The Road to Good Friday -Was It Good?

Introduction

Theme Introduced: Exploring the paradoxical goodness of Good Friday amidst apparent bad news.

In the video Eddie says if you were there that Friday I don't think you would call it good We have to remember that when we call it good we don't mean something that we like we mean that it is holy or write. It's the idea that God's working to restore a broken relationship or a nonexistent relationship. That's why we call it Good Friday. That's why we called the day that Jesus was crucified good.

Newspaper columnists Doug Larson said in 1990:

“Bad news travels fast. Good news takes the scenic route.”

What this turn of phrase doesn't say is that sometimes bad news takes a U-turn. Sometimes God uses what really is bad news for good. Not in a wishful thinking good. Not in a positive mindset good but a real solid good. So let's examine the story of Good Friday what happened with Jesus and how God made bad news take a U-turn

Good Friday

Gethsemane to Arrest: Details of Jesus’s arrest (John 18:4-8, 12-14) are shared, highlighting the moment as a turning point from bad to good.

John 18:4–8 ESV

4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

John 18:12–14 ESV

12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

I'm not sure if you caught that question... Jesus when he said I am he that that that when he asked them who they were looking for they all fell to the ground. When God speaks up people take notice. But don't you also notice back in verse eight that Jesus made sure that his disciples were released that's a hero. But the true heroism and the true power of what Jesus did is not in those two things

The fascinating reality from what we read here is that the first person to actually call Jesus good was actually one of the bad guys. Chievous was the jewish high priest whose job was to be a mediator between god and his people to make the sacrifice for israel on the day of atonement but in the gospels these religious figures had become more political than faithful. They were more hurtful than holy you might say. They were more interested in serving themselves than helping people get their relationship with God right. But the one thing he got right is because of God's working

Whether he knew it or not he spoke the truth for the people it was God's amazing plan. Did you know why God created this amazing clan? To relieve those who are hurting and hiding.

And he used something that appeared bad on the outside to bring that relief.

In today's podcast of the world and everything in it they shared the story of how a man found his extended furlough transformed into a job loss at 60. Exhausted and frustrated by this he wondered what God intended to do with it. But then along the same time as his job loss a friend of his got deeply sick. And he was able to spend much of the next year caring for his friend from hospital trips to Hospice to finally burying him. And after burying his friend he remarked that it was God's blessing to use the negative experience of losing his job to allow him the positive opportunity to care for and to be present with his friend.

God loves using bad news for good.

Good Friday is a day we remember the pain of Jesus but we again remember stories of how God used bad for good.

In the Amazon jungle 5 missionary men lost their lives. They were killed by a tribe while trying to bring the gospel to them. That was bad that was horrible that was a terrible loss for their families their communities and for the people they were trying to minister to. But God made that bad news take AU turn and that led to an entire generation of men and women trusting God to do great things. That led to an entire generation of people attempting fearlessly to follow God wherever God led them. And that inspired the family of those men to return to witness to this tribe and bring them back to to bring them to know Jesus. God used bad news for good.

God loves to turn bad news into something good…..

But back to the “bad news” of Good Friday and our lives.

So the story of Good Friday begins in the garden of Gethsemane but you know where our hurting and hiding begins? You know where our problems begin? Ryan's gonna love this because this is what he always says in his sermons let's take a read:

Where our hurting and hiding begin—Another Garden

Genesis 3:6–8 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

There it is that's where all of our hurting and hiding begins weeds begin from seeds of sin.

Our Hurting

Paul talks about our hurting

2 Corinthians 5:2–4 ESV

2 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, 3 if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. 4 For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

We cover our our hearts with smiles. We groan because we try to cover ourselves period. We look around and try to piece together whatever is available to cover up the hurt in our hearts by buying things or watching things nothing really covers up the hurt of going through life ashamed naked hurting with how life beats us up. But Paul doesn't stop here

2 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

God has prepared for us a deposit in the story of genesis God passions clothing for Adam and Eve here Paul says God still in the business of clothing his people. God is still in the business of bringing a cover into our shame period of bringing renewal to our hearts.

Our Hiding

In the story of genesis Adam and Eve laughably tried to hide from God. They play hide and seek with someone who can see everything. New paragraph but we still try to hide from God don't we? We hide from him by avoiding talking to him. We choose not to talk to him we choose not to associate with his followers we choose to ignore him by staying too busy we fill our lives with so much stuff in order to hide under everything.

Hebrews 4:13 ESV

13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Our attempts to hide from God are just like adam and eve

and just like adam and Eve God is calling out to you.

Hebrews 3:7–8 ESV

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,

Throughout the Bible God is calling out to us God's spirit is prompting and reminding us to listen to him. That God calls out to you if you're hearing this to say you don't need to hide from him. He loves you. And to say that the solution to the hiding the solution to the hurting is found on the hill.

The Hill

John 19:17–18 ESV

17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

As the old hymn goes on a hill far away stood an old rugged cross the emblem of suffering and shame Jesus took our suffering he took our shame up on a hill and he paid a price for a debt that we could not pay. This is the story of God giving his only son to take what would cause us to hurt to take what would cause us to hide to take what was bad and he made it good.

but don't make any mistake Good Friday was brutal it was painful it was death. But in God's eyes it was good. Even Jesus knew this:

John 16:7 ESV

7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus knew how ugly how painful this day would be but Jesus knew that he had to endure the suffering in order to make a good. He had to pay the price to make the way for another.

Jesus paid the price so we could have the Holy Spirit in our lives to help us endure the suffering the hurts the hiding the shame of this life

Jesus is a our new High Priest

Remember caiphus from earlier his job as the high priest was to go to God and offer a sacrifice so that God would forgive the sins of the people! Jesus came to replace him. When Jesus died his job was over

Matthew 27:50–51 ESV

50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

he curtain that's talked about here is a curtain that separates God's presence from his people. It was an actual curtain in the temple. And only the high priest could go in there once a year to make a sacrifice for all the people. But when Jesus died this curtain was ripped open when Jesus died God's presence was open to all people. God welcomes you because Jesus death ripped aside the barrier that keeps you from talking to God.

So God made a way for us to know God to talk to him no matter what goes on in our lives but Jesus also took over the role of becoming the high priest..

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus has taken over a new role. He took our sin he took our shame he Empathize with our weaknesses. He truly understands you your personality your quirks your family he knows you he understands you he gets you and he stands as a new priest before God interceding before him

Conclusion

You see we finish up today remembering again that on Friday Jesus suffered he died something very bad happened. But it's only through what happened here that God could show his plan his ability to transform bad news into good from creation and Adam and Eve sin onward God was always planning to provide a solution for our sin. God was always planning to bring good. So the fall of humanity was the ultimate bad news back in the garden. But God took more bad news on Good Friday to bring a change to the hurting and hiding that people have felt for thousands of years.

Bad news may spread fast but the good news of God's redemptive power and love takes the scenic route ultimately restoring everything for his glory.

So as we leave here let's remember the sacrifice of Jesus let's remember how he suffered and died and something bad happened but it happened with purpose and intentionality so that God's good could be shown