It's Friday...........but Sunday is coming!

Today is Good Friday and it reminds us of one of the most important events in the history of the world-----the sacrificial, atoning death of God, in the form of Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God With Us. Just a little under 2,000 years ago, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In that one verse, Paul explains the reason for Jesus' death on the cross and how exactly happened on the cross. In Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" the final scene where Jesus was beaten to an inch of his life by the Roman guards was hard to watch. Them nailing Him to the tree was painful but despite all of that, that didn't atone for one sin of one person.
The atonement didn't happen during the physical abuse from the guards or the people or Pilate. That was man's evil sinfulness on full display. No the actual vicarious, atoning sacrifice of Christ to God for our sin happened from noon to three on that historic day. Matthew, Mark and Luke record the time of the actual atonement because it was from noon to three that God punished Christ for our sins.
In those three hours, God turned away from His Son because at that time my sin and yours were placed upon Christ. I heard a preacher say it like this; "It was as if a great wall of God's wrath had been building ever since the first sin in the Garden. The only thing holding it back was the wall of God's grace and mercy but when Jesus was on the cross and there was placed upon Him all of the sins of all of His people from all eternity past, present and future, the thunderous roar of God's wrath came crashing down upon Christ, unleashing all of the fury and righteous judgment of God's holiness upon Him for three long hours.
Then when it was all over with, when the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom, signaling that the perfect sacrifice had completed His mission, Christ cried out to His Father, "It is finished. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Jesus died.
You see quite literally, Jesus was physically beaten by God for our sins. God's Holy demands that sin be dealt with and because we don't have the ability to pay for our sins, someone else had to step up and take our place.
All of the Old Testament symbols of sacrifice pointed to that one actual, historical event. While the beating of Christ by the guards was horrific, what God did to Christ on our behalf was so much worst we can't possible imagine.
Romans 5 states, "6For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10For 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. 11More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."
Earlier I had written that represented one of the most important historical events in the history of the world. Well on Sunday we will celebrate the other....the Resurrection.
A long time ago a preacher got up and said:

It's Friday. Jesus is arrested in the garden where He was praying. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. The disciples are hiding and Peter's denying that he knows the Lord. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. Jesus is standing before the high priest of Israel, silent as a lamb before the slaughter. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. Jesus is beaten, mocked, and spit upon. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. Those Roman soldiers are flogging our Lord with a leather scourge that has bits of bones and glass and metal, tearing at his flesh. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. The Son of man stands firm as they press the crown of thorns down into his brow. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. See Him walking to Calvary, the blood dripping from His body. See the cross crashing down on His back as He stumbles beneath the load. It's Friday; but Sunday's a coming.

It's Friday. See those Roman soldiers driving the nails into the feet and hands of my Lord. Hear my Jesus cry, "Father, forgive them." It's Friday; but Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, bloody and dying. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. The sky grows dark, the earth begins to tremble, and He who knew no sin became sin for us. Holy God who will not abide with sin pours out His wrath on that perfect sacrificial lamb who cries out, "My God, My God. Why hast thou forsaken me?" What a horrible cry. But Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. And at the moment of Jesus' death, the veil of the Temple that separates sinful man from Holy God was torn from the top to the bottom because Sunday's coming.

It's Friday. Jesus is hanging on the cross, heaven is weeping and hell is partying. But that's because it's Friday, and they don't know it, but Sunday's a coming.

To that I will just say; SOLA DEO GLORIA (to God only be the glory)