The Gospel of John, Chapter 19
Following is from John Bunyan’s classic, Pilgrim’s Progress:
Now I saw in my dream that the highway which Christian was to go was fenced on either side with a wall called Salvation (Isaiah 26:1). Up this way therefore did burdened Christian run, with great difficulty, because of the load on his back.
He ran till he came to a place somewhat ascending; and upon the place stood a cross, and a little below, a sepulcher. Just as Christian came to the cross, his burden loosed from his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble till it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.
How, then, shall we approach this day?
The terrible sufferings of the Savior are certainly part of our meditation. A sense of sorrow? Yes, as we contemplate what it meant for the sinless One to become sin (II Cor. 5:21). Viewing Good Friday as a day of mourning? Here, let’s draw the line.
The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the linchpin of our faith. It stakes the Word of God to our souls and makes eternal life with him a reality. This fact is cause for rejoicing, for thanksgiving, for living each day with a grateful heart that the terrible burden of our sin has been swallowed up in the mouth of the tomb.
Like Bunyan, the words of Irish theologian, Thomas Croskery (1830-1886), wonderfully remind us of the terrible, glorious work of Christ:
The sin of humanity is branded with an eternal curse, more deep than any previous manifestation of the Divine justice could have produced; and yet it loses its sting. God reconciles the world to Him self by the death of His Son, the curse falling upon His Only Begotten. The earthly judges are condemned by their Victim. The great The Paschal Lamb is slain. The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world.
The world must see our faith in Christ coupled with an overarching joy. Does this mean faking happy? Of course not. But it does mean examining our posture before the Cross. We aren’t slumped in sorrow, drowning in grief. If there are tears, they are tears of deep gratitude as we stand with arms and faces uplifted, rejoicing in the mighty, saving work of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will experience a sense of wonder and deep gratitude throughout this day, that the presence of Jesus, who has redeemed us by his blood, infuses every moment.
Consummatum Est! It is finished! The power of death, hell, and the grave has been broken, and Jesus is Lord!
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