Good Friday: It Is Finished!
As we enter Good Friday, let’s take some time this morning to read the full account from Mark of this terrible and glorious day when Jesus was crucified. Though it is a bit longer, take a few moments to read it slowly and remember all that Jesus endured…
Jesus Delivered to Pilate
And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified
Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. And it was the third hour when they crucified him. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!” So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
The Death of Jesus
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:1–39, ESV)
There has never been, nor could there ever be, a more significant moment in all of human history than what occurred upon the cross of Christ. There, through his incredible and painful sacrifice, Jesus accomplished our perfect and full redemption. There, amidst the horrors of Good Friday, the eternal plan of God to reconcile His people from their sin unto himself was fulfilled. Truly, for us, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is everything. He was indeed pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities; by his stripes, we are healed!
Why did Jesus have to die? Here are three reasons He endured the horrors of Calvary…
1. Jesus gave His blood to satisfy the wrath of God.
In the perfect justice of God, the wrath of God due sin is death; it is just judgment and righteous wrath, deserved by all of us as the righteous penalty for our sin. Every millisecond that it’s withheld and not poured out upon us is gracious forbearance, and in truth, an insult to the justice of God. On the cross, Jesus upheld the justice of God by giving himself as a substitute in our place. He bore the wrath of God due us, and he propitiated it in full, resolving it once and for all.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” Romans 3:23-25a, ESV
2. Jesus gave His blood to ransom His people from sin, death, and the devil.
On the cross, Jesus shed his blood to purchase us back from the sin that we had given ourselves over to. He purchased us back from the death and judgment that we deserve, paying the ransom to rescue us from the domain of darkness and transfer us into His Kingdom! We have been set free from the curse of sin to be given the incredible privilege of adopted sons of God. We are no longer our own – He has purchased us with the precious price of His own blood through the sacrifice of the cross.
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price…” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, ESV
“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45, ESV
3. Jesus gave his blood to reconcile us with God.
This is truly the whole point. Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross not simply to satisfy the wrath of God, and not simply to ransom us from sin and death, but so that through these things, he could reconcile us to God! Yes, we needed our sins removed and canceled because they stood in the way between us and God. They acted as an eternal divide, a gulf that we could never gap in our own power, effort, or merit. Jesus came to bridge the divide! He came to purchase a people for Himself that He might bring us to God! And now, in His name, we are justified and have peace with God. We are no longer far off, outside of the boundary; we have been brought near by the blood.
“For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” Romans 5:10, ESV
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus… let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19,22; ESV
Don’t miss it, beloved. Though this was truly a horrific day – filled with agony and pain by our Savior – we call it Good Friday because of what Jesus accomplished by His blood. Through Him, we are set free from our sin, removed from God’s wrath, and reconciled with God forever. When Jesus uttered those final words on the cross – “It is finished!” – He meant it! Truly, the problem of our sin has been brought to an end in Jesus, and we can now at last draw near in full assurance to the throne of God.
As we make our final approach toward Easter Sunday, let us pause and thank God for this gracious gift that He has given us in Jesus. Let us take advantage of the privilege we now have by drawing near to Him in sincere prayer and worship.
Pray – Thank God for sending Jesus to offer the perfect sacrifice to reconcile us to Himself. Pray that the beauty of the cross would be seen with your whole heart, and that as Easter Sunday arrives, you might be able to worship rightly in light of the glorious sacrifice of Jesus.
Sing – As we conclude our devotion this morning, take some time to listen to The Old Rugged Cross by Chris Rice and reflect on the lyrics in light of our passage from Mark.