Behind the Scenes

It’s Good Friday. It’s hard to consider such a brutal event in history as “good.” How can anything we suffer or that others suffer be called “good”? I certainly cannot call Battens disease “good.” I can’t watch Macayla suffer what she does and call it “Good Progressive-Degenerative Brain Disorder.” Crucifixion was such a brutal practice but it was common in ancient Rome. As far as the people of that day, Jesus’ crucifixion was a common sight. It just “happened” to coincide with the Passover holiday and so there were more spectators than normal in Jerusalem that week. Other than that, it was just another execution. But, we get a look behind the scenes. It was indeed a unique moment in human history that not only changed the world, but also changed eternity for many people. As far as the soldiers who nailed Jesus, he was just another prisoner. But after those six hours that Friday, some of those soldiers realized that Jesus was no ordinary prisoner. They got a glimpse behind the scenes as well. God the Father sent God the Son to put on skin and bones to walk among us. He lived and dwelt among the people. God did not want to play hide and seek. He got down on our level. He lived a life free of sin even though he was tempted in every way we are and more. He had a human will and a divine will. But his human will always followed the divine will. Then he was killed on a cross for our sins. He had no sins to be punished for but we have plenty to be punished for. It is strange indeed. Our sin has separated us from God, but God wouldn’t give up on us. He rushed down to our level and became a man. Then being a man, he took the punishment we deserve, but being God he was able to pay the debt our sin put us in. Being God he was able to overcome death and sin for us. But it took one Friday in history to do so.
Good Friday? How can it be? For six hours or so on that Friday, God the Father watched his only begotten Son suffer and die. My Father in heaven knows all to well what it means to watch a child suffer. My Father in heaven knows all to well what it is like to watch a child die. As we watch our child suffer and die slowly, we know that God is not some distant and uncaring being, but He knows our pain and more. He cries with us. Behind the scenes of the crucifixion, there was a Father in heaven heartbroken, but there was victory as well. Victory over the sin and death that separated this Father’s other adopted children (us) from him. In Macayla’s life there are parents, family and friends heartbroken over her condition. But behind the scenes of Macayla’s life, there is an amazing plan with unfathomable results that will impact so many people and change many lives. We don’t know how far-reaching it will be, but slowly we are getting a glimpse behind the scenes, a glimpse at an amazing God who doesn’t allow suffering to go to waste and be meaningless. Behind the scenes, we are slowly learning how “Good” can become an adjective for the tragedy we see in Macayla’s life. Behind the scenes, we are learning how a Friday approximately 2000 years ago can be considered Good Friday.