My Good Friday began with friends at the lake to watch the sunrise. We had no doubt that the sun would yet again break the darkness of night as we stood there overlooking the peaceful water and sipping our coffee. The regularity of day and night we experience is nothing short of a continuous miracle. As John Piper emphasizes, God “never stops” making the sun rise because “[t]he sun is always rising somewhere in the world” (Providence, 21). Because of this amazing predictability, we can lose our sense of wonder and take the endless miracle for granted—until something unexpected happens like what happened on Good Friday.
Two thousand years ago in Jerusalem, the sun rose just like any other day. Roman soldiers went to work and people went about their business as three criminals were condemned to die on wooden crosses for all to see. Crucifixion was common, so no onlooker thought twice about the punishment of the man on the middle cross—until the lights went out.
According to the Scriptures, “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour” (Matthew 27:45). The sun that had risen just like every other morning somehow stopped providing light for three whole hours in the middle of the day. What must that scene have been like? What thoughts would have raced through our minds? The light the world was accustomed to seeing was no longer shining because the Light of the World had been put out. Darkness seemed to reign as sinlessness took on sin in our place.
All of nature responded to the disruption. “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised” (Matthew 27:51-52). Can you imagine the chaos? Predictable regularity was gone, and some among the crowd understood why. “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’” (Matthew 27:54).
The death of Jesus was significant enough to shake the earth and to open the eyes of his executioner. As we consider these responses, how will we respond on this Good Friday? Will we cry out to our Savior? Will we recognize the ultimate sacrifice he made for us on the cross? Will we enter into the story and wait with eager anticipation for the third day when he promised to rise again in glorious day to defeat the darkness forever? Sunday is coming!
Good Friday Reading:
Matthew 27:1-62
Mark 15:1-47
Luke 22:63-23:56
John 18:28-19:37
Comments