told him to lie with her. He ran away from sin. You know why we often fall into sin, because we didn't run from it. I like his reply, "my master have been so good to me, how can I sin against him and God." And he was sent to prison being accused of attempted rape.
But God exalted him to become second only to Pharaoh. And when the famine came, Joseph said to his brothers, you intended it for evil but God made it for good. People may intend to harm you, but God will turn it for good. Like in Romans 8:28, but the criteria is do you love Him. It's for those who love Him.
You cannot love God if you don't know Him. You cannot love someone you don't know. At best it's infatuation. Some call it puppy love. I don't know where that phrase come from. Do you remember your puppy love? Today you would probably have changed and feel differently about that person.
What I am saying is you must love Him. And who is called according to His purpose. Are you walking in His perfect will? Or are you running away like Jonah. When you walk in His perfect will, no matter what happens you can say it is written that all things will work together for good.
I sense in my spirit today that you are on a spiritual journey. God has been dealing with me in certain things. Whether pastor or not we are all the same. I want you to know if you have been a Christian for many years, has your walk grown cold? The moment it grows cold I will have no effect in my ministry to God.
Some of us are not in God's perfect will. Like the job we are in or a relationship not pleasing to God.
Today is Good Friday. I just shared three good things we can see today. Yes, the crucifixion happen but we are seeing what the cross achieved. Today we can call it a Good Friday because Sunday is coming. It is the best day to bring your friends.
I want to end by showing you this short video clip.
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