Good Friday: The Crucifixion

"At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'). When some of those standing near heard this, they said, 'Listen, he’s calling Elijah.' Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said. With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" ~Mark 15:33-39

The Crucifixion of Jesus by the Romans can be found in all four of the Gospels. The events leading up to it are a bit sad. Jesus was first betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane for thirty pieces of silver. Then Pilate chose to save his reputation by not deciding the fate of Jesus. Pilate sent Jesus in front of Herod as an attempt to dodge making a decision, only to have Herod send Jesus back. Then the crowd chose to have the terrorist, Barabbas released, instead of seeing Jesus go free. Jesus was eventually sentenced for insurrection and was then mocked, spit on, and beaten to within inches of His life before being forced to carry a cross while wearing a crown of thorns. Jesus was so badly beaten that another man actually had to carry His cross to the sight of the Crucifixion.

The Crucifixion is extremely significant in the Christian faith because Christ was crucified as a sacrifice for our sins. His blood was spilled so that we could be forgiven for the sins we committed and will commit. Jesus serves as our bridge of reconciliation to God. Without faith and belief in Jesus, we cannot know the Father. It is only through Him that we can receive God's grace. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Without the Christ crucified, there would be no hope.

As you enjoy your Good Friday, make sure to take time to think about the significance of Christ's sacrifice for us. Also, think about how much God must truly love you to choose to sacrifice his Son in order to save our fallen souls. He wanted to reconcile us to Himself so that we have the chance to spend eternity with Him in heaven (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ~John 3:16). That is true love at it's finest, and nobody can deny it. Never forget that God loves you for who you are and that He demonstrated that love by having Jesus hang on a cross for your sins. And Jesus died for our sins once and for all, which Paul reminds us of in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15: "For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again."