Friday, today is observed as the most solemn day in the Christian calendar. This is Good Friday. Jesus died on this day. Let us start to meditate on the significance of Good Friday by mentioning a parable, which Jesus himself told. He said “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son’, he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s us kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard” (Matthew 21:33-39). God is the landlord, his prophets the servants, the Israelites or people in general are the tenants, and Jesus the Son. The people misbehaved with and also killed prophets, eventually they also killed Jesus.
The Jewish people were under the colonial rule of the Romans. They did not have the right to give the capital punishment to any. But the leaders of the Jews got him killed by the Colonial Romans. Jesus heavily criticised the leaders because they often wrongly interpreted religious teachings. They made religion to serve their vested interests. Religion, which was supposed to be a source of blessing, virtually became a burden for ordinary people. The Romans, who practiced crucifixion as a way of punishing sedition and heinous crimes, specially committed by slaves, killed Jesus by this horrible detestable method. Christ, the just and innocent was killed by unjust Man by means of sheer mockery of justice.
To be sure, for the true believer the Cross is crucial for understanding Christian faith. It lies at the heart and core of Christianity. Christ is Christ with his cross. In addition to others there are 175 direct references to the death of Christ in the New Testament only. It is on the cross that atonement for sin is made possible for man. Sin must be punished or dealt with! Sinful man is reconciled to holy God through the substitutionary death of Christ. Man did what they could, but all-sovereign and loving God had his own plan. Two things to note here in atonement for sin: Propitiation for sin and expiation or cleansing of the guilt of sin. In Jesus’ death God’s holy wrath is propitiated and man’s guilt of sin is removed and cleansed.
The redemptive act of Christ for man from the bondage of sin was done in the death of Christ. God does not die. He became man so that he could die and as such pay the price for sin. Because God is kind and loving he loves people, but hates sin. God takes sin seriously. So, what’s the way out? God sent his son, who paid the ransom-price for sin by sacrificing his sinless life. Human salvation from sin requires a genuine and holy sacrifice. Christ’s life was that only acceptable sacrifice. The Old Testament sacrificial system points to the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Animal sacrifice pointed to the real One. No human work of sacrifice can bring people to holy God. It comes from him, who is without sin.
God gave his Son to the world who voluntarily sacrificed his life on the cross so that the demands of God’ holiness is met. John records Jesus saying, “The reason that my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. 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.” (John 10:17-18). On the cross of Christ we see God’s unmerited grace and his justice mingled together. Christians do not worship the cross; but they regard it as the most vivid reminder of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of Man and the Mediator between God and Man. We live in an imperfect, unjust and corrupt world. We need to turn to God in repentance for our wrong-doings and sins of injustice that we do to others. We cannot love God if we hate others. Our most fervent prayer today: Grant us that we may love your holy will that we may respect and love all your creation that we may work for peace and justice wherever we are. Let your holy love and compassion guide us in our thoughts, words and deeds!
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The writer is a Christian Theology teacher and Church leader