Good Friday

My students asked me, "Mrs. McKanna, why is it called Good Friday when this is the day Jesus died and it's supposed to be sad?" I love that their minds were thinking in this way. "Because, boys and girls, the message of Easter is of Christ's victory over sin, death, and the devil. When Jesus died, He took all the sins of all of us upon Himself and died in our place. This gift is for everyone. Isn't that the good news?!"

The (Scientific) Death of Jesus

"At the  age of 33, Jesus was condemned to the death penalty. At the time crucifixion was the "worst" death. Only the worst criminals were condemned to be crucified. Yet it was even more dreadful for Jesus. Unlike other criminals condemned to death by crucifixion, Jesus was nailed to the cross by His hands and feet, rather than tied. Each nail was 6 to 8 inches long. The nails were driven into His wrist, not into His palms as is commonly portrayed. There's a tendon in the wrist that extends to the shoulder. The Roman guards knew that when the nails were being hammered into the wrist, that tendon would tear and break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support himself, so that He could breathe. 

Both of His feet were nailed together. Thus He was forced to support Himself on the single nail that impaled His feet to the cross. Jesus could not support himself with His legs for long because of the pain, so He was forced to alternate between arching His back and using his legs just to continue to breath. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the suffering, the courage. Jesus endured this reality for over 3 hours. Yes, over 3 hours! Can you imagine this kind of suffering?  

From common images we see wounds to His hands and feet and even the spear wound to His side, but do we remember the many wounds made to His body? Before the nails and the spear, Jesus was whipped and beaten. The whipping was so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. The beating so horrific that His face was torn and His beard ripped from His face. The crown of thorns (two to three inches long) cut deeply into His scalp. Most men would not have survived this torture. All this without mentioning the humiliation He endured after carrying His own cross for almost 2 kilometers, while the crowd spat in his face and threw stones and insults. All this Jesus endured...so that you and I may have free access to God."  

In the midst of His agony Jesus cries out, "Father, forgive them..." Nate and I watched The Passion of the Christ last night, and I kept thinking how much I wanted the guards and priests to die. But that thought is completely contrary to how Jesus was thinking toward them. He was dying for them. He prayed for them and asked that God would forgive them even though they didn't deserve it, even though they didn't want it, even though they weren't repentant. 

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls. 

I have spilt His precious blood, 
Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable,
I, who yet am not in hell!

Whence to me this waste of love?
Ask my Advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face,
Now before the throne of grace.

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

-Charles Wesley