Pastor Quinn • April 16, 2022
Good Friday: His Punishment, Our Peace
Good Friday is very different than a funeral. At a funeral, we celebrate the blessings of someone's earthly life. But we also we mourn the fact of their death. Their death is something we wish we could forget. In the case of Jesus, his death is the very thing we gather to celebrate and remember. In fact, we prolong the remembrance. We dwell on the details. We even call this day "good." For we know why Jesus willingly endured the agony of the cross. It wasn't a tragic miscarriage of justice. Jesus suffered this punishment vicariously. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Because he did, we are now right with our holy God. Jesus' punishment is our peace.
For centuries Israel offered sacrifices to God for sin. Over and over, a substitute shed its blood to earn forgiveness. Then Jesus appeared, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. He died as the substitute for sinful mankind. Connected to him by faith, you have new perspective and new motivation for living a Christian life.
For centuries Israel offered sacrifices to God for sin. Over and over, a substitute shed its blood to earn forgiveness. Then Jesus appeared, the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. He died as the substitute for sinful mankind. Connected to him by faith, you have new perspective and new motivation for living a Christian life.
“Christ” is not the family name of Jesus. It is a title. The Greek word “Christ” and the Hebrew word “Messiah” both mean the same thing: “The Anointed One.” Anointing was the practice of pouring liquid over the head of someone to signify selection for some special task. When the Lord had someone anointed, he also poured his Spirit over them. It was the fulfillment of promises made over centuries.
