Phillips: why they call it Good Friday

Friday, April 22, 2011
    Good Friday
Meditation:
    Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
    —Isaiah 53:10-11 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Those who think God did this almost incredible thing call it Good Friday because only an extremely good God could do a thing like that. All religions attempt to bridge the gulf between the terrific purity of God and the sinfulness of man, but Christianity believes that God built that bridge Himself. This particular Friday commemorates His deliberate action in allowing Himself to be caught up in the sin-suffering-death mechanism which haunts mankind.
    He didn’t let it end there, for He went on, right through death. But the men who believe in Him can’t forget the kind of Person such an act reveals. That’s why they call it Good Friday.
    ... J. B. Phillips (1906-1982), Is God at Home?, London: Lutterworth Press, 1957, p. 56 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, without the cross, I am lost. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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