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We noted here that Jesus was not crucified on Friday, because that does not allow three nights in the grave.
The author makes several Calvinistic doctrinal claims that just don't bear up. Contrary to the author's claims, the Father did not punish Jesus, Jesus did not swap Himself for us, and He did not pay for our sins. In fact, the whole idea of Penal Substitionary Atonement is false.
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At first glance, there appears to be nothing good about this day at all. Jesus’ followers certainly didn’t see it as good when they mourned His death that Friday and Saturday. The disciples who had given up their livelihoods, believing they would be key players in a messianic kingdom that would overthrow the rule of Rome, had their hopes and dreams dashed. (The disciples' attitudes changed after Jesus' resurrection. So their mourning before this, though understandable, is not relevant. We don't need to wonder at all why the day of His crucifixion isn't mourned because have the benefit of the entire story before us.)
(...)
At first glance, there appears to be nothing good about this day at all. Jesus’ followers certainly didn’t see it as good when they mourned His death that Friday and Saturday. The disciples who had given up their livelihoods, believing they would be key players in a messianic kingdom that would overthrow the rule of Rome, had their hopes and dreams dashed. (The disciples' attitudes changed after Jesus' resurrection. So their mourning before this, though understandable, is not relevant. We don't need to wonder at all why the day of His crucifixion isn't mourned because have the benefit of the entire story before us.)
Indeed, if Jesus’ death on that dark day had been the end of the story, people would rightly view Christians as objects of pity (1 Cor. 15:17–19).
Why, then, do Christians call Good Friday “good”? The answer is that Resurrection Sunday interprets and transforms Good Friday. We see woven throughout Scripture the pattern of “not good” later being reinterpreted as God sovereignly uses it to bring about what is good. (There are many things about the crucifixion which are objectively bad, and it is not wrong to deem them as such. Yes, these bad things worked out to something amazingly good, but we will not pretend that the bad things were not really bad.)
For example, consider the story of Joseph in Genesis. There is nothing inherently good about being betrayed by one’s own brothers, sold into slavery in a foreign country, and—just as things seem to finally be getting better—being falsely accused, thrown into prison, and forgotten by a fellow prisoner turned freeman. It would be natural to stamp “not good” over these parts of Joseph’s story. Yet in God’s mysterious but wonderful providence, He fashions good from these “not good” raw materials, using Joseph and his eventual position of authority in Egypt to save not only Joseph’s family from starvation but the entire region. In retrospect, Joseph can say of his brothers’ evil betrayal of him, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20, emphasis added).
So it is with the evil events of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. As the Apostle Peter makes clear in his sermon at Pentecost, Jesus was indeed “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23) who “killed the Author of life” (Acts 3:15). It was evil for these people to knowingly sentence to death an innocent man who was also God incarnate. But over all these events, God was sovereignly working out a plan that had been prophesied through the ages to bring about the greatest good from the greatest evil. What was the good that God was working in the death of Jesus that Friday?
Why, then, do Christians call Good Friday “good”? The answer is that Resurrection Sunday interprets and transforms Good Friday. We see woven throughout Scripture the pattern of “not good” later being reinterpreted as God sovereignly uses it to bring about what is good. (There are many things about the crucifixion which are objectively bad, and it is not wrong to deem them as such. Yes, these bad things worked out to something amazingly good, but we will not pretend that the bad things were not really bad.)
For example, consider the story of Joseph in Genesis. There is nothing inherently good about being betrayed by one’s own brothers, sold into slavery in a foreign country, and—just as things seem to finally be getting better—being falsely accused, thrown into prison, and forgotten by a fellow prisoner turned freeman. It would be natural to stamp “not good” over these parts of Joseph’s story. Yet in God’s mysterious but wonderful providence, He fashions good from these “not good” raw materials, using Joseph and his eventual position of authority in Egypt to save not only Joseph’s family from starvation but the entire region. In retrospect, Joseph can say of his brothers’ evil betrayal of him, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Gen. 50:20, emphasis added).
So it is with the evil events of the crucifixion and death of Jesus. As the Apostle Peter makes clear in his sermon at Pentecost, Jesus was indeed “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23) who “killed the Author of life” (Acts 3:15). It was evil for these people to knowingly sentence to death an innocent man who was also God incarnate. But over all these events, God was sovereignly working out a plan that had been prophesied through the ages to bring about the greatest good from the greatest evil. What was the good that God was working in the death of Jesus that Friday?
Good Friday is good because on this day, the greatest exchange took place.
Scripture makes clear that humankind is in a predicament. We have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). The evil and ugliness of sin separates us from the glorious, perfect, and holy God, who in His righteousness and justice must judge sin (Rom. 2:5–6; 5:9–10; 1 Thess. 1:10). (None of these verses tell us God will judge sin. All of them are about God's wrath towards sinners. SO if God judges sin and not the sinner, the author will need to provide the Bible reference that states this.)
What hope do we have as we hurl toward a future of eternal separation from the love of God, and instead face His righteous wrath against our sin? We lack the righteousness that is required to stand in God’s presence and can’t pay the debt we owe for our sin. (The Bible does not say that we owe a debt to God for our sin. If the author can produce a verse, we'd like to see it. Rather, we are dead in our sins and require the blood of Jesus' perfect sacrifice. By faith we receive forgiveness due to the blood:
He. 9:22 ...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
We don't owe God any payment, and neither does Jesus on our behalf.)
There would be no hope apart from the triune God’s plan in eternity past to bring us a salvation that we cannot secure for ourselves. The second person of the Trinity, the Son, took on human flesh and lived the perfectly righteous life that we all fail to live. (Jesus' perfect life was not on behalf of us who could not live righteously. He lived a perfect life because as the Lamb of God He needed to be blameless, a Lamb without blemish. There was nothing substitionary about His perfect life.)
On the cross, according to God’s own plan (Acts 2:23), Jesus faced much more than the wrath of the Jewish leaders and Roman soldiers. He faced and satisfied (or “propitiated”) the wrath of God Himself for the sins of all those who belong to Him (Rom. 5:9–10; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 2:2). ("Propitiation" does not mean the Father punished Jesus.)
The Old Testament sacrificial system pointed forward to Jesus, who is both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice (Heb. 9:12, 26). His perfect life and substitutionary, sacrificial death (Jesus did not substitute for us. Again, His blood washes away our sin. His death was alone sufficient to turn away God's wrath towards sinners.)
satisfied God’s righteous wrath and judgment against the sins of all who trust in Christ alone for salvation. Jesus, the perfectly righteous One, took the punishment for our sins upon Himself, (The Father did not punish Jesus.)
and we who deserve eternal punishment for our unrighteousness receive the perfect righteousness of Christ. (No, we who have called upon the name of Jesus, repented, and were made alive by the Spirit are now righteous. We are literally righteous:
Ro. 3:21-22 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Ph. 3:9 ...not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
There's only two kinds of righteousness, righteousness coming from the law, which has no eternal benefit, and righteousness by faith. God doesn't pretend we are righteous, He literally makes us righteous.)
Therefore, Good Friday is good because through His death, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 3:13–14; 4:5). Because Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses (Eph. 1:7). We are ransomed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19). We are justified, saved from the wrath of God, and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:9–10). (All of this is 100% correct. The author is able to articulate the truth, so where are these other concepts coming from?)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day validates all that He accomplished on Good Friday, revealing that death has no ultimate claim on Him (Acts 2:24). His triumph over death in His resurrection shows that He has the power and ability to secure our justification (Rom. 4:25). The resurrection proves that He really is God (Rom. 1:4) and that God’s wrath was indeed satisfied by Christ’s atoning death. Because Jesus bore God’s wrath for the sins of all who would trust in this provision by faith alone, (Jesus did not bear God's wrath! There is no verse in the Bible that tells us this. Jesus bore our sin and condemnation to the cross (Col. 2:15), carrying it away like someone would take out the garbage.)
Therefore, Good Friday is good because through His death, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, so that we might receive adoption as sons (Gal. 3:13–14; 4:5). Because Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24), we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses (Eph. 1:7). We are ransomed with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18–19). We are justified, saved from the wrath of God, and reconciled to God (Rom. 5:9–10). (All of this is 100% correct. The author is able to articulate the truth, so where are these other concepts coming from?)
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day validates all that He accomplished on Good Friday, revealing that death has no ultimate claim on Him (Acts 2:24). His triumph over death in His resurrection shows that He has the power and ability to secure our justification (Rom. 4:25). The resurrection proves that He really is God (Rom. 1:4) and that God’s wrath was indeed satisfied by Christ’s atoning death. Because Jesus bore God’s wrath for the sins of all who would trust in this provision by faith alone, (Jesus did not bear God's wrath! There is no verse in the Bible that tells us this. Jesus bore our sin and condemnation to the cross (Col. 2:15), carrying it away like someone would take out the garbage.)
Christians will never face the wrath of God against their sins or be separated from God, for they are united to Christ in His death and in His life.
In short, Good Friday is good because on this day, the greatest exchange took place: “For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). May we then declare with the Apostle Paul, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).
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