Good Friday The Blessed Catastrophe
Good Friday begins at about 1:30 in the morning, with Jesus being sold out by Judas Iscariot, and seized by soldiers, not just a few armed guards. The Greek word for commander used in John 18:12 is “chiliarchos” which means “the leader of a thousand men.” There was a definite fear that Jesus and the disciples would resist violently. Even the disciples responded as though there would be war, with Peter removing the ear of the high priest’s servant. Then Jesus commanded his disciples put away their weapons. This was not the mighty, conquering king The Twelve had hoped for. Jesus was not playing the part of the war hero who would free the Jews from Roman occupation. Instead, when faced with an opposing army, this King peacefully complied. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, The Savior followed these men to his trials.
Two of Jesus’ trials were conducted illegally, and in the dark, by men who hated him. The men who cared so much about the letter of the Jewish law also were the ones who forsook its judicial system when it played to their benefit. In these trials, Jesus is beaten by his accusers and the guards and the Jewish council. Before the third trial of Jesus, Peter had denied Christ three times. The first legal trial was barely a trial at all. Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, which is the equivalent of the supreme court. They ask if He is the Son of God, and when He said he was, the found cause to declare Him guilty of attempting to overthrow the government. So the brought Him before Pilate, the man who carried the power to execute criminals.
Pilate does everything in his power to avoid judging Jesus. He begins by telling the Jews to try Jesus under their courts and systems. When he’s told the Jesus has been tried and found guilty (all before six in the morning) Pilate tries to make Jesus’ trial someone else’s responsibility and attempts to place Jesus under Herod’s jurisdiction, but soon the Son of God’s fate falls back into Pilate’s hands. In a last-ditch effort to save this man Pilate saw as innocent, he tried to offer the Jews a deal. It had been tradition to release a criminal on the Passover feast. He presented the Jews with two options for who should be released. The first option is Jesus, a man with whom Pilate found no fault, and the second option is Barabus, a man known to be a murderer and traitor to the Jews and Romans alike.
“Give us Barabbas,” the crowd demands. Shocked, Pilate attempts to reason with them. They insist on having Barabbas. “Crucify him,” they yell. In essence, the crowds said “We’d rather have a murder-free then for Jesus to live. We want this evil man because we don’t want the righteous one.” Barabbas was set for crucifixion. Barabbas deserved to suffer and die for his crime and sins. Jesus was not guilty. Pilate was a just man, and he knew Jesus was righteous. In the act of symbolism, Pilate washes his hands with clean water and tells the rioting crowd “I will not have the blood of an innocent man on my hands.” The crowds insisted on murder. “Let his innocent blood be on us,” they tell Pilate. “Let us be guilty of the death of this man. Let us be the reason He suffers. We are the reason he dies.”
So that was it. The only righteous man is hung to die on a cross. This is what we call “Good Friday,” but in reality, it’s one of the darkest moments in history. God comes to earth as a man, lives a perfect, holy life, and is innocent of any guilt or blame. The only man undeserving of any punishment is the one who’s hung. And we call it “Good Friday.” God’s chosen people have a murder freed into their populace, and a blameless man hangs on a cross meant for Barrabas. Who is to blame for this crime? Who must be punished for this atrocity against God and humanity alike? Well, we are. We are Barabbas, and we are the Jews. The cross Jesus bore was meant for us, and at the last moment, we called for Jesus to suffer instead of his, and we called for his innocent blood to be spilled on us.
Thank God for that.
His innocent blood was poured out over us. The guilt of his death lies at our hands, but His blood is more than a sign of fault. We are spared torment and death because He hung on a cross designed for us. This blood spilled on us is the blood of a sacrifice. The only innocent man died to wash us clean. He emptied his veins so God can see us as perfect and righteous. This is why it’s called Good Friday. This heinous crime pays the price of our sin. It is good because the death of Jesus was only temporary. It is good because we are now free from the chains that held us, free from sin, free from death. What happened never should have taken place. Never should The Perfect Man have died to save criminals and sinners, but this was the best thing that could have happened for us. Because now we can be seen as blameless before God. The worst thing that could ever happen ends up being for our benefit. This blessed catastrophe is what saves us. This is why it’s Good Friday.
Two of Jesus’ trials were conducted illegally, and in the dark, by men who hated him. The men who cared so much about the letter of the Jewish law also were the ones who forsook its judicial system when it played to their benefit. In these trials, Jesus is beaten by his accusers and the guards and the Jewish council. Before the third trial of Jesus, Peter had denied Christ three times. The first legal trial was barely a trial at all. Jesus is brought before the Sanhedrin, which is the equivalent of the supreme court. They ask if He is the Son of God, and when He said he was, the found cause to declare Him guilty of attempting to overthrow the government. So the brought Him before Pilate, the man who carried the power to execute criminals.
Pilate does everything in his power to avoid judging Jesus. He begins by telling the Jews to try Jesus under their courts and systems. When he’s told the Jesus has been tried and found guilty (all before six in the morning) Pilate tries to make Jesus’ trial someone else’s responsibility and attempts to place Jesus under Herod’s jurisdiction, but soon the Son of God’s fate falls back into Pilate’s hands. In a last-ditch effort to save this man Pilate saw as innocent, he tried to offer the Jews a deal. It had been tradition to release a criminal on the Passover feast. He presented the Jews with two options for who should be released. The first option is Jesus, a man with whom Pilate found no fault, and the second option is Barabus, a man known to be a murderer and traitor to the Jews and Romans alike.
“Give us Barabbas,” the crowd demands. Shocked, Pilate attempts to reason with them. They insist on having Barabbas. “Crucify him,” they yell. In essence, the crowds said “We’d rather have a murder-free then for Jesus to live. We want this evil man because we don’t want the righteous one.” Barabbas was set for crucifixion. Barabbas deserved to suffer and die for his crime and sins. Jesus was not guilty. Pilate was a just man, and he knew Jesus was righteous. In the act of symbolism, Pilate washes his hands with clean water and tells the rioting crowd “I will not have the blood of an innocent man on my hands.” The crowds insisted on murder. “Let his innocent blood be on us,” they tell Pilate. “Let us be guilty of the death of this man. Let us be the reason He suffers. We are the reason he dies.”
So that was it. The only righteous man is hung to die on a cross. This is what we call “Good Friday,” but in reality, it’s one of the darkest moments in history. God comes to earth as a man, lives a perfect, holy life, and is innocent of any guilt or blame. The only man undeserving of any punishment is the one who’s hung. And we call it “Good Friday.” God’s chosen people have a murder freed into their populace, and a blameless man hangs on a cross meant for Barrabas. Who is to blame for this crime? Who must be punished for this atrocity against God and humanity alike? Well, we are. We are Barabbas, and we are the Jews. The cross Jesus bore was meant for us, and at the last moment, we called for Jesus to suffer instead of his, and we called for his innocent blood to be spilled on us.
Thank God for that.
His innocent blood was poured out over us. The guilt of his death lies at our hands, but His blood is more than a sign of fault. We are spared torment and death because He hung on a cross designed for us. This blood spilled on us is the blood of a sacrifice. The only innocent man died to wash us clean. He emptied his veins so God can see us as perfect and righteous. This is why it’s called Good Friday. This heinous crime pays the price of our sin. It is good because the death of Jesus was only temporary. It is good because we are now free from the chains that held us, free from sin, free from death. What happened never should have taken place. Never should The Perfect Man have died to save criminals and sinners, but this was the best thing that could have happened for us. Because now we can be seen as blameless before God. The worst thing that could ever happen ends up being for our benefit. This blessed catastrophe is what saves us. This is why it’s Good Friday.
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