Good Friday

Good Morning!

Good Friday! The day of death – yet we call it “good”. Interesting, isn’t it? It is the day when most believe Jesus was illegally tried; wrongly convicted; beaten; flogged; humiliated; crucified; and died. Still, we call it “good”. Why?

A blind man sat beside the road. He had been blind all of his life. And then Jesus came walking by. He stopped. He stooped. He spit on the ground – made a mud paste and placed it on the man’s eyes. He told the man to go wash in the pool at Siloam. The man did so – and he could see!!!

Because it was the Sabbath (Saturday), the religious leaders of the day – the Pharisees – questioned the healed man. Who dared to heal him on the Sabbath? Certainly the Healer was not from God … He didn’t keep the Sabbath. Later, they would confront Jesus – and would ask: “What – are we blind, too?”

Jesus shared this:

John 10:1-18 (New International Version, ©2011)
The Good Shepherd and His Sheep
1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Footnotes:
a. John 10:9 Or kept safe

We most often think of shepherds in the fields with their sheep scattered about. Well, this isn’t always the picture. Often, shepherds from different herds will gather their sheep together in a protected area with just one way in or one way out. They will then guard the entrance – keeping whatever might attack the sheep away. The people understood this concept as Jesus spoke.

Now you can imagine the chaos with all the different sheep from the different herds together. How do the shepherds get their sheep back together? Jesus says they know the shepherd’s voice – and will only come to him. Do we know our Shepherd’s voice today? Are we listening for His call?

The Pharisees should have understood – but they truly were blinded by their own reasoning. For them to understand, they might have to break the chains that bound them to the Law. While the Law was and is good, it was never intended to bind the people – no, it is given to guide the people – to help them see their sinfulness and to call upon God for relief. The Pharisees had made the Law a chain to bind the people.

Jesus speaks more plainly so that even a Pharisee can actually see. He is the gate of protection for the sheep. Those who came before were not the True Shepherd – He is the Good Shepherd, ready to lay down His life for the sheep.

The most intriguing verse for me today is verse 16 – “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” I believe Jesus was indicating to His listeners that the Gentile nations would be included in the flock. Had the Pharisees grasped what He was saying, they would have been enraged.

The last two verses of the selection are appropriate for this Good Friday. Jesus put His earthly life on the line for you and for me. He trusted God. He stated plainly that He could lay His life down and pick it back up. Who but God could make that claim? Who but God would follow through?

On the day we call Good Friday, Jesus still had the authority to stop the action. He had escaped the clutches of the Jews before – and He could have easily done it again. He could have stopped Pilate and Herod in their tracks – but He chose to remain silent. He could stayed the flogger’s hand as He had stopped the wind – but He choose to endure the stripes, the humiliation, the pain, the death. He lay down His life – as the Good Shepherd would. He did this for His sheep. I am one. My sin nailed my Savior to that cross. My sin caused His pain. My life was what He redeemed … on that Good Friday.

We call that day “good” because that is what came from that day.

Happy Easter.

Agape’


Mr. Jim