Good Friday

We “celebrate” Good Friday with deep reverence. But for many, the concept has lost its meaning. What is it about Jesus’ death on the cross that made a tangible difference for us, and what is that difference?

As is my habit, on Good Friday, I watch the Passion of the Christ. (Warning, it is rated R for a reason…it is extremely hard to watch.) When it first came out, I happened to be taking a Christology class and a class on the Old Testament covenants at the same time. Things connected for me that I hope to connect for you. My goal for this post is that you not only get a real sense for what Jesus’ death on the cross means for you, personally, but that you are strengthened in your inner soul and begin to hear God’s voice more and more and are able to live in constant connection with His Spirit.

We were designed for a relationship with God

It all began in the garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had an ongoing relationship with God. He came down in the cool of the evening and walked with them. He gave them the whole earth but warned them to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eating of this tree would bring death to them.

One day, Eve and the serpent had a conversation. The serpent twisted God’s words, and in truth, so did Eve. By the time she got done, she said she couldn’t even touch the fruit – the problem became the fruit, not letting God be enough. The basic argument for Eve became “God might not give me this wisdom, so I need to get it for myself.” This, in a nutshell, is the root of all sin. Instead of leaning on God and asking for His deliverance, provision, empowerment, wisdom, etc. We seek to provide for ourselves. We try to do for ourselves. When we try to do for ourselves, we end up breaking relationship with God, ourselves and others.

We were designed for relationship with God. That relationship is one of communion, not as an equal, but also not as a supplicant. We were designed to take our needs to God and to work with His strength running through us.

Life without relationship

Have you ever walked away from God? Maybe you didn’t live in immorality, but for a time you decided to live by the rules of the society around you – to rely on your own ability to play the game. (Maybe this is what you think life is supposed to be?) As you play the game, suddenly you see the world through a myopic lens. People are either for you or against you, some become walls you need to get around, and others are boulders in your way. At this point, you don’t see others as God sees them, you see them as obstacles or pathways – not humans made in the image of God that you are co-living with under God’s grace, but problems to be fixed or resources to be used.

Then, life becomes more complex. You stop seeing yourself as human and instead see yourself as an instrument to be used. You almost supplant your identity with your list of needs and wants. You become something less than human in your own eyes.

We weren’t designed to live this way. Instead, we were designed to live with the God of the Universe as our Source, our reason, our wisdom, and other people being our colaborers, creating a world that brings glory to God and using the resources of this world to provide for each individual. Many of us have good intentions and desire to make the world better for others, but without God as our Source, we rely on the same crippling tendencies that send us into the circle above, seeing people as obstacles and resources instead of fellow humans who are also trying to create a world that seems right from their perspective.

We were designed to see ourselves and others as God does.

Why did Jesus come to earth?

God chose Israel to demonstrate what a life lived in relationship with Him looks like. The rules were designed to keep them connected to the Source (God). Instead, as is our human tendency, they made the rules of living the focus of life. So Jesus came to show the way.

This brings us to Good Friday. Jesus had a choice. As we think about Jesus’ walk to the cross, the lies hurled at him, the abandonment of his friends, the beating and mistreatment, Jesus took on himself both physically and emotionally all that we experience as we walk through life without God as our Source. How ravaged is a body whose only source is dependencies? How ravaged is a soul whose only source is the approval of others?
Jesus came to free us from that pain. He came to show us how to live as we were created to be – in communion with God.

Reflections on Communion

Consider Jesus, beaten, hated, physically pushed past the end of his body’s ability. We feel a bit threatened and our body’s adrenal response pushes us into fight/flight/freeze mode. Yet, as the crowd hurled insults and jabs, the soldiers beat him unbelievably, Jesus walked in love. “Father, forgive them…” Jesus never stopped seeing the people as human beings, trying to keep their world safe. He loved them.

When we take communion we remember Jesus’ words at the last supper as described in 1 Corinthians 11: “and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’(v. 24) Jesus’ body was truly broken for you. Yet He was able to walk in love. When you accept Him, the same Spirit that lived in Jesus lives in you. The ability to love in the midst of pain is yours if you lean on God and let Him be your Source for all things.

Then, we take the cup. “after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (v. 25-26). This covenantal language is important. Because of Jesus’ blood, we don’t have to earn our way into heaven to get an audience with God. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil that separated the Holy of Holy (where God’s presence was) from the rest of the world (where humans were) was ripped from top to bottom. God desires to walk with us like in the beginning. In fact, after Jesus returned to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit who now lives in us. This separation of God and humans isn’t necessary now because of Christ’s blood. You don’t have to earn an audience with God to get His attention. He is willing to be with you now – you just have to let Jesus’ gift of his life be enough (we call this accepting Jesus into our hearts). Instead of trying to do for yourself, let God come near you and let your heart cry to Him for everything.

Either God is God, or He isn’t

Just like we dehumanize others and ourselves, we also have a tendency to de-glorify God. I used to think that letting God be on the throne meant that I didn’t care about things so deeply. That I adopted a “whatever will be, will be” attitude. I don’t think God wants us to lack intensity. However, I think that we often de-throne him. Like Uzzah in 2 Samuel 6, who reached out to steady the ark of God when the oxen stumbled, we sometimes seem to think God must be protected. We stop seeing God as God and see him as a resource to be managed, a treasure to be protected. We forget that the Spirit of God knows all things and has endless resources. We act like the resources and “wisdom” that we have in and of ourselves is what it will take to protect God and keep Him on the throne.

Here is the truth: we honor (perhaps that’s a better word than celebrate) Good Friday because God is God and we are not. We can’t even get ourselves to be nice under stress, but because of what Christ did on that Friday so many years ago, the Spirit of God is now available to live in us. He will teach us all things, He will guide and direct, and He will empower us to be the people He created us to be in the places He has put us – and in relationship with the people He has put us with. We have only to say ‘yes!’

Jesus’ long hard road to the cross means everything.