By Rev Victor Neill
I suppose the most obvious question to ask on this day is ‘Why is it called Good Friday?‘ Should it not have been called ’Black Friday‘? From a human standpoint, justice was clearly not done concerning the Lord Jesus, for He was innocent of all ‘the trumped charges’ that were levelled against Him – even Pilate said 'I have examined Him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse Him‘ (Luke 23 v 14). Nevertheless Pilate gave in to the mob 'and washed His hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it‘ (Matt 27 v 24).
But in this black day for justice – God was overruling the evil and wicked purposes of men so that the greatest good might be accomplished for an undeserving humanity and that is why it really was a Good Friday – indeed the best Friday for a lost humanity! I want us to think about the word our Lord Jesus said before He commended His Spirit to the Father ‘It is finished’ (John 19 v 30). There is only one word used in the original text 'finished‘.
This was used in three different ways :
(1) Used when an unblemished lamb was found for sacrifice ‘finished’ - the search is finished.
(2) Used by a servant on completion of a task ‘the job you gave me to do is finished - complete‘
(3) Used in commercial life and signified the completion of a transaction when a debt was paid in full – ‘finished’ the debt no longer exists‘.
All three of these meanings apply in the fullest sense to what took place that Good Friday. The Lord Jesus finished all He been given to do by the Father and because He was the unblemished Lamb, therefore He was able to pay in full, our debt of sin - our debt is finished, it can be erased, if we humbly confess our sin and turn from it and simply commit and surrender ourselves to Him. May this Good Friday turn out to be the best Friday of your life – ‘as you turn from darkness to light and let Jesus make you right’ .
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