Good Friday reflection 1
The reading from Isaiah is the most incredible bit of prophecy. Isaiah of course was a great prophet, cherished by the Jewish scholars, and yet his words, when Jesus came along, were conveniently ignored. Here are just some of the phrases from that reading we heard :
‘He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted’ – he was raised an lifted on the cross, exalted by God the Father, and ultimately by Christian people serving him imperfectly through generations.
‘Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured that he seemed no longer human – so will the crowds be astonished at him.’ As Jesus died on the cross on that first Good Friday, many were appalled at how he looked – many of the disciples didn’t go and watch – some perhaps afraid for their own safety, but all surely unwilling to watch someone they loved die such a horrible death. And yet those who were there were astonished – the condemned thief, the centurion, Mary, the mother of Jesus, the others who witnessed the incredible events as a curtain was torn in two and the earth shook.
‘He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows’ – As Jesus died many of his followers felt alone, abandoned. Their hopes seemed to have come to nothing, and yet the only way to experience the true joy of resurrection is through death – the literal death on earth, and being born into new life, and the spiritual death of leaving our old lives, and making a determined effort to live with Jesus, recognising that he will carry us through any pain and torment, because he has lived through it all.
‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering’ – Perhaps the most poignant of all prophecies. Jesus, the Saviour of the world, a man who came to challenge injustice and corruption, a man who came to bring peace into the world and into lives of people everywhere, was rejected. He was rejected by the religious people, the secular rulers, the people who were selfish and greedy and only wanted a king who would give them material comforts and strength, but perhaps worst of all, he was rejected by those who were closest to him. Most people can accept rejection from people we don’t like, most of us can accept criticism from people who we feel are in no position to criticise, but being deserted by many of those who were closest to him, that was the greatest pain of all.
I could go on with prophecies from just that one short passage – the passage that ended with the words, ‘He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.’
That is the reality of Jesus hanging on the cross with the weight of the sin of everyone bearing down on him.
I don’t know how your lent or Holy Week have been – whether you have had opportunity to grow closer to Christ, to think more, to pray more, to learn more, to read more of the Bible – I hope you have, but if you haven’t there is plenty of time to do those things from now on – they’re not things that are to be restricted to lent, but however you have got on in this season, it brings us here to Good Friday.
And that is a stark reminder that what we have done in our lives has brought us to this day. We must remember Good Friday because it is a day we have helped to make.
As Jesus went to the cross he carried the weight of pain – not just the physical pain, which must have been tremendous, but the pain of betrayal and rejection, and today he surely still feels that pain as he looks at the world. There are the obvious problems of conflict between nations, the wrongs of terrorism, the corruption of some of the arms dealings, the problem of crime, the tragedy of drug or alcohol abuse; there is greed and a search for material wealth and gain, and of course there is the injustice of people abandoned – abandoned to remain hungry or homeless, or lonely, or poor…
But there is more pain for Jesus as well as he looks at his Church – this morning we walked and carried a cross – it was a small but important witness to the sacrifice of Jesus, but as God looks at his Church today he sees divisions between denominations, he even sees divisions in individual Churches. He sees rich Churches more concerned with looking right than being a refuge for the lost, he sees people who are unwilling to commit themselves to carrying their cross. The pain of betrayal by those he called his friends must have been greater than any physical pain he would face – and that is true today…
And now as we recognise in this hour of reflection the suffering of Jesus, it is time to reflect on his pain, and if we love him, it is a must that we do our bit to ease the pain. He doesn’t ask much. He who willingly gave up everything, who suffered and died for us, simply asks that we trust in him, that we approach the cross and just say, ‘Father, forgive me’….
‘He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted’ – he was raised an lifted on the cross, exalted by God the Father, and ultimately by Christian people serving him imperfectly through generations.
‘Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured that he seemed no longer human – so will the crowds be astonished at him.’ As Jesus died on the cross on that first Good Friday, many were appalled at how he looked – many of the disciples didn’t go and watch – some perhaps afraid for their own safety, but all surely unwilling to watch someone they loved die such a horrible death. And yet those who were there were astonished – the condemned thief, the centurion, Mary, the mother of Jesus, the others who witnessed the incredible events as a curtain was torn in two and the earth shook.
‘He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows’ – As Jesus died many of his followers felt alone, abandoned. Their hopes seemed to have come to nothing, and yet the only way to experience the true joy of resurrection is through death – the literal death on earth, and being born into new life, and the spiritual death of leaving our old lives, and making a determined effort to live with Jesus, recognising that he will carry us through any pain and torment, because he has lived through it all.
‘He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering’ – Perhaps the most poignant of all prophecies. Jesus, the Saviour of the world, a man who came to challenge injustice and corruption, a man who came to bring peace into the world and into lives of people everywhere, was rejected. He was rejected by the religious people, the secular rulers, the people who were selfish and greedy and only wanted a king who would give them material comforts and strength, but perhaps worst of all, he was rejected by those who were closest to him. Most people can accept rejection from people we don’t like, most of us can accept criticism from people who we feel are in no position to criticise, but being deserted by many of those who were closest to him, that was the greatest pain of all.
I could go on with prophecies from just that one short passage – the passage that ended with the words, ‘He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.’
That is the reality of Jesus hanging on the cross with the weight of the sin of everyone bearing down on him.
I don’t know how your lent or Holy Week have been – whether you have had opportunity to grow closer to Christ, to think more, to pray more, to learn more, to read more of the Bible – I hope you have, but if you haven’t there is plenty of time to do those things from now on – they’re not things that are to be restricted to lent, but however you have got on in this season, it brings us here to Good Friday.
And that is a stark reminder that what we have done in our lives has brought us to this day. We must remember Good Friday because it is a day we have helped to make.
As Jesus went to the cross he carried the weight of pain – not just the physical pain, which must have been tremendous, but the pain of betrayal and rejection, and today he surely still feels that pain as he looks at the world. There are the obvious problems of conflict between nations, the wrongs of terrorism, the corruption of some of the arms dealings, the problem of crime, the tragedy of drug or alcohol abuse; there is greed and a search for material wealth and gain, and of course there is the injustice of people abandoned – abandoned to remain hungry or homeless, or lonely, or poor…
But there is more pain for Jesus as well as he looks at his Church – this morning we walked and carried a cross – it was a small but important witness to the sacrifice of Jesus, but as God looks at his Church today he sees divisions between denominations, he even sees divisions in individual Churches. He sees rich Churches more concerned with looking right than being a refuge for the lost, he sees people who are unwilling to commit themselves to carrying their cross. The pain of betrayal by those he called his friends must have been greater than any physical pain he would face – and that is true today…
And now as we recognise in this hour of reflection the suffering of Jesus, it is time to reflect on his pain, and if we love him, it is a must that we do our bit to ease the pain. He doesn’t ask much. He who willingly gave up everything, who suffered and died for us, simply asks that we trust in him, that we approach the cross and just say, ‘Father, forgive me’….
Comments