Jesus was stripped, His back bare and exposed. A whip embedded with shards of bone, metal, and glass lashed His skin mercilessly.
With each strike, flesh tore away. Blood flowed freely. Muscles and bones became visible through deep wounds. His strength wavered, knees buckling under unimaginable agony.
Then, to further humiliate him, the soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, pressing it deep into His scalp. Streams of crimson streaked His face, obscuring eyes filled with unimaginable sorrow.
They threw a tattered robe across His shredded shoulders, mocking Him with feigned reverence, laughing at the thought of this broken, bloodied man being royalty.
But it wasn't enough. They thrust a heavy, splintered wooden crossbeam onto His torn shoulders. The rough timber scraped raw wounds, each agonizing step causing further torment as He stumbled through Jerusalem’s streets. The jeers and curses of crowds, deafening and bitter, rang cruelly in His ears.
Hebrews 12:2 reveals a profound mystery: “For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, despising the shame.”
Joy? What joy could possibly compel Jesus to pursue such agony?
You. Me. Us.
Christ willingly endured the cross because He saw beyond the pain to humanity’s redemption. Every blow He took was absorbed for our healing.
Good Friday forces us to confront the darkness—the gruesome reality of our own sinfulness. Our pride, envy, hatred, lust—all the sins that put Jesus there. It’s sobering to consider, isn't it? But it’s also powerfully liberating because, on that dark hill called Golgotha, Jesus didn’t merely suffer—He conquered. His blood poured out was not defeat—it was victory.
Today is heavy, as it should be. Allow yourself to sit quietly with the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice. Consider deeply His suffering.
Remember that it was your face and mine He saw as the nails pierced His hands. It was our freedom He envisioned as His lungs filled with blood, suffocating under the weight of the world’s sin.
Yet remember—this is not the end. Sunday is coming. Jesus’ lifeless body, placed in a borrowed tomb, will soon rise in triumph.
Sin, death, and darkness do not have the final word. The crucifixion is a brutal reminder of humanity’s brokenness—but the resurrection is the eternal declaration of God’s victorious love.
Take time today to reflect deeply. Stand at the foot of the cross, remembering the price of your salvation. It was no small sacrifice—but a cosmic, eternal declaration that you are loved beyond comprehension.
Good Friday is indeed somber and weighty. But it’s also holy, powerful, and transformative—because the cross is empty now, and the grave won’t stay closed for long.
Sunday is coming.
