God Planned It For Good: A Good Friday Meditation

Friday begins right where Thursday ends. In fact, there is no break in the events taking place. No, hiking back to Bethany to rest or sleep. No early morning walk with theology lessons. No morning breakfast. As dawn breaks on Friday, the trial continues. After the Chief Priest and other religious leaders are confident they have a reason to execute Jesus, they take him to Pilate. Pilate was the Roman Governor of the region. As a people who were ruled by a foreign government, they were not allowed to carry out the death penalty. (John 18:31) The entire crowd gets up and marches along with the religious leaders as they bring Jesus to Pilate and they accuse him of misleading the nation, opposing the payment of taxes to Caesar (both of these have been proven false already), and claiming to be the Messiah, a king. (Luke 23:2) As they bring Jesus to Pilate they’re careful to not go into Pilate’s headquarters. To go into this Gentile place would make them “unclean” And it was, after all, the Passover. (John 18:28) They made sure to keep up the outer appearance of adherence to the law, while completely ignoring the true meaning of it and condemning the only one who could actually fulfill the law, the one whom the law prophesied and foretold of. White-washed tombs indeed.

Pilate asks Jesus if he is in fact a king. Jesus answers that he is. This is what he was born to be. But his kingdom isn’t of this world. (John 18:33-38) But as he does the Chief Priests continue to accuse him of many things. As Pilate questions Jesus about these other charges, Jesus remains silent, fulfilling prophecy. This amazes Pilate. He can find no reason for executing this man. But the Pharisees insist. As they insist they say that Jesus was been stirring up people throughout all of Judea even from Galilee. Learning this, Pilate decides to pass the buck. Unsure of what to do, he sees an out. Jesus is from Galilee? That’s Herod’s jurisdiction. So he sends Jesus to his political rival hoping to get himself out of a difficult spot. This actually excites Herod. He’s heard of Jesus and is hoping to see some miracle. Who doesn’t love a good parlor trick? What a way to begin the day? So the entire process repeats itself. The religious leaders vehemently accuse Jesus, Herod himself questions Jesus, but Jesus remains silent. Not getting the early morning show he hoped for, Herod and his soldiers mock Jesus and send him back to Pilate.  

Realizing he isn’t going to get out of this situation, Pilate calls religious leaders and the angry mob together and insists that he can find no reason for executing Jesus. But they don’t care. They demand that Pilate crucifies him. Still trying to keep himself from executing an innocent person, Herod offers to release Jesus as was his custom during the Passover. But they were ready for this. They demanded Barabas, a murderer, be released instead. (Mark 15:7) It seems the crowd, who early this week was praising Jesus as their King, was now calling for his crucifixion. Realizing Jesus wasn’t going to be the powerful leader they had hoped for, they realign themselves with the religious leaders to play it safe. 

Still perplexed and uncertain of what to do, Pilate goes back to Jesus and has him beaten and flogged. The cruel and callous Roman soldiers create a mock crown out of thorns and beat it into his head and put a purple robe on his bleeding and torn apart back. They mock him and slap him. Pilate then brings out the beaten and humiliated Jesus to the crowd. “Here is your king!” He says. But with one voice they shout “Crucify him! He has claimed to be the Son of God! He deserves death!” Now panic is filling Pilate. Who is this man? Perplexed at the silence of Jesus he asks why Jesus won’t answer him. He has the authority to release him or kill him. Jesus responds in John 19:11…

John 19:11

“You would have no authority over me at all,” Jesus answered him, “if it hadn’t been given you from above. This is why the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Pilate now takes more serious action. He brings Jesus back out and sits at the judge’s seat. He assumes the place of judgment. He makes a last-ditch effort to release Jesus. He knows he is innocent. But as he sees this mob is turning into a riot (Matthew 27:24) he makes the easy decision to pacify the crowd and has Jesus flogged and turns him over to be crucified. 

During this flogging or scourging, a person was stripped naked, tied to a post, and then flogged across the back and legs by Roman soldiers. This was usually done with wooden staves or short whips with leather thongs into which small pieces of bone were tied. Under Jewish law, flogging was limited to 40 blows but Roman law had no limit. Scourging was intended to significantly weaken the victim and resulted in deep wounding, severe pain, and bleeding. Frequently the victim fainted during the procedure and sudden death was not uncommon. The victim was then usually taunted, then forced to carry the patibulum, or crossbar of the cross, tied across his shoulders to the place of execution. Historians estimate this crossbar typically weighed about 125 pounds. A set of Roman guards commanded by a centurion accompanied the condemned to the place of execution and stayed on duty until the victim had died. A herald walked ahead and on the way, bystanders derided and taunted the condemned. 

Once the victim was at the place of crucifixion if not already naked he was then stripped and made to lie on his wounded back with his arms extended along the crossbar of the cross. The arms were tied to the beam or fixed using iron nails driven through the wrists, or the upper forearms. The crossbar and victim were then lifted and fixed onto the center post of the cross and their feet were tied or nailed to it. Often the feet were nailed to the sides of the cross, or on top of each other to the front of the cross. Usually, a single nail was driven through the metatarsal bones of both feet, and the knees bent. This allowed the victim to painfully push themselves up and gasp for air, slowing their death. It was common for the soldiers to divide the victim's clothes among themselves while waiting for him to die, which on average would take from 3 - 4 hours to 3 - 4 days. 

If there was reason to expedite death or to ensure that death had set in, the legs were broken beneath the knees or a spear was stabbed to the heart through the upper abdomen or chest. Breaking the legs of the victim kept them from pushing up for air and cause them to suffocate faster. The main cause of death in the majority of victims would have been asphyxiation from severely hampered respiration with secondary cardiovascular collapse. This slow death would have included multi-organ failure, caused by circulatory collapse due to hypovolemic shock. Hypovolemic shock is a condition in which severe blood or other fluid loss makes the heart unable to pump enough blood to the body. This type of shock can cause many organs to stop working. Death by crucifixion was indeed excruciating in every sense of the word. The Latin word excruciate comes from a derivative of crux or cross.

Crucifixion was a torturous, agonizing, and humiliating way to execute criminals. It was done by Rome to declare their might and scare the people they conquered into submission. Mark’s gospel records for us that this all took place by 9 am. (Mark 15:25) Then the crowd begins to mock. “If he was the Messiah, certainly he could save himself from this!” “Prove you are whom you claimed to be and come down from the cross!” The two criminals whom Jesus was crucified with join in on the mocking. And for three hours he is mocked, spit at, his clothes are gambled over, all while being tortured alive. 

As he hangs on the cross one of the criminals continues to hurl insults at Jesus. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But something had changed in the heart of the other criminal. He realized that they deserved to die, but Jesus didn’t. And in a simple request, he asks Jesus to remember him. And Jesus says he will. “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Then after three hours, at 12:00 in the afternoon, all the land goes black. Amidst one of the most agonizing ways to slowly die, Jesus endures a horror that he has never known. He willingly submits himself to the wrath of God for us. He becomes a curse (Galatians 3:13), he becomes sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), and for an additional three agonizing hours, Jesus willingly takes the full force of God’s righteous wrath against sin. He does this for you and he does this for me. 

The builders have rejected the Stone. Jesus has become the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. And after 6 brutal hours on the cross, he cries out with a loud voice… 

Matthew 27:46b

…“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

He was willingly abandoned so that we would never have to be. 

Then Jesus cries out with a loud voice “It is finished. Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.” (John 19:30, Luke 23:46) And he breathed his last. 

Something amazing happens at this moment. There was a curtain in the sanctuary of the temple. Its purpose was to separate the room where the presence of God would settle. This High Priest could only enter this sanctuary at certain times and after certain rituals were observed. At this moment that curtain splits right down the middle. No more separation. We can boldly go into the presence of God. Then there’s an earthquake. One so powerful rocks are literally splitting into two. Then tombs open and many dead saints come back to life. After Jesus’ resurrection, they actually leave the tomb and many see them! This is such a powerful moment that the created world is responding. The darkness silences the mocking. The Old Covenant is replaced, the earth quakes, and saints are coming back to life! This powerful moment gives us a preview of what will happen when Jesus our king returns to earth. This moment is so visibly powerful that the pagan Roman soldier who just hung Jesus on the cross is converted. (Matthew 27:54)

Two of Jesus’s “secret followers” no longer hide their allegiance to him. Joseph, who was a member of the Sanhedrin, along with Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee, both come forward and take the body of Jesus to ensure that it is buried in a dignified way according to their Jewish custom. They had opposed the plan of the religious leaders, but now they were letting their full allegiance be known. (John 29-38-42) And they laid Jesus in the tomb. The 11 disciples have mostly scattered. Judas was overcome with guilt over his actions and took his own life. Several of the women who had supported Jesus were watching from a distance, no doubt fearing for their safety, but they were crushed. All their hopes and plans just came crashing down in less than 24 hours. Now we know what is going to happen on the third day. Resurrection. But put yourself in the shoes of the disciples for a moment. Jesus was the one they had been anticipating for hundreds of years. And now he lies dead in a tomb. How could this day be called “good?”

To that, I want to turn to the very first book of the Bible. Joseph’s brothers fear he will seek revenge against them for the cruel way they treated him. But Joseph says…

Genesis 50:20

You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 

Judas planned the events of Thursday and Friday for evil. The religious leaders planned them for evil. Pilate meant them for evil. The mob meant them for evil. Sin meant them for evil. 

BUT GOD! God planned it for good. God was doing his greatest work. God is never to blame for evil, but he is always working for our good. As Peter, emboldened by the filling of the Holy Spirit, would soon preach…

Acts 2:23

Though he was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, you used lawless people to nail him to a cross and kill him.

Joseph’s words thousand of years prior to this day “You planned evil against me; God planned it for good” Fly over good Friday like a banner of God’s sovereign work. 

This is why we call today “Good” Friday. Because today we remember how our Savior died in our place. 

Research on Roman crucifixion is from: Retief, Francois & Cilliers, Louise. (2003). The history and pathology of crucifixion. South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde. 93. 938-941. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297407145_The_history_and_pathology_of_crucifixion