Good Friday

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:6-8
As we remember the death of Christ this Good Friday,* there’s a lot to remind ourselves about. I still have to stop and marvel at the immense sacrifice Jesus made on my behalf. In every aspect of His life, He stooped lower than I can even imagine. The step down from being God to becoming man.** The step down from a man to a servant. The step down from a servant to a criminal condemned to die by crucifixion. We need to realise how repulsive this imagery is. Perhaps we’ve been desensitised, by seeing pictures of a serene Christ nailed to a cross, that we don’t see it for what it was: an instrument of torture. We forget about the cry He made in agony: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34).
Those condemned to die by crucifixion were paraded through the streets, forced to carry the crosses they would be crucified on. These were dead men walking. We know from Scripture that Jesus didn’t carry His own cross; the soldiers pulled Simon of Cyrene out of the crowd and made him carry it. This wasn’t out of the soldiers’ pity or honour for Jesus, nor did He walk majestically alongside. It was a matter of convenience and having to get the job done: Jesus was so badly weakened from His beating that He physically could not carry the cross Himself. We can contrast the pain that He experienced with the torment of hell that He has rescued us from. The external pain and burning that makes people grind their teeth (Matt. 13:42). The spiritual pain, separation from God for eternity. Jesus knew this was what was at stake. That’s why He took our place. Aren’t you glad He did? Spend some time today and thank Him for what He has done. The words you can formulate will probably feel inadequate, but do it anyway.

*I’m wording it this way as the timing of the Biblical account means Jesus probably wasn’t crucified on a Friday. But just as we can remember Christ’s birth on Christmas day even though that wasn’t the day either, we can use Good Friday as a time to reflect on His death.
**Jesus didn’t stop being God when He became a man, but He did choose to set aside His Divine power for a time and live in the strength of a man filled with the Holy Spirit.