"What
happened at Easter?"
An
examination of this major Christian event
Good
Friday Meditation
Thursday:
Jesus has been teaching in the
Temple all week. Tonight the feast starts. The Feast of Unleavened Bread
starts with the Passover lamb being killed and the remembrance of the
Passover and the Exodus celebrated. Jesus has planned a supper with
the disciples.
Lk
22:7,8
Then came the day of Unleavened
Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. Jesus sent Peter
and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
Lk
22:14,19,20
When
the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.... And
he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup
is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
After
the supper he prophecies that one of them will betray him and another
deny him, and the rest will flee. Judas leaves to go and meet the Temple
authorities.
Jesus
and the rest of the disciples make their way over to the Garden of Gethsemane
where he prays. It is late in the evening. Judas arrives with a band
of soldiers. He kisses Jesus as a sign that he is the one to be arrested.
They take Jesus. Most of the disciples flee. Peter and John follow at
a distance.
Jesus
is taken into the palace of the high priest and questioned.
John
is known in the palace and so the two men are allowed into the courtyard.
There
Peter is challenged and denies knowing Jesus.
Friday:
They
wait in the courtyard while the Sanhedrin gathers and discuss what to
do with Jesus. It is early morning now and twice more Peter is challenged
and denies Jesus and a cock crows nearby. Peter remembers Jesus' prophecy
about him and weeps and departs in anguish.
Eventually
the Sanhedrin condemn Jesus but all power is in the hands of the Romans,
so they take Jesus to the Roman Governor, Pilate.
It
is still early morning. Pilate questions him but, when realising he
is a Galilean, he sends him to Herod who is Sub-Governor of Galilee,
but is now in Jerusalem for the feast.
Herod
interrogates Jesus but Jesus remains silent. They put a royal robe on
him and send him back to PIlate. Perhaps the robe was to act as a provocation
to Pilate, a slight mocking from Herod and his Jewish friends.
Pilate
again interviews Jesus and declares he can find nothing wrong with him.
The religious leaders remonstrate with him and, when he doesn't seem
to comply with their wishes, they stir the gathered crowd to call for
Jesus' execution.
Pilate offers to release Jesus but the crowd cry for Barabbas instead.
Just then a message comes for Pilate from his wife to have nothing to
do with condemning this innocent man because she had had a dream about
him. The crowd continue to bay for Barabbas and eventually, out of exasperation,
the Governor washes his hands in public and orders Jesus to be flogged
and crucified. The religious authorities have got their way.
It
is now late morning and the soldiers take Jesus, mock him, push a crown
of thorns on his head and thrash him. They give him a cross beam of
the crucifix to carry but so weak is he now that he continually stumbles
and falls. They grab a bystander, Simon of Cyrene to carry the beam
for Jesus up to Golgotha where they nail him to the Cross and crucify
him. As they hoist the cross into position Jesus prays, “Father, forgive
them for they do not know what they are doing.”
Lev
4:13,14
'If the whole Israelite community sins unintentionally and does what
is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though the community
is unaware of the matter, they are guilty. 14 When they become aware
of the sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as a
sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.
The
Father, conforms to His Law and holds back twelve legions of angels,
for He knows the time of repentance and judgement will come.
There
are two thieves being crucified alongside Jesus. One of them reviles
Jesus for not saving them. The other accepts who Jesus is and Jesus
declares, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Standing
around the foot of the Cross is a group of women and a few men. Among
them are Jesus' mother and the apostle, John.
Jesus
looks down to his mother and whispers, “Dear woman, here is your
son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” as he passes
over care of his mother to John and starts to disassociate himself from
his human family. It is now time for the work of the Son of God to begin
in earnest.
It
was now about midday . The Scriptures give us clues to what then took
place:
2
Cor 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin.
Heb
9:28
Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and
he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him.
1
Pet 2:24
He
himself bore our sins in his body on the tree
A
blackness came over the sky as in the divine economy, in ways beyond
our real comprehension, all of our sin was heaped upon the Son of God
on the Cross. Blackness surrounded him. The prophetic scriptures continue
to hint at what was happening:
Psa
22:12-18
12 Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13 Roaring
lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am
poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has
turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried
up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you
lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil
men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can
count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.
18
They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.
As
the Son of God hung there in agony and the soldiers divided up his garments,
and the religious opposition mocked him, there too, it seems, were the
hoards of hell surrounding him.
‘Satan'
means ‘adversary' or ‘accuser', and with the guilt of the world coming
upon Jesus on the Cross, Satan and all the hoards of hell, accuse him
and blame him for every wrong thing that has ever and will ever happen.
The
spotless, perfect Son of God is covered with the blackness of the sin
of the world; there is nothing to distinguish him from it. Imagine an
experience you would hate more than any other and multiply it a hundred
times and you may catch just a glimpse of the awfulness of sin heaped
upon the sinless.
Surrounded
by the evil, demonic masses he is aware of nothing but evil. For the
first and only time in his existence he cannot sense the Father's presence.
The Father is still there, He has not moved, but in midst of the awfulness
of sin and evil, for the first time ever the Son is not aware of Him,
and from his lips comes that most human of cries of the sinner, “My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Centuries
before Job had been challenged by his wife, “Curse God and die!” Certainly
that would have been one of Satan's cries to the God-man on the Cross.
The battle for purity was on.
Ex
12:3,5
Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this
month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household….
The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect
Lev
4:3
he must bring to the LORD a young bull without defect as a sin
offering for the sin he has committed.
2
Cor 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us
The
Lamb has to be spotless and remain spotless.
Curse
God, Jesus, He has left you! Curse God and cease to be this spotless
lamb and you will cease to be a perfect sacrifice, and we will have
won! Curse God! Curse these religious leaders for being so blind, curse
these soldiers for being so harsh and inhumane, curse these disciples
for being so weak and disloyal, curse this stupid world for its sin.
Curse them all.
For
three hours the battle rages in the darkness of earth and the darkness
of evil and the Son refuses to utter a wrong word, refuses to consider
a wrong thought. The spotless lamb remains spotless.
At
the end of the three hours knowing that all was now completed, and so
that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus mouthed through parched
lips , “I am thirsty.” and they lift vinegar to him on a sponge.
Utterly
spent from the ordeal, the exhausted, beaten, crushed Son of God reveals
his humanity and even in that identifies with us. But there is more,
for wherever he went he put up prophetic signposts for those who would
come looking.
Psa
22:15
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks
to the roof of my mouth
Psa
69:21
They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst .
Later
some would deny that this was a human hanging there taking our sin,
but the Son was careful, even there, to leave no doubt for those who
would come looking.
When
he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
For
the on-looking women it might have appeared as a cry of despair. The
bottom of their world had just fallen out. Perhaps, even to the very
last minute, there had been the hope that having been through all this,
he would suddenly triumph and recover and step down from the Cross.
This one who had spoken to wind and waves, who had spoken to blind eyes
and deaf ears, this one who had spoken to dead bodies and brought life,
surely this one could speak to his own body and revive! But, “It is
finished!”
For
the disciples who looked on these must have seemed the most terrible
words of resignation. It's over, it's the end, I've failed, there is
no more! In their grief and anguish these are words of defeat. These
are the words of failure. The whole glorious three year ministry of
bringing heaven to earth has been terminated prematurely! Months back
in the midst of the incredible healings and miracles, if they had been
told this would happen (and they were!) they would never have believed
it (and they didn't). That all of these wonderful things would be thrown
back in his face and he would be smashed into oblivion? No way! The
following thirty six hours will be, for them, the blackest in their
lives. There is no future, no hope. Our dreams have been shattered.
A future? Who cares! It is finished!
But
that was the perspective of frail and weak and misunderstanding humanity.
It was not the perspective of the Son of God. When he says, “It is finished!”
he is saying, “The work is complete! The plan from before the foundation
of the world has been fulfilled. The price has been paid on the earth.
The way is open for the salvation of whoever comes. It is finished!”
But
is it the end? Definitely not! He still has to be taken down and put
into the tomb of a rich man. He still has to rise from the dead, but
those are things for men and God respectively to do. Jesus' part is
finished here on the earth for the moment. Yes, after the Father raises
him up there is more to do, but for the moment, the plan has been executed
faultlessly. He has completed the task of redemption, there is nothing
more to do on earth that can add to that, and so it is time to depart.
So
he “gave up his spirit”. Even in the last act he is in control. He could
have held on but the work has been finished so he releases his spirit
from the body and it is over. The body in front of the watchers will
soon be an empty shell. He has no more need of it for the moment. Its
function has come to an end. The body was necessary to carry the Son
of God through some thirty or so years on the earth, experiencing the
things that human beings experience, and expressing the Father's will
in the three years of staggeringly wonderful ministry. But that phase
has come to an end. The work on earth IS finished!
Yet,
there is still one more stage to go that we have missed. There is still
one more sign post to be erected.
Luke
23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit
my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Psa
22:22
I
will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise
you.
1
Pet 3:8,9
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the
unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but
made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to
the spirits in prison
Eph
4:9
This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his
train and gave gifts to men.” What does “he ascended” mean except that
he also descended to the lower, earthly regions
Just
before he gives up his spirit, there is this one more utterance.
Jesus
awareness is now of the Father. A few hours earlier he had been crying
out for God's presence. Now he addresses the Father directly.
Again
and again in the psalms there comes a turning point where the psalmist
speaks out in faith, while the situation is still unchanged, and praises
the Lord. Whether Jesus is now aware of the Father's presence as he
approaches death, or whether he determines to make a faith statement
despite the circumstances, seems irrelevant.
They
key thing is that the Son, at the end, addresses the Father. This has
been a plan executed now, but planned since before the world began,
a plan formulated within the Godhead. Within the Godhead the Son is
always subservient to the Father, and so even here, now, right on the
edge of death, the Son's last words remind us of his relationship with
the Father. It is as if his final act is to direct us to the Father,
as had been his aim throughout his years of ministry.
It
is as if the Son is saying, “Father, I've done my part so now I hand
over to you for you to do what only you can do at this moment. I leave
this body and leave it up to you Father, how and when the resurrection
will occur.”
Descending
into hell, in going down to eternal punishment to take the fullness
of our punishment, he will stay there until the Father retrieves him
and gives him back a body on Sunday.
Yes,
there he will stay until, on that morning in earth time, the body will
be raised up, and the grave clothes will be unwound, and the Son will
back with a new body through which to communicate His Father's future
plans. THEN we will see that God has “ exalted him to the highest
place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the
earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father .” The work is finished! The way is opened, and
the Father beckons to whoever will come.
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