He had just had an intimate Passover celebration with His 12 closest friends. After demonstrating to them what true servanthood was meant to be by washing their feet, He sent one of them out to finish what he had already set in his heart to do...betray Him.
Leaving the quiet communion of that upper room, He and his remaining friends walked through the city and nearby vineyards. As they went, Jesus gave His final message to them..."if you remain in Me & I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from Me you can't do anything." The disciples couldn't grasp it all but they knew something was about to happen. Jesus had told them He was leaving, going to prepare a place for them but would return and come back for them. They walked along with many questions but still contentedly, tired from long days and their recent dinner.
When they arrived, Jesus went off to pray by Himself, as was His custom. He asked the disciples to pray as well but they soon found themselves overcome by weariness. When He returned to them, they were asleep. They could not have known His agony. He was looking ahead to unspeakable horrors which would end in death, but to them it was just another night. And then it began...torch lights blazed through the garden and the sounds of shouting disrupted the peacefulness of the night. Soldiers & Pharisees, all led by one of their own? What was happening? In their panic and confusion, one of them actually wielded a sword but Jesus quickly intervened. Betrayal by the one & desertion by the rest was His friends' reaction as He was led away.
Trial after trial He held His ground, refusing to submit to their questioning. Beatings, ridicule, flogging, & mockery were intertwined with more interrogation. A crown of thorns & a purple robe were put on Him in answer to His "crimes" & although He was not judged as guilty, the determined crowd would allow no punishment other than crucifixion.
Beaten mercilessly, to where He was unrecognizable by His own mother, Jesus was made to carry His own cross through the streets where the crowds continued to cheer & mock Him. The nails, the slamming of the cross into the ground, the continual taunting...none of this was yet the worst. Knowing all the while He could have stopped it with a single word, He pressed on. "For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross.."
Finally, the culminating horror occurred. With the sins of the world on Him, separation from the Father brought the ultimate sorrow. He had endured a night of extreme humiliation and unbearable physical pain but this last was the worst. To be torn apart from the Father as He suffered under the weight of our sins was the final & ultimate anguish. It was now finished. He looked toward heaven, having accomplished what He set out to do, & relinquished His spirit to the only one worthy of receiving it...His Father.
What was so good about all that? Friday was horrific... but He knew Sunday was yet to come!
In the time of creation, when God would finished one more days' work, He would say, "It is good." Likewise, I am confident that as Jesus completed His task & provided our reconciliation the Father looked down and said, "It is good." He took our punishment so that we could be free. "It is good." Satan has been defeated although he thinks he has won. "It is good." My creation has been redeemed. "It is good."
On that glorious Sunday, the tomb was empty and Jesus was alive. The new beginning was now in motion. Believe, confess, receive...a new way to God. "It is good." A new commandment to go into the world and tell others..."It is good." A new future, a new relationship, a new way of life..."It is good."
Jesus did His part & when He finished the plan it was all good. Our choice is to accept what He did on our behalf...then it will be good for us as well.
What's so good about it? Everything!
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