I’ve put off writing for a week now because of what this week means to those of us with faith in God.
This week is resurrection week, or more commonly known as Easter week. And what a beautiful week it was over 2,000 years ago.
If you have never read the death and resurrection story of Jesus, what better week to do it than this?
You can find the story in any of the four gospels in the Bible, but my go-to is the story in the gospel of Matthew, starting in chapter 26.
Good Friday represented in scripture is the day that Jesus willingly took the prophecy laid before Him and died a cruel death on the cross in place of humankind so that we can one day join Him in the presence of the Father of creation in Heaven.
What a beautiful and merciful display of love and sacrifice poured out to us when we deserved it the least.
You see, Jesus, being one with the Father, accepted His fate when he could have simply snapped His fingers and had a legion of angels save Him and take Him to heaven. But instead, He knew His purpose. Jesus knew the ultimate reasoning for the Father’s plan because HE KNEW THE FATHER’S NATURE.
To understand the plans the Lord has laid out for us and to accept and follow through with that plan, we must first know the nature of the Father.
See, while Jesus still expressed human emotion and asked the Lord to take this burden away from Him [v. 39] (as any of us would do), He still didn’t question God because He knew and understood His nature. Jesus understood that the Father was using Him as a sacrifice, but He also understood that through this, God would raise Him from the dead and they would be One again.
You see, God doesn’t do anything by accident or by happenstance. God knew the exact moment Jesus would take his last breath. He knew the pain that He would go through. He knew the two men that would be hanging on crosses beside Jesus and He knew that those souls would join Him in heaven [v. 43]. And the beauty of it all is that He did it because He loves US so much! What a concept.
The very people He created turns their back on Him, and yet, He still finds a way to offer us a do-over card.
That, my friend, is the nature of our Creator. And that very nature is what we are to mimic in this crazy world we live in.
So while “Good Friday” may not seem so good when you read the story at surface level, this is the greatest day in recorded history because it’s the day that set the trajectory for us to someday be one with the Father again.
And hey, *spoiler alert* JESUS GOT UP THREE DAYS LATER!
So as you reflect on this day and this week, remember that to be One with the Father, we must first understand the nature of the Father.
For God so loved the world, He gave up His one precious love…the only Son he’s ever had…to give us the chance to believe in His goodness and His love for us so that we wouldn’t have to spend eternity burning in the destruction and devastation that is Hell (it is a real place…don’t be fooled). And through all of this, we would be with Him forever in paradise. (My translation of John 3:16)
What a love.
Thank you, Jesus, for obeying the Father’s call on your life and for understanding the nature of the Father so that we may someday join you in the throne room of the Almighty.
P.S. If you have questions about what it means to “be saved” or questions about the Easter story, please feel free to send me a comment on here or send me an email (found at the bottom of the page here).
