“because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” – Mark 9:31 (NIV)
As a little girl, I couldn’t understand why Good Friday was good, if Jesus was nailed to a cross. Why would someone want to hurt Jesus? It was more than I could wrap my young mind around. As I matured in His Word, it became more clear to me. 1 Peter 2:24 (NKJV) says, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
Whenever I see an image of Jesus or think of Him on the cross, I get choked up and have a good cry. It’s easy for us to get bogged down in our problems. There is so much pain in this world: financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual. I know it’s hard to endure sometimes. Many of us repeatedly ask, “Why me, Lord?”
Christ knows the darkness we might walk in. He knows the hardships in our lives and the lives of those around us. He knows our hurt and suffering because He hurt and suffered, too. “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5 (NIV). Jesus took the wrath that we deserve so that we can experience His mercy and grace.
Jesus dying on the cross was a gift of endless love promising us an everlasting life. God loves us so much that He gave us His son so we could be with Him for eternity. Jesus died on the cross because He wanted to bring us closer to God and His death on the cross reveals to us who God is.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your sacrifice. Through Your sacrifice, You have made a way for us to have hope and eternal life with You. I pray that as we go about our “Good Friday,” that we stop and think about what that day truly means. In Your blessed name, Amen.
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