The hill receives him as it had received many before. Yet the burden Jesus carries is unlike any other. The gathered ruin of all humanity rests upon him. Our sin was indelibly pressed into his weary shoulders. “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4).
We rarely speak openly of sin, as if we can ignore it and make it theoretical. But on Dark Friday, sin has a certain weight. The nails didn’t pierce a hypothesis; they render flesh bloody. Jesus accepts this willingly, without hesitation. On the cross, what was ours becomes his. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). We recoil from such suffering, for it is severe, brutal, and final. Dark Friday gives it a face.
The day ended while the crowds thinned. The body was taken down and placed where only mourning could follow. “How can this be?” We stand at this moment and see only loss. “He was cut off out of the land of the living” (Isaiah 53:8). We are limp with misery, shock, and silence. And yet, we know that something has shifted.
The earth had trembled beneath the feet. The veil had been torn from top to bottom. What was inaccessible is now open to all. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” did he only mean physical death? Or did he also mean that his spiritual work was finished?
The stone is still in place, but it is no longer the final word. Can we truly hope that God has completed what we cannot see? We must now wait, not in gloom, but in faith. We keep watch in the darkness, knowing it will not remain. For it is Friday, but Sunday’s coming.
Just yesterday I judged a man
based on what he could not afford,
and today I understand
that I’ve re-crucified the Lord.
I see Him looking down at me,
I see the tears roll down His face,
I see in holy eyes the plea
that I might offer love and grace
instead of cold and haughty pride
instead of my full highborn air
and I wished that I might hide
from knowing that I put him there,
hanging ‘gainst the darkling sky,
the Innocent once more to die.
So well expressed, the depth of my own heart. Thank you.
Oh, Andrew … I sure hope I can remember these beautiful words once I’m away from the computer. They were exactly what I needed to read. Exactly where I am right now.
I think I’ll copy and paste them on a Word document and save them to my desktop so I can find them easily.
Thank you.
Dark Friday makes so much more sense given the murder that took place. I never understood why it was labeled Good Friday given the event it was to commemorate.
PJ,
Ligonier Ministries has an excellent post on that very question:
“Why is Good Friday Called Good?”
https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/why-is-good-friday-called-good
Thank you, Steve, there are many things that we read on this day, many have been read every year on this day. We meditate on the thoughts each piece brings…
It is so refreshing to see the Holy Spirit bring to life new thoughts, feelings and lasting impressions.
I read this today and thank the Lord for a fresh glimpse into the great depth of His understanding.
Thank you for expressing it so well.
On that day so long ago the disciples waited, weighed down in grief and total despair. They didn’t realize what would happen next. They thought Hope was dead forever.
But today we wait in faith and anticipation, knowing Sunday’s glorious sunrise is only hours away when we can laugh and sing, “He’s alive! He is risen!”
Thank you, Lord, for this incomparable gift of life eternal!
Thank You, Steve,
That was beautiful and powerful.
I am a shut in due to immune system issues, but today, I feel like I have gone to church.
Thank You so very much!
Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. -Isaiah 53:4-6
Thanks for the reminder. “It is finished” is the invitation to a new beginning. Celebrate well this Resurrection Day!
Praise God, Sunday is forever here!