The Good Friday Story

I love holidays. This particular Easter one is filled with events that hold deep lessons and meanings for me personally and maybe for us collectively because in the parable are the truths that set free.

The days leading to Good Friday, conspiracies were brewing. Meetings were held and lies were told. Israel who in the old testament was symbolic of the new testament church was the unrelenting and unrepentant betrayer and backstabber of God. God's covenant with Israel is similar to the covenant of marriage in a lot of ways. When God needed to make his points clear as per how Isreal treats him, he asked a prophet to marry a prostitute. However, because God wanted to redeem his children, he came in the flesh and took on himself the shame and the pain of a terrible people.

The weeks leading to Easter, there were orchestrations and manifestations pointing to the fact that Jesus was about to be crucified. Jesus knew the impending danger and because he knew what was coming and the people he was trying to save, his heart grew heavy. He will as a result spend nights and days in prayers till his sweat were like blood. Satan the accuser and father of lies had swung into action. He had found a close ally who could be enticed, who was willing to join in the lie and make it believeable, Judas. Pointing out Christ was only symbolic, the deed was done long before Judas could give Christ a kiss. The devil had fully manifested in the pharisees and the teachers of the law to bring a charge and lay false accusations. There was the mob, screaming "crucify him"! These were the people from amongst whom Christ had performed diverse miracles. These were the people that Christ had fed their hungry and healed their sick. Nevertheless because there was a divine agenda and a curriculum that must be fulfilled, Jesus must despice the shame and endure the cross.

It was never about Christ, but the children, the sons and daughters of God that must not be lost, that must be delivered to the Father. He (Christ) must proceed like a lamb to the altar, speaking no words in his own defense. For if he wanted, in that garden that night as they approached, he could have asked his Father for legions of angels and he would have crushed his enemies but no, he submitted to the mob and the workings of Satan in the Pharisees.

Jesus was led before Pilate. Pilate knew the truth, his wife and others who had his ears had told him, "He is an innocent man". Still, because there's a written agenda of Heaven and there was an assignment to be fulfilled, Pilate still had to parade the Guiltless to be shamed and deliver the Sinless to be judged by the guilty and sinful. Pilate did a symbolic washing of hands to assuage his own conscience and for the sake of his own popularity, he still went ahead and gave up Christ to be shamed and judged on his platform.

Christ wasn't 'silenced' even though he didn't speak. Jesus chose to go through it. He wasn't 'killed' though he allowed himself to be crucified. For in his obedience to his assignment and crucifixion was his glory and the redemption of mankind, the many children of God that must be brought to glory.

The disciples were now scattered. There was one who drew a knife and cut of someone's ear in Jesus' defence. There was another version of Peter who denied Christ three times when the heat grew very hot. The women in their houses were crying for the man they've come to love. The friendly pharisees were quiet because they too were afraid to speak up and tell the truth that they knew. The multitude that didn't believe the false accusations and were direct beneficiaries of Jesus' ministry though were in utter shock at the lies and accusations did nothing but wonder in extreme confusion how wicked the Pharisees and Sadducees had become. They reckon it wasn't their fight to take on so they kept quiet.

Joseph from Arimathea gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus’ body. Someone finally woke up and tried to give Christ some dignity by burying his body is a rich man's tomb.

The morning after Sabbath, some women who had been watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary and Salome. They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for Him while He was in Galilee. These women went to get spices to prepare the body of Christ. They had resigned to fate, their Lord had been killed. However when they got to the tomb, it was empty. Though they believed him and knew he was lied on, though they also knew he was Messiah and will keep his word to rise from the dead still in the face of the horrifying events, they've forgotten quickly who Jesus was and they had concluded his fate was to be as other mortals. These all speaks to the complexity of human emotions. One of them cried when she got to the grave, "they've carried my Lord and I know not where they laid him". Her first thoughts weren't, 'maybe he's risen as he said'.

Though Christ went to the grave, he wasn't to stay there for long. Women brought spices to beautify and deodorise his body. They were making human efforts to reduce the shame. But no, you can't keep a good man down. Angels will always roll away the stone.

"He's not here. He's risen".

The fight is never to be engaged with at the market place and on the streets. The fight was in hell and hades. Jesus wouldn't engage in war of words amongst mere mortals who had no idea of his assignment and the divine curriculum he was operating under. The King won't wrestle with the snake, so even when he was lied on, beaten, shamed and eventually crucified and it looked like the enemy won and rewrote the narrative, Jesus still had a game plan. He allowed it because these things must happen for the sake of God's eternal plan which is the eventual salvation of his children.

Hallelujah! It's resurrection weekend and we celebrate the one who paid it all for us and for whom we strive daily to be like in conduct and character.

No matter what you're going through today, lift up your head and square your shoulder for the accuser of the brethren is defeated forever. Jesus the Truth, lives and so do we.