It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. (Luke 23:44-49 ESV)
As we finish out Passion week and head into Easter, I have a thought for you all to consider. Last night, we remembered Jesus’ death and crucifixion as Good Friday (good for us that He died for our sins, not so good for Jesus. If we were to go back to that Friday, Jesus would be dead right now. As we celebrate Good Friday, we know the end of the story. We know that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. But His friends didn’t.
They believed He was the true Son of God, but there had been other people who had claimed to be the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies and showed the power of God visibly on earth, so his followers knew He was the real Messiah while He lived, but I bet that Saturday was a hard day for them. Were they wrong? How could God’s Son die as a traitor to Israel, God’s chosen people?
Think about that today. As Jesus died with the weight of the world’s sins on Him, His friends were hopeless, wondering if they had wasted years following a false Messiah. Think how hopeless they felt. And tomorrow, use that hopelessness as the foundation for our great joy as we proclaim that Jesus is risen. Not even death is too large for God to conquer!