What about Good Friday?

Good Friday is the day the Church marks each year to remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This method of taking the life of a criminal by fixing him to a cross was common enough in those days. In fact when Jesus was crucified two others were also crucified at the same time.

From this, you might think Jesus Christ was a criminal, but that is as far from the truth as you can get! Because He claimed to be the Son of God and equal with God, and because He was drawing many people after Him on account of His Miracles and Teachings, and because the leaders of the day were afraid of bringing trouble on themselves from their Roman masters, they connived to have Him arrested, tried and crucified. Josephus the Jewish historian writes in his Antiquities of the Jews (Book 18 chapter 3) about this Jesus, "a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works..he drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principle men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross.."

You might then think Good Friday was really a great tragedy. A good man who was a doer of good is misunderstood, envied, removed! But again you would be way off target. The Old Testament has many prophecies concerning the coming Messiah (the Christ) and of the suffering He would endure at the hands of man (Isaiah chapter 53 is a good place to begin) and the writers of the Gospels are quick to point out how Jesus' death and the events surrounding it were in fulfillment of prophecy. And Jesus Himself was well aware of this.

Why then Good Friday? Because in God's eternal purposes and decrees He determined that Jesus Christ His Son would die on the cross for a specific reason. And that was to redeem the human race from the effects of sin, death and the judgment of a holy God. For those who turn to Jesus Christ for salvation, the awful day of crucifixion has become for them a good day!

When mum died it was quite sudden.
My friends came with cards and words of sympathy & support.
Mum died on the Wednesday (September 7th, Dad's birthday!)
On the Saturday, my friend Julie called with her husband Eric.
Julie was Deputy Headteacher at the school I taught in, (I would later become her Deputy!)

We were having a cup of tea in the kitchen when a cross appeared over the hedge.
We all went outside to see a man with a cross over his shoulder walking through the village.
We asked him what he was doing..
"I am retracing the walk of Jesus" He replied
(Now I didn't like to say I didn't know Jesus walked through North Yorkshire!"

The man walked on........
but the cross had castors on!
(small wheels!)

We all smiled.
Strange, odd, yet so true.
I thought about mum! I smiled.
Just as she would have done!

Easter weekend is here.
Today, Whitby with Enid so lots of doorways! LOL!

A couple of days off for Jon, so a couple of bike adventures possibly!
Watch this space!