Today is good Friday. The day the world turned dark, the day an innocent man suffered and died a shameful death. The day when God turned away from his Son. When then is today called good? The goodness found on Good Friday is for our benefit? Mark 8:31 says "And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes, and be killed and after three days rise again." I want to give 4 reflections on what makes Good Friday good. Specifically that Christ had to suffer, be rejected, Killed and rise again 3 days later.
The Scripture is plain, when it says that the "Son of Man MUST suffer many things. The Word must is pointing to a necessary act that world would benefit from. It also points to something bigger about God's ultimate plan for redemption of the world.
4 reasons why the MUST, must happen:
1. Because it is Written in the scriptures. Through out the scriptures there is a plan that has been pointing to the fact that Christ would be our sin offering, the one who would atone for our sin, who would take our punishment on his shoulders. (Isaiah 53, Isaiah 50, Psalm 24)
2. God Performs His Word: When God says something in His word, He always fulfills it. Jeremiah 1:12 states it this way: "The the Lord said to me, you have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it".
3. Because it was planned: Everything done is always done in God's wisdom. It doesn't seem fair that an innocent man would take the sin of the world. But from the beginning God was establishing a standard for how we can have a right relationship with him, through the sacrifice of one unblemished. Acts 4:27
4. Because that Plan is for a Purpose: Part of that purpose was to adopt us as a son of God through Jesus, as we unite with Him we ascribe unto him glory and praise. (Ephesians 1:5-6) But also that purpose was to set for us an example of service and sacrifice that Jesus exemplified perfectly Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."
The Gospel must be protected, but we find that the gospel is most preserved when we give it away, and retell often why Jesus must suffer, and be rejected, and killed and rise again. Very simply that is the Gospel message. And all four things must happen in order to give some one the Good news of Good Friday.