Who Am I, Who I Am
Let’s play an association game. I am going to give you a name; you associate a word with it.
Joseph Stalin
Vlad the Impaler
Adolph Hitler
Judas Iscariot
Benedict Arnold
Jack the Ripper
Pontius Pilate
I am willing to bet your list is not pleasant. What did you come up with? Tyrant, killer, evil, betrayer, traitor, murderer, coward? None of those labels are ones I want to be stuck with. Yet there is one label that is universal. Sinner. It’s Good Friday. It is a solemn day in which we remember Christ’s brutal death upon a cross. So, what do those names have to do with Good Friday?
Believe it or not, Christ died for them too.
2nd Corinthians 14-15 (ESV) states that :
For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
Just as we say in John 3:16 (ESV):
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Christ died for all. Note that that does not mean that all have accepted that and acknowledged that, but regardless, Chris died for all. He did it so that all might have the opportunity of eternal life. He died for the best of us and the worst of us. Jesus died for every person, of every tribe and every nation so that those who confess that Jesus is Lord might take part in His atoning sacrifice.
On this day, Good Friday, we stand in the dark. We mourn as we are forced to acknowledge that our sin hung an innocent man upon a cross. We stand in awe as we realize that we should have been upon the cross. We do not deserve a relationship with God. We deserve the condemnation of God. Our name deserves to be included with the likes of Judas and Pontius Pilate. We deserve to be cursed at and reviled.
But thanks be to God, that on a crowded hill, a long time ago, He choose to walk a path to the cross.
He choose to suffer and die. And He did it for you. He did it for me. He did it for the people you love and those you can’t stand.
There are days I don’t feel so good about myself. Sometimes I take comfort by looking at someone and saying “I guess it’s not that bad…I could be them.” Today forces me not just to acknowledge we are all human, sinful and loved unconditionally by God. Our sin demands our repentance and needs forgiveness, and God’s love and grace are where we find both.
Good Friday is harsh. It’s somber. It’s personal. I know it’s hard to read, because it’s ugly.
But, in the midst of the blood and among the screams of agony, I cling to two sentences in the Bible like a drowning man to a life jacket (because the life-jacket holds on to you, even if there are times you struggle to hold on to it.)
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34 ESV)
And when the devil tried to remind me of how much I don’t deserve God’s love and forgiveness…..
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Jesus gave up His spirit.
He never gave up on me, even though I have given him countless reasons to.
He has never given up on you either.
Sinner made Saint,
-Pastor Dan