Text - Luke 22:42
Good Morning and (Happy) Good Friday. Its crazy that millennia later we can refer to that Friday about 2000 years ago as Happy because of the end result of that grand weekend but the original Friday was the opposite of good - so much the sun was covered by darkness mid day. The most supernatural thing had occurred that day - The Mega Miracle.
Its easy to romanticize Jesus’ coming, death, burial and resurrection like some Marvel or DC superhero story but this is no fiction and no superhero has paid this cost yet - none ever will.
Genesis does not tell us when God began or how long the spirit had hovered above the waters but at that point God already existed in 3 forms - father, son, holy spirit. Meaning the union of Father and Son started from time-immemorial and it was a complete perfect union without hitches. The first time father and son were separated at least physically was at Jesus birth but they still maintained a spiritual connection while he walked this earth - probably why he did it flawlessly. But something happened on Good Friday, for the first time since time immemorial and probably the last time, there was a complete father and son separation at the cross. The cry of Luke 22:42 is unusual - why would Jesus who walked completely perfect in purpose with the father from birth be reluctant to finish his work. The answer is this - as Jesus was pinned to that cross, the eternal connection was broken because the sin of the people then and every other generation was on him and God cannot stand sin. Justice was truly served on Calvary.
The son on that cross alone for the first time bore our sin - an element foreign to him. So great was the burden and hurtful feeling that he cried “My God, Why have you forsaken me”. But Jesus stayed true to his mission and died on that cross for you and I. I won’t even talk of the pain God also felt - probably explains the sun going dark. He would later have a crazy naked-parade-stripping sport in Hades and defy nature by rising from the dead on Sunday Morning.
Its often said that the value of something lies in how hard it was to get it. This folks is how much God loved us and how far he was willing to go. This is our worth - the Precious Blood of God’s own son! What could be greater than that.
This morning, reflect on what happened those 2000 years ago. Times are tough and we need miracles but remember and reflect on the greatest miracle.
The best thing about the Miracle at Calvary is it secured the end game. That whether or not things go right for us this side of heaven, they will on the other side. Because we will enjoy what Jesus has enjoyed from time immemorial - unity with God our father!