We wish you all the very best this
day and always. It is sobering to think that the Son of God came into this
world to save you and me. He left His place of highest honour in heaven and
came to this sinful world just because of you and me. He lived the ordinary
life, in a carpenter's shed, grew among other children and followed the parents
to church (the temple). At 30, he launched His ministry but didn't go for the
high and mighty. He picked some obscure men - fishermen, political activists, a
lowly regarded government officer, and some shrewd folks. These men knew next
to nothing of what He wanted them to do, so He needed to train them. And He
did, not in any special school though, but by just taking them around wherever
He went and used the ordinary happenings of the day to train them. They learned
quite a lot, even though He had to admit that He still had much to teach them
but that they were not yet ready for it. He left that business for the Holy
Spirit to complete.
Imagine how they felt when He
told them He was going to leave them. Sorrow for eleven, joy for one who was
the Treasurer. He eventually left them, in a most painful way. All through His
ministry, His enemies have trailed Him, sought to trap Him and hand Him over to
government. For three years they failed, but eventually He willingly gave
Himself over to them. He made it clear to them that He was doing that
voluntarily to fulfil Scripture. For the Son of man goes as it was written of
Him. And so He went through untold abuse and torture. Finally, they crucified
Him on a Cross. Ever imagined human flesh nailed like a wood? Sheer wickedness
and cruelty! That's what Christ went through for you and me. While the pain was
His, the relief is ours. The humiliation and shame were His, the honour is
ours. The cry was His, the laugh is ours. The death was His, the life is ours.
That is the message of Good Friday. Don't miss this. Anyone who does, loses all
in this life and in the hereafter. But we pray that you get it, and get it
right. Jesus Christ died for you that you may have life. When you believe this,
you get it right. When you practise it, you prove to an unbelieving world that
Christ saves.
May the blessedness of
Christ's death and the power of His resurrection be yours now and always, Amen.
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