When Jesus looked at the people who were doing these horrible things to him, he prayed for their forgiveness, because they didn’t understand what they were doing.
When Jesus hung next to a criminal on a cross near him (a man who actually deserved it), Jesus promised him paradise because of his faith.
When Jesus looked at his mother and his friend, John, he encouraged their hearts by entrusting the care of his mother to John.
And when his act of love was completed, he commended his spirit into the hands of the Father. This is what we remember on Good Friday: the ultimate act of love.
4. Jesus Didn’t Die so That We Would Feel Guilty.
The point of Good Friday service isn’t that we would come to church, simply feeling the weight of our guilt and shame, so that we can be cleaned of it until next year’s Good Friday.
Jesus has already felt the weight of your sin and shame.
By his sacrifice, Jesus has paid the penalty. He has reconciled us back to God. We no longer exist in a relationship with God defined by guilt and shame. We operate in a relationship full of safety and love.
RELATED: The Shame Jesus Faced
Do we still sin? Yes. Do we still need to confess? Absolutely. Do we still need to continually cleanse our hearts and seek after the good that Jesus is calling us into? May it be the calling of our lives.
The point of Good Friday is that now we have the means to actually draw near to God. And we can draw near to God with confidence. This is the relationship that Jesus has made possible for us.
Jesus Gave His Life so That We Might Experience Abundant Life.
The point of Good Friday isn’t death. The point of Good Friday is life. Jesus gave his life, so that you and I could have life. He gave his life so that we could experience an abundant kind of life.
So a Good Friday service isn’t a funeral service. It’s a celebration of everything that Jesus has done for us. It’s a rallying point of our greatest victory. Even in death, Satan could not win. Jesus experienced victory in his death, and so will we.
When you celebrate Good Friday be sure to declare: Death has lost its sting. Everything has been swallowed up in victory.
This article on a Good Friday service originally appeared here and is used by permission.
