Remembering Good Friday

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The High King of heaven “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). Mankind had never witnessed a day like that day. Shockingly, on that day, the Son of God “was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus Christ was crucified … in our place.

Throughout the years, many faithful ministers have helped their congregations grasp the magnitude of Christ’s sufferings on the cross. One such minister was Charles Haddon Spurgeon.   

The place was London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle; the date was February 2, 1896. That Sunday, British pastor Charles Spurgeon presented this vivid description of what Jesus’ suffering at the cross must have looked like. Here’s a short excerpt from his message.

“Can you not see Him as they fling Him on His back, stretch out His hands and feet to the wood, and then drive the cruel nails through their most tender parts?

Can you not see Him as they lift Him high between earth and heaven, and then dash the cross into its place, dislocating all His bones, until He cries out, ‘I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint. You have brought Me into the dust of death?’

Yes, He is accomplishing it all! Jehovah’s wrath is pouring over Him, wave after wave, and He is meekly bowing His head to it all!

Jehovah’s sword is being driven into His heart, and He is baring His breast to receive it—for your sakes and for mine!”

Such descriptive language may have made some in attendance that day at Spurgeon’s church uncomfortable. I find it a little unsettling, too. Yet Christians in every age need to seriously consider the torment Jesus must have gone through on that awful day … for us.

A slightly different perspective on Jesus’ suffering is presented in the pages of Knowing God, the classic by J.I. Packer.    

“The physical pain, though great (for crucifixion remains the cruelest form of judicial execution that the world has ever known), was yet only a small part of the story; Jesus' chief sufferings were mental and spiritual, and what was packed into less than four hundred minutes was an eternity of agony – agony such that each minute was an eternity in itself, as mental sufferers know that individual minutes can be.”

Good Friday is almost here. It’s a day when Christians around the globe will pause to remember that day when heaven’s Favorite wore a crown of thorns. He was mocked, beaten, and even spat on. He was nailed to a cross, to hang and die … for you and me.

Good Friday is a day that deserves our attention. This year, let’s make a determined effort to make Good Friday a time of true remembrance. Here are a few suggestions.

Plan your quiet time around cross-focused Bible verses.

Post cross-focused Scripture in a prominent place to capture your awareness throughout the day.

Set aside a break and/or lunch hour for reflection.

Place a Bible on your desk, opened to an appropriate passage. Let that guide you to the cross through the day.

Integrate the memorization of a cross-focused Bible verse or verses into your day.

Here’s a link to Spurgeon’s sermon as an additional resource.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

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