Good Friday. It is the day of the cross. Those who celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ remember this day as the day He hung on the cross for our sins nearly 2000 years ago.
For Jesus, it was the worst day of His human life. A day of torment, utter agony and humiliation. He could have stopped it with a word, but He chose to give His life out of love for us.
Sacrifice to end all sacrifices, atonement purchased for humans with God. If they would only trust Him.
He identified Himself as one with God and as the only way to God. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
His life, every word and deed, proved this to be true. He was the culmination of every Old Testament prophecy.
The prophets centuries before all foretold a myriad of details about the One who would come, His life, what His death would be like, what it would accomplish. He fulfilled them all, 100%.
For just a taste of Biblical prophecies fulfilled by Jesus, check out this article on cbn.com. There are many additional articles available with a quick search online.
Once you believe Christ was the prophesied One, God Himself come to earth to give His life for us, the next step is to admit you need Him, and to trust His sacrifice was enough. It does not matter how bad your life has been, if you believe Christ and trust His death on the cross covers you, God says you belong to Him.
There have been some teachers who have said all anyone has to do is “believe” to be God’s child. They quote John 3:16 in the most popular English translations of the Bible, “whoever believes on Him will not perish…”
But the Greek from which the English translations came reveals more than simple belief. The definition of the word English translators changed to believe is actually “have faith in, or trust”. It is more than head knowledge, it is a giving of mind and heart.
For those who have struggled their entire lives to trust another, this is a big step of faith, isn’t it? On the testimony of many humans who lived thousands of years ago, to trust a man claiming to be God. Believing that faith in Him, that His death was for you, is enough to earn you God’s forever forgiveness.
And yet, that is the true story. This day in history changed the world. It is the single most important and pivotal event. God came down to reach us, to prove His love and restore us to Himself. He had to do it all for us, that we might be forever secure in Him.
For anyone needing help, wanting evidence, to believe, I recommend you search out this book or movie: The Case For Christ. It is the personal story of Lee Strobel. He was an award-winning legal journalist for the Chicago Tribune, an atheist, when his wife came to faith in Christ. Lee set out to disprove Christianity, but ended up coming to faith, based on the mountain of overwhelming evidence.
The culmination of his journey reminds me of a favorite line in Star Wars, episode VII, when an aged Hans Solo tells the young Rey and her companion something to the effect, “Everything you’ve heard is true, the force is real.”
The story of Jesus Christ is real. The evidence is undeniable. He loves you so much, He gave His life for you. Will you trust Him?
‘And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so it is good the Son of Man to be lifted up, that every one who is trusting in Him may not perish, but may have life eternal, for God did so love the world, that His Son – the only born – He gave, that every one who is trusting in Him may not perish, but may have life eternal.
For God did not send His Son to the world that He may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through Him; he who is trusting in Him is not judged, but he who is not trusting has been judged already, because he hath not trusted in the name of the only born Son of God.
John 3:14-18 YLT (slightly modernized) Young’s Literal Translation of the Bible (Revised Edition, with one-touch navigation) (Kindle Locations 52684-52688). Kindle Edition.
FAITH AND FASTING 