This morning, as my husband and I were heading to the car we heard the beautiful music of a song bird.  The sun was not yet on the horizon and the morning was still cloaked in darkness.  The moon, still mostly full, was shining as brightly as it could fully prepared to give way to brighter light of sunrise.  There were many birds chirping and singing. It was a symphony of music that uplifted me and took away my dread of going into work.  Although I am grateful to have a paying job, I admit I do not exactly like the job that I have.  The beautiful songs of the birds made me smile unexpectedly.  There was one bird that was very close right in the middle of our street in front of our house.  It was as if God had sent that bird to sing the song it was created to sing just for us.

I marveled at that little bird and this Friday which is Good Friday.  Are you wondering what is so good about Good Friday?  I wonder about many things that happened on that day.

Had Jesus even slept the night before? What was that morning like for Him.  Was He filled with the dread and fear of a man or did He carry the peace and courage of the Father and as The Son of God, God among us?  Did He hear the songs of birds? Did He see any beauty around Him?

What is so good about Good Friday?
We know that Jesus had already been beaten, flogged, and treated with dis-contempt and hatred.  We know that Jesus had already suffered.  He was probably hurting awful physically and extremely sore.  He must have felt each movement of each of His muscles.  He must have hurt way down deep in His soul as the ridicule, mocking, and terrible slanderous slurs assaulted Him and rang in His mind.  To hear the people shouting, “Crucify him!”

²² Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”  They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!”  ²³ Then the governor said, “Why, what evil has He done?”  But they cried out all the more, saying, “Let Him be crucified!”  Matthew 27:22 & 23

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

What is so good about Good Friday?

Jesus went through the most awful inhumane treatment I have ever heard of. He was mistreated worse than any criminal!  What Jesus experienced that day is unimaginable.  What was He thinking about as He struggled to carry the cross up the hill to Calvary?  What did he notice? What was He feeling in His heart?   What was Jesus really thinking and feeling as they drove those long nail spikes into His hands and feet?  What would that feel like?  How did Jesus cope with that pain?  How did Jesus feel as they cast lots for His clothes?  Did Jesus find any comfort at all in His last moments on Earth?

³⁵ Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

“ They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”

Matthew 27:35

Jesus did not do anything in His whole life to deserve what happened to Him. He was pure in mind and spirit. He was without a single sin. He was innocent of all crimes.  Yet He is the one that paid the ultimate price for all crimes and for all sin. Jesus gave His life for us on the cross. He gave everything He had for us. He loved us so much that the thought of us being separated from Him and the Father was worse than the punishment He now endured. He loved us so much that He took all sin upon Himself and all the consequences of sin upon Himself. He died in sin so that we can live in righteousness. I don’t know what He was thinking or feeling inside but I know that He was brave, full of love and blessings, and that actions speak more highly than words. He is the good of Good Friday.

Just like that little bird that was singing so beautifully this morning, Jesus did what He was born to do. Jesus fulfilled His life’s work and accomplished that which He had been born to do. He was born to be our Savior, and to save us from our sins. He accomplished this with great strength, unsurpassed courage and all encompassing love.

“[Jesus Again Predicts His Death] Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”- Matthew 20: 17-19

Jesus did not remain dead. He rose from the dead on the third day. He is Alive! There is life and victory in Jesus.

The victory of the cross and our salvation was what was good about Good Friday for Jesus. This victory through trials and persecutions and terrible brutality stands as the hope and promise for each of us even unto this day and for all time. What Jesus accomplished was more than anyone else could possibly bear. Only Jesus could do what needed to be done, and He did so willingly and with honor.  Jesus wasn’t interested in what was in it for Him.  Jesus wasn’t considering Himself, His desires, or His needs.  Jesus was more concerned with pleasing the Father.  Jesus was most concerned about us.  As He gave His life that day on the cross He was thinking about the man or woman in-prisoned for crimes, or on death row convicted of murder.  He was thinking about that young lady or young man that comes to the alter for the first time.  He was thinking about me and you and our salvation.  I bet He smiled inside knowing that any one who would believe in Him and all that He had done would be saved.   What He did for us is proof that He loves us just the way we are…sin and all.

Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?  Do you believe He died on the cross for you and to save you from your sins?  Today is Good Friday, and it is a great day to get to know Jesus better and to accept Him as LORD of lords and KING of all kings.  It is a great day to find salvation in Jesus Christ.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 (New King James Version)

May your life be blessed and a blessing in Christ Jesus.