The Wonder of Christ

Why is this Friday before Resurrection Sunday known as “Good Friday”? I learned recently that in ancient texts, one synonym for the word “good” is the word “holy”. So the expression “Good Friday” was meant to convey a holy day. How very fitting, because we should always associate goodness with holiness. God is Holy, therefore God is good. There is no shadow or turning, no evil at all found in God, which means He is ALWAYS and ALL WAYS good.

Know this! John 10:10 tells us that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; but that Jesus came so that we may have life, and have it abundantly! So if you are being stolen from, or if your life is being destroyed in some form or another or you are being touched by evil and death as opposed to life, that is not coming from God, that is coming from the thief, Satan!

Here’s another interesting tidbit I learned recently while reading in Isaiah chapter 26:

“At night my soul longs for You,
Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;
For when the earth experiences Your judgments
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness”.

Isaiah 26:10

One of the interpretations or usages of the word “righteousness” in this passage of scripture is “normal”. So the verse could easily be read “…for when the earth experiences Your judgements the inhabitants of the world learn what is normal“. Knowing that God is always good, then we also know His judgements are always good as well. In this crazy, upside down, mixed up, fear-driven, deprived of morality and truth world, the only way we can get back to normal is to experience the judgements of God applied to our own lives, our own spheres.

This was comforting to me as I have been praying for God’s judgements against such evil, and most recently for a very sweet co-worker who had a baby not long ago (he is likely a toddler by now). The heartbreaking thing about my co-worker is that she and her family live in Shanghai. With all the tumult and heartache taking place in the Ukraine, you may not be aware that, in harsh response to a recent outbreak of the virus, the government of China has placed the entire city of Shanghai – all 25 million people – in strict lock down. For one month, they are not allowed to leave their house for any reason whatsoever. None. No one, for no reason. They did this once before in 2020, even going to the extent then of cementing open doorways and padlocking the outside of buildings in order to force people to remain inside. Many starved. The government has promised to deliver food to the citizens of Shanghai, but because those who would cook it and/or deliver it are part of the lock down, logistics is proving to be somewhat of an inconvenient challenge. It makes me wonder if we could be helplessly looking on at a genocide in process.

It is truly hard to fathom the depths of the evil that surround us in this world. When you think of all the evil from past to future being poured out on Jesus the day of the cross, you begin to catch a small glimpse of what He may have experienced emotionally, and this in addition to his physical pain and suffering. But we see in Isaiah’s prophetic vision of Jesus on the cross that His response to evil was to set his face “like flint” and face it head on!

“I gave My back to those who strike Me,

And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;

I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

For the Lord God helps Me,

Therefore, I am not disgraced;

Therefore, I have set My face like flint,

And I know that I will not be ashamed.

Isaiah 50:6-7

He has conquered evil and death! It may be Holy Friday now but just hang on because Resurrection Sunday is just around the corner! We have been freed, and we have been redeemed! Like my fellow blogger, Jennifer Bagnaschi, stated so well in her recent post “I saw Jesus on the Cross“, He was tortured so we could be freed from the bondage of sin, from the chains of evil. He is our unexplainable peace in the midst of the chaos. He is all that is normal and good. May we never become so familiar with Jesus Christ that we allow that familiarity to lesson the wonder of Him and all He did for us on that holiest of days.

Be blessed this Easter! If you don’t know Him already but have a desire to, let me know! I can introduce you to Him. He died to set you free from sin, too – free from fear, free from what is not normal. He died so that you could have life. Will you choose to love Him today?