And in the article of death, as He saw the last fold of the grand design unrolled, He passed out of the world with the cry on His lips, “It is finished!” He uttered this cry as a soldier might do on the battlefield, who perceives, with the last effort of consciousness, that the struggle in which he has sacrificed his life has been a splendid victory. But the triumph and the reward of His work never come to an end; for still, as the results of what He did unfold themselves age after age, as His words sink deeper into the minds of men, as His influence changes the face of the world, and as heaven fills with those whom He has redeemed, “He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied.”
Good Friday
Alexander MacLaren
No flower can bloom in Paradise which is not transplanted from Gethsemane. No one can taste of the fruit of the tree of life, that has not tasted of the fruits of the tree of Calvary. The crown is after the cross.
Brian Zhand
The Cross is not the appeasement of an angry and retributive God. The cross is not where Jesus saves us from God, but where Jesus reveals God as Saviour. The cross is not what God inflicts upon Jesus, in order to forgive. But what God in Christ endures as he forgives. The cross is where the sin of the world coalesced into a hideous singularity, so that it might be forgiven, en masse across. The Cross is where the world violently sends its sins in the body of the Son of God, and where He absorbed it all saying, “Father forgive them.” The cross is both ugly and beautiful. It’s as ugly as human sin as beautiful as divine love, but in the end, love and beauty win.
Robert G. Trache
Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality, and then it turns us to that cross and to his eyes, and we hear these words, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” That’s us! And so we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. We see in that cross a love so amazing, so divine that it loves us even when we turn away from it, or spurn it, or crucify it. There is no faith in Jesus without understanding that on the cross, we see into the heart of God and find it filled with mercy for the sinner, whoever he or she may be.
Katherine Walden
Kamran and Suzy Yaraei
Jesus was the perfect offering for imperfect humans. The best thing to offer to the Father is his Son. In any other religion, people make sacrifices to God, but in Christianity God made the ultimate sacrifice to us.
Samuel Rutherford
Christ and His cross are not separable in this life; howbeit Christ and His cross part at heaven’s door, for there is no house-room for crosses in heaven. One tear, one sigh, one sad heart, one fear, one loss, one thought of trouble cannot find lodging there.
Thomas a Kempis
In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross.
Author Unknown
He served the one who betrayed Him. He healed the one who arrested Him. He loved the world who crucified Him. That’s my Jesus.
Katherine Walden
Jesus was the suffering servant, headed for the cross. He died ONCE (one-time) for our sins to fulfill the law. Jesus is now and forever the triumphantly resurrected, ascended and glorified King. We must follow the resurrected King while never forgetting his sacrifice. However, it is difficult to follow a King if we think he is always leading us on His road of suffering. We need to catch up with where He is leading us.