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It is Good Friday. After Jesus’ arrest in Gethsemane, he was taken before the high priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin (the Jewish council). This is a very important fact to understand, as having to stand trial at Caiaphas’s private residence at night was against Jewish law.
They produced false witnesses whose testimonies did not even align, claiming that Jesus threatened to destroy the temple. Jesus remained silent until He was asked if He was the Messiah, which he affirmed. By Friday morning, the Sanhedrin formalized their charge against Jesus: blasphemy. While it was indeed required by the law to execute for blasphemy, the critical mistake is that not only was the Sanhedrin blind to Jesus actually being the long-prophesied Messiah, but also their extreme contempt and hatred for Him, thus explaining their illegal targeting of Him. Outside was Peter, who was staying nearby. Three times, he was recognized as a follower of Jesus—by a servant girl, a bystander, and others—and, as prophesied, each time he denied knowing him. After the third time, a cock crowed, and Peter bitterly wept.
Because they could not legally execute Him, He was sent to the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, a man known for his fondness for executions. Unsurprisingly, Pilate, being a Roman, would have been rather unconcerned about Jesus claiming Jewish godship. Thus, the Sanhedrin cleverly accused Jesus of treason by claiming to be “King of the Jews.” Ironically, the Sanhedrin themselves would not enter Pilate’s headquarters to avoid ritual impurity, a strong concern considering they were knowingly framing an innocent man to be killed. After standing trial, though, Pilate found Jesus to be innocent and sent Him to Herod Antipas (to essentially rid himself of the problem). Herod, the ruler of Galilee, mocked Jesus and dressed Him in a “splendid robe” to humiliate Him, but ultimately sent Him back to Pilate. Both authorities did not want the responsibility of the political fodder that Jesus was.
In front of Pilate, a hostile crowd arose over Jesus. Faced with a political nightmare, Pilate offered to release a prisoner for Passover, offering them Jesus or the hardened criminal and rebel, Barabbas. The crowd, stirred by Jesus’ enemies, chose to grant freedom for the rebel over the peacemaker, thus releasing Barabbas and demanding that Jesus be crucified. Pilate had no desire to crucify Jesus, but fearing a riot, he symbolically washed his hands, sentencing Jesus to death, leaving the consequences on the Jews.
Before Jesus was crucified, he was scourged (flogged with the cat o’ nine tails, a whip embedded with bone and metal) and was mocked by Roman soldiers. They stripped him of his clothes, placed a crown of thorns into His head, draped a purple robe over Him (which would have gruesomely stuck to His wounds), and taunted Him as the “King of the Jews.” At this point, Jesus would have been facing serious wounds and significant blood loss. He was then required to carry his crossbeam to Golgotha outside of Jerusalem. He stumbled, thus prompting the Romans to conscript Simon of Cyrene to carry it. Interesting, Mark names Simon’s sons as Alexander and Rufus, suggesting they were known to the early Christians and were possibly believers. At this time, a crowd, including mourning women, began to follow Him. This journey to Golgotha would have been both torturous and humiliating. This would have targeted Jesus as the man, showing the collapse of His human body.
Around 9 in the morning, Jesus was nailed through the hands, and had His cross dropped in its hole with a sign reading “King of the Jews,” which served as less of a mockery to Jesus but to the Jewish leaders. Two criminals flanked Him, and soldiers gambled for His clothes. As onlookers mocked Him, Jesus forgave His executioners and extended eternal life to a repentant criminal next to him. As Jesus hung on the cross, He took on the sins of every person (past, present, and future) and experienced the weight of sin. Within a few hours He cried, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” With the words “It is finished,” He died. The temple curtain tore, the earth quaked, and saints came back to life. Leading into the weekend, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Jesus in a new tomb, a mark of their significant wealth, wrapped him in linen with spices, and women such as Mary Magdalene watched. The fact that the tomb was unused ensured ritual purity. With these events, Good Friday comes to a close.
They hung Him, put nails in His hands, and a crown of thorns on His head.
The Messiah. The Christ. The King of Kings.
The Savior. Your savior.
They led him like a lamb to the slaughter—beaten, afflicted, rejected.
Happy Good Friday. Remember: HE! is the resurrection and the life!
Additional (and Highly Significant) Notes on Good Friday
Beyond the story itself, there are a few additional points I would like to make.
- Beyond just the physical torture and suffering Jesus endured, He had to suffer the most extreme spiritual warfare with Satan directly. While men thought they had conquered Him, He was warring with Satan directly and taking on the sins of every single person, an experience He, as God, never would have experienced before. From the beginning of time and before this was the divine plan, and beyond the sinful desires of man, Jesus would conquer death. His betrayers and executioners were simply fulfilling thousands of years of prophecy.
- Jesus came as the Second Adam to fulfill what Adam himself could not. Adam ate from the tree and brought sin into the world, and Jesus died to the tree to conquer sin.
- Sin requires death as payment. Every person (except for Enoch and Elijah) has died because of sin. Thus, Jesus was the only person able to sacrifice for the sins of others. This is because He is a sinless human being. Because He was born of the Virgin Mary, He did not inherit Adam’s sin. Further, because He is God, He is simply unable to sin. Thus, He was a perfect sacrifice, and as God, His sacrifice was sufficient to atone for all who would believe in Him.
- Good Friday should be a reminder that all have sinned, all fall short of God’s desires, and without forgiveness through Christ, all are doomed for eternal damnation. Everyone is born into sin and cannot simply not sin. Apart from accepting Christ as your savior, you, too, will have to suffer in Hell forever once you die. But, you can also choose as the one criminal on the cross did, admit you are a sinner and accept Christ as your savior, and live with Him for eternity in paradise.
- Jesus Christ said that there is no greater love than to die for someone. Having never suffered pain or the effects of sin until He became a man and having to take on sin that He never had (thus being separated temporarily from His Father), and dying on the cross, He truly showed the greatest act of love ever seen.
- While Good Friday is often seen as a solemn time, it should be a celebration as it is the greatest picture of God’s love for us! In three days, Christ would conquer death and sin that we may live with Him for eternity!
Stay tuned for my Easter article, and may God bless you.
