Good Friday

I had several ideas of what I wanted to write today. Reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus, so many thoughts come to mind. I decided though that to keep all that I was thinking in order and get it to make sense once I typed it out might not work so well. So I'm going to post part of a story from the Bible story book we read to the kids before bed.

The Sun Stops Shining
Taken from Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 and John 19

" 'So you're a King, are you?' the Roman soldiers jeered. 'Then you'll need a crown and a robe.' They gave Jesus a crown made out of thorns. And put a purple robe on Him. And pretended to bow down to Him. 'Your Majesty!' they said. Then they whipped Him. And spat on Him. They didn't understand that this was the Prince of Life, the King of heaven and earth, who had come to rescue them.

The soldiers made Him a sign-'Our King' and nailed it to a wooden cross. They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on His back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill Him the way criminals were killed.

They nailed Jesus to the cross.

'Father, forgive them,' Jesus gasped. 'They don't understand what they're doing.'

'You say you've come to rescue us!' people shouted. 'But You can't even rescue yourself!'

But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued Himself. A legion of angels would have flown to His side-if He'd called.

'If you were really the Son of God, you could just climb down off that cross!' they said.
And of course they were right. Jesus could have just climbed down. Actually, He could have just said a word and made it all stop......
But Jesus stayed.

You see, they didn't understand. It wasn't the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.

'Papa?' Jesus cried, frantically searching the sky. 'Papa?' 'Where are You? Don't leave Me!' And for the first time-and the last- when He spoke, nothing happened. Just a horrible, endless silence. God didn't answer. He turned away from His Boy.
Tears rolled down Jesus' face. The face of the One who would wipe away every tear from every eye.

Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun could not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole world would break. That creation itself would tear apart.

The full force of the storm of God's fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.

Then Jesus shouted out in a loud voice, 'It is finished!'

And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.

'Father!' Jesus cried. 'I give you my life.' And with a great sigh he let himself die."

----Taken from "The Jesus Storybook Bible".

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17

"Jesus saith unto him, 'I am the way, the truth and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.'" John 14:6

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name (the name of Jesus) under heaven given among men, whereby me must be saved." Acts 4:12