The Good News
Anytime you open the newspaper or turn on the TV, there’s a good chance you’re going to get more bad news than you care for. But today, I hope you can push all that aside because this is Good Friday.
Today, we focus our hearts on the Good News, on the perfect Lamb, the truth of scripture, and exactly what it is that we as Christians are celebrating. (And it’s not chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks, or spiral sliced hams!)
When I read the Easter story as a child, there was a part of me that desperately wanted a different ending. If only He had come down from the cross and destroyed His enemies -- that would have demonstrated His power.
That’s what I thought then. Of course, I came to understand why that impulse was wrong. As President Trump wrote in his Holy Week message:
“We acknowledge that the glory of Easter Sunday cannot come without the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross. In His final hours on Earth, Christ willingly endured excruciating pain, torture, and execution on the cross out of a deep and abiding love for all His creation.
“Through His suffering, we have redemption. Through His death, we are forgiven of our sins. Through His Resurrection, we have hope of eternal life.”
As Charles Wesley’s great hymn states: “Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me?”
Romans 5:8 tells us, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
While some worship a god who commands men to die for him, we worship a loving God who gave His son to die for us. What a contrast! What a savior!
Of course, Christ did more than just give up His life. He conquered death and rose from the grave. While Christmas tends to overshadow most holidays, ultimately it is not a birthday that we celebrate -- it is the Resurrection.
If Christ had not risen from the grave, He would have been forgotten as a common criminal, a rabble-rouser whose birthday would have no significance.
With Christ’s resurrection, we have confidence.
Confidence in a caring Creator, rather than the chaos of the cosmos.
Confidence in a glorious future, rather than the finality of the grave.
Confidence that sustains us in times of trial and tribulation.
Today, my friends, let us focus on the Good News that on Resurrection Sunday, we do not remember a prophet or a martyr. We worship the risen Son of God!
He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!