Why Is Good Friday Good?

Why is the Jesus’ Death the Primary Focus of the Gospel?

Synecdoche

• The part is used to signify the whole or visa versa.

• The Blood of Jesus

• Saved by the Blood

• “All Hands on deck”

• Similar to Metonymy: One part associated with larger part.

• The Oval Office, The Crown, America,

• The Cross

• Calvary

The Primary Focus

• “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” ( 1 Cor. 15:3)

Our Sin is the Problem God’s Love Had to Solve

Sin Kills, Enslaves and Torments Us Forever

• We are separated from God for ever. We cannot enter heaven and must go to hell.

• We have an eternal debt we owe to God

• Our guilt makes us subject to God’s wrath forever.

• We are unholy & unrighteous before God

• We are enslaved to sin and to the devil now & forever.

• We live in fear of death. We have no hope for eternity

SIN SEPARATES….SIN KILLS.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear." ( Is. 59:2)

“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.” (Rom. 5:12)

“For the wages {results} of sin is death…” (Rom. 6:23) = Hell

God Is more loving than anyone could imagine

• God is Love ( 1 John 4:8)

• “The Lord longs to be gracious to you…He waits on high to have compassion on you.” ( Is. 30:18)

• “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” ( Rom. 5:8)

• “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

God is also Holy & Just and Must Punish Sin

• "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

• “Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” ( Rev. 20:15)

• “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…” (Matt. 25:41)

God Sums Up His Character to Moses

• Ex. 34:6-7: “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;

• who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin;

• yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished…”

God’s Great Dilemma With Our Sins

• God wants to show us mercy and forgive our sins

• But His Holiness and Justice demand that sin be punished.

God Is Both…

• Always more than we can imagine in every category

• God is more loving towards us and more severe against sin that anyone can imagine

• “Behold then the kindness and severity of God…” (Rom. 11:32)

Our Choice

• “ You only get one of two things from God: His Love or His Justice.

• If you follow Jesus, you get God’s love

• If you do not follow Jesus, you can only get God’s justice.”—Dr. D. James Kennedy

God’s Love & Justice Meet in Perfect Harmony

On the Cross

What the Cross Isn’t

• A blessing from God just to make us feel better.

• Something that nothing to do with God’s wrath vs sin:

• “God doesn’t send anyone to hell. Our sin does.”

• A ransom payment to the Devil to release us

The Cross Shows

• God’s wrath against sin is great

• God’s love for sinners is greater!

Before the Cross,God showed His love for us:

Jesus Became One of us!

On the Cross, Jesus:

1. Took the place of all humanity in death

2. Was God’s sacrifice to pay for our sins—not His

3. Accepted God’s punishment for the sins of all humanity

4. Paid the debt of our sin to God

5. Creates peace between God and those who follow Jesus

6. Destroys the power of sin, the devil and the fear of death

1. Jesus Took Our Place

• “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” (Is. 53:5)

• “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.” (Is. 53:6)

• ‘"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

“Moi Pour Elle”

• Cora rebuffs her fiancee, Major Duncan Howard, in favor of Hawkeye who saves their lives

• Duncan and Cora are captured.

• Cora is to be burned alive

• Duncan & Hawkeye are to go free

• Hawkeye tries to take Cora’s place but Duncan has to translate the offer into French.

• In French, Duncan instead offers himself in place of Cora: “Moi pour elle.”

2. Jesus was God’s Sacrifice to God

• “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

• “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed.” ( 1 For. 5:7)

• Once for All Time: “…but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” (Heb 9:26)

• Without Blemish: “…the blood of Christ…offered Himself without blemish to God…” ( Heb. 9:14)

3. Jesus Took Our Punishment

• “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering…” (Is. 53:4)

• “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.” ( Is. 53:5)

• “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us…” (Gal. 3:13)

• “…Christ also suffered for you…” (1Peter 2:21)

4. Jesus Paid Our Debt to God

• “He paid a debt He did not owe. I owed a debt I could not pay”

• “…having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” (Col. 2:14)

• That debt of sin paid to God was a ransom to set us free from being “slaves to sin leading to death.” (Rom.6:20)

• “Tetelestai” (John 19:30)

5. Jesus Made Peace Between Us & God

• “Once you were alienated from God…but now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—…” (Col. 1:21)

• “…we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” ( Rom.5:1)

• Cross effected the Atonement: at-one-ment with God

6. Jesus Broke the Power of the Devil

• “…nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.” (Col. 2:14-15)

• “that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Heb 2:14-15)

• “This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil.” (1John 3:8)

GRACE

• God’s

• Riches

• At

• Christ’s

• Expense

God Is

• Relationship focused

• Not sin focused

• He had to deal with sin to get the warm, intimate relationship with us he created us to have.

• He wants us close to Him so much that He was willing to send His beloved Son to suffer and die for our sins.

The Ultimate Good News of the Cross

• Look how far God has gone to win us back to Him despite the eternal penalties we deserved.

• This is why Good Friday is so good!