Quantum & Cosmos

‹ Back

Why is Good Friday Good?

 

From a human perspective, the events surrounding the death of Jesus could be considered the worst tragedy in history. This day was one of terrible evil and injustice as angry mobs and worldly powers violently executed the Son of God. There are many things about this day that were decidedly not good. 

But through the eyes of faith, Christians also see in the death of Jesus a glorious spiritual accomplishment in which God decisively dealt with humanity’s greatest problems of sin, guilt, slavery, shame, loneliness, death, and more. Somehow, the death of Jesus opened up a way to be “at-one” with God, and the glory of this mysterious “At-one-ment” is what we remember on Good Friday. 

As with doctrines like the Trinity and the Incarnation, it’s important to remember that the Atonement is a mystery. While Scripture gives us great insight into this mystery which God has now revealed to his people (see Ephesians 1:7-10, 3:8-10; Romans 16:25-26), it would be unwise and arrogant to ever think that we have it all figured out. Any simplistic explanation of the Atonement that makes perfect sense to us is probably a heresy. 

Instead, we need to recognize the Atonement for what it is: a glorious, multi-dimensional mystery to be experienced, enjoyed, and explored. In fact, this is just how we find it presented in the Bible: through rituals and sacraments, stories and parables, metaphors and images. Listed below are only a few of the many possible ways to unpack the significance of the Atonement and explain why Jesus had to die. As we explore this precious jewel that is the Atonement, examining its facets from different angles, we will see more fully of the beauty of God’s Light shining through it. 

Any explanation of the Atonement should be rooted in the perfect love which God Himself is (I John 4:7-8, 16), and which he has for all humanity (John 3:16, 1 John 4:10). Jesus’ death on the cross proves that God loves us (Romans 5:8) and any picture of the Atonement should highlight the beauty of his love. 

Here are some of the things we see in Scripture about what Jesus’ death accomplished and what he offers to us (along with some extra-biblical analogies):

 

On the cross, Jesus absorbed the defilement of sin so that we can be cleansed.

Throughout the Bible, sin is portrayed as something that makes us dirty and unfit to stand before a holy God. Jesus reveals that, while it’s no problem for God to come near to sin, filthy sinners would be consumed by God’s purifying holiness. Just as Old Covenant sacrifices made people ritually clean, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus makes us spiritually clean so we can enter God’s holy presence and not be consumed. 

 

Imagine dirty water going through a filter: Jesus acts like a filter washing our spirits clean by taking our sin into himself. Jesus had to die to carry our defiling sin into the grave and leave it there. 

 

Exodus 29:35-37; Ezekiel 36:22-29; Zechariah 3:1-9; Hebrews 10:10-22; Titus 3:2-6;

I Peter 2:24; I John 1:7-9 

On the cross, Jesus bore the guilt, condemnation, and judgement that we deserve so that our sins can be forgiven.

We can agree with God that it is good and right for sin to be punished, but that means we should all die because of our sin. Because of His great love for us, God sent Jesus as our substitute to die the death we should have died. God worked out a way for our sin to be punished in the body of Jesus so that we don’t need to fear any condemnation.  

Imagine a king whose beloved subject has committed treason and been condemned to be whipped to death. The king knows the law must be upheld, but as an act of love he steps down from his throne, stands between his subject and the whip, and takes the blows on himself. Jesus had to die because the cost of sin is always death. 

 

Romans 8:1-4; Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16-18; Galatians 3:10-14; 

Romans 5:6-11, 6:23. 

 

Through Jesus’ death on the cross we die to our old selves so that we can experience true life.

God designed humans in his own image to rule the world with him in wisdom and love. But when we seek to determine for ourselves what is right and wrong, we mess everything up. We take when we should give; we oppress when we should serve. This distorted way of life is in our bones and we need to die to it in order to become truly human. On the cross Jesus shows us that God’s way is always the way of self-giving love. Because he is the ultimate representative human, Jesus’ death becomes our death and his life becomes our life. 

Imagine you’re on a sports team, but you are sitting on the bench when your team captain scores the winning point. He has done all the work, but you are united to him and he represents you so you share in his victory. Jesus enabled us to die to sin and rise to new life.

 

Genesis 1:26-28, 2:8-9, 15-17; John 10:10; Romans 6:1-11; Colossians 3:1-10; 

Revelation 1: 22:1-5

Jesus’ death on the cross released us from the Old Covenant so we can be free from the Law.

With the Old Covenant, God made an unbreakable promise to reward righteousness but punish wrong-doing, and He is always true to His word. This agreement called “The Law” was binding as long as both parties were alive, so death was the only way to be released from this old system.

Imagine you are on trial for embezzling 100 billion dollars. Jesus not only pleads your case, pays your debt, and takes your punishment, he even abolishes the constitution and dissolves the whole country so that there’s no record of your debt. Jesus had to die so that those who unite with him in his death, can be free from the Old Covenant Law. 

 

Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Romans 2:6-16; Romans 7:1-6; Galatians 2:19-21; Col 2:12-14

 

Jesus’ death on the cross established the New Covenant so we can live by grace 

 

In the ancient world covenants were established by a sacrifice and a shared meal. This was probably done because 1) the dead animal was meant to serve as a warning of the consequences of breaking the covenant, and 2) the act of eating together was a way to express trust and acceptance. The covenants God made with Noah, Abraham, and the nation of Israel, were all made official through animal sacrifice since this was a custom the people of that time could understand. When God established the New Covenant, He provided the best sacrifice and the best meal possible: Jesus.

 

Imagine that instead of exchanging rings and a kiss, wedding vows were made official by slaughtering an animal and eating it together. This may seem like a strange custom for modern western people, but many people around the world and throughout history would understand that a special sacrifice is needed for starting a new covenant. Jesus’ death was like God’s signature on our marriage certificate.

 

Genesis 15:7-18; Exodus 24:3-11; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:53-58; Hebrews 9:15-22

 

Through the cross, Jesus defeated the Devil and freed us from bondage to sin and death. 

 

The Bible depicts sin as a kind of slavery to supernatural forces. These evil powers were controlling us and preventing us from living as we knew we should. They used our inability to obey God’s good Law as a weapon to heap fear and condemnation on us. Jesus, on the other hand, perfectly obeyed God’s Law, so when the evil powers had him unjustly killed, they condemned themselves. Jesus, the rightful authority over the Law, stripped them of this weapon. Also, in killing him they unwittingly allowed him to carry the very life and power of God into the grave.

 

Imagine a great hero who disguises himself, plunges deep into enemy territory, and allows himself to be captured. He then overpowers his enemies, steals their weapons, defeats them, and sets all their captives free. Jesus dove into death to defeat evil at its source and lead us out into freedom. 

 

Luke 11:20-22; John 8:34-36, 12:30-33; Hebrews 2:14-15; I John 3:8; Romans 7:7-25; Ephesians 2:1-7; Colossians 1:13, 2:13-15; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57; Revelation 1:17

 

Jesus’ death on the cross can overcome our shame by demonstrating how precious we are to God and offering us ultimate glory and honor.

 

The Devil’s primary strategy against humanity is to call into question the goodness of God so as to undermine our trust in him. When this leads us to betray God, Satan’s next step is to heap accusations on us (“Satan” means Accuser). A major thing that keeps us from God is our own sense of inadequacy and failure. We fear the presence of a perfect God because we believe we would die in our shame. But Jesus has already died in our shame! Read the New Testament and you will see it says a lot more about the shame Jesus endured than the pain he felt. Yet he decided that the worst human shame was totally insignificant compared to the joy of having you. You were worth it to him. God then raised Jesus to a place of greatest honor and he now does the same for us. 

 

Imagine you feel totally uncomfortable stepping into a grand mansion because you are underdressed and dirty. In order to put you at ease and demonstrate how much he wants you there, your host rips holes in his own clothes and dumps mud on himself. You are worth the impropriety. He then offers you clean clothes and invites you to sit with him in a place of honor. Jesus died a shameful death to prove to us that even our shameful failure can’t stop God from delighting in us. 

 

John 3:19-20; Psalm 34:4-5; Matthew 27:27-44; Hebrews 12:2-3, Philippians 2:5-11; Ephesians 1:20-2:7, I John 2:28-3:3; Revelation 12:9-11

 

Through Jesus’ death on the cross, we can be united to God himself.

 

God is a being of perfect, self-giving love who, through the mystery of the Trinity, is forever joyfully delighting in Himself. He created us to share in this delight, inviting us to enjoy him as he enjoys us forever. But we often reject this invitation, choosing instead to go our own way. We separate ourselves from God, choosing to decide for ourselves how we should live. Though we find ourselves lost and far from God, he comes an infinite distance to rescue us and draw us close. Through the cross, God reaches from heaven into the grave so there is no one beyond his reach.  

 

The reason God died in our place, cleansed our sins, carried our guilt, freed us from the Law, established a New Covenant, rescued us from death, and removed our shame was because he wanted to be with us. He did this and much more. He tore apart every barrier and overcame every obstacle so he could welcome us into his open arms. Though we may not understand exactly how it works, Jesus died to reconcile us and bring us to God.

 

Luke 15:3-7, 19:10; John 14:1-7, 17:20-26; Mark 15:37-38; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; I Peter 3:18-19; Colossians 1:21-22; Ephesians 2:12-22; Hebrews 4:14-16

 

If you have any questions or comments or you just love discussing the Atonement, feel free to contact me at daniel.coombs@gmail.com.