“So, when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” – John 19:30

This is the weekend where we get together with family, friends, other churchgoers and celebrate everything Jesus did for us. I will say that, as most of these holidays go, the true meaning of what we are celebrating gets lost in all the flim-flam. People focus on the Easter eggs, the egg hunts, the Easter bunny, and all the food. Let us not take away from the significance of what Jesus did by focusing on how this world celebrates Easter.  To prepare for today’s topic, I read the chapter in each book that described what went on the day Jesus died (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19).

            The reason I decided to read all four books rather than just picking one of the books is that each one gives its own perspective on what happened that day. There are things that one book may focus on that the others don’t. In the end, reading these books brought to my attention five things. 1) Even though Jesus was being wrongly accused, He did not fight. 2) Jesus was 100% innocent. 3) Those who wanted Him dead were jealous of Jesus. 4) Jesus suffered greatly on His last day. 5) Everything He did, everything He went through, He did because He loved us and so that we may be saved.

            In each of the books, we see how the chief priests and Pharisees brought Jesus to Pilate to be condemned. They made whatever case they could so that He may be put to death. Even amid all the yelling and lying, Jesus remained silent. Pilate took notice and asked Him, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!” (Mark 15:4). Jesus remained silent. This stood out to me because lately, I’ve been seeing so much about how we need to fight back when the world turns against us. If we do nothing, we are perceived as weak. If that is true, then why would Pilate be marveled by Jesus’ self-control? The truth is, we don’t always need to fight. There are times when God wants us to be silent. It’s extremely hard to do when our instinct prompts us to fight back. There will be times when God calls us to fight, but we need to rely on Him to know when to fight and when to be silent.

            Even with all the accusations being thrown at Him, none of them stuck. Pilate himself could not see why all these men wanted Jesus to be put to death. “Then he said to them the third time, ‘Why, what evil has He done? I have found no reason for death in Him’…” (Luke 23:22). Jesus was innocent. In fact, Jesus is the only person on this earth who NEVER sinned. If anyone wants to say that they don’t sin, then they’d be lying. Even the Pharisees knew that when they wanted to stone a woman who was caught committing adultery. “…He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). None of them could because they knew they had all sinned. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He was the unblemished lamb that came to save us all.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”- 2 Corinthians 5:21

            Now, this may make you wonder why then the Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law would turn against Jesus the way that they did. Well, they were jealous. They saw how people were drawn to Jesus. More and more people began to follow Him and stopped following them. They gave Him up to be crucified out of greed. “For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy” (Matthew 27:18). Envy and greed can lead us to do some horrible and terrible things. However, even then, not all hope is lost.

            These chapters are some of the hardest for me to read. Every time I read them, I feel heartbroken at everything Jesus had to endure. He was tortured. They beat Him, whipped Him, put a crown of thorns on Him, drove nails into His hands and feet, and then left Him to die on a cross where His body had to go through excruciating pain. They mocked Him and ridiculed Him. The amount of hate these people were emanating is enough to make a person feel like they were suffocating. Then to see the pain in the eyes of those you love, as they watch you die. The physical and emotional pain that Jesus went through is unimaginable.

            However, everything He went through was all for us. Jesus knew that by giving His life for us, He would be saving us all. Before His sacrifice, we were separated from God. It was impossible to live a sinless life in order to make it into the Kingdom of God. However, with His life, our debt was paid. We can now have a close relationship with God. By believing in Him and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are saved. And He did all of this because He loved us that much.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ” – John 3:16-17

            The big word in verse 17 is might. We have a choice. We can choose to live as the world lives, or we can choose to live the life that God has for us. A life full of love, peace, joy, and hope. Life without Jesus is empty, cold, dark, and hopeless. Make the choice today to live in God’s grace and love. Jesus came to save you. Yes, you! You are not just some faceless member of the crowd. You are His child and He wants to give you His best. As we celebrate this Good Friday and this coming Easter, may we not forget what we are truly celebrating. The greatest gift that God has ever given us. Salvation and redemption.

 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9