They didn’t get it. The Creator of the universe was talking about dying. The Beautiful would be made hideous; Perfection would become evil itself. The thought was ugly, uncomfortable. So they went about their normal lives while the greatest Friend they would ever have suffered alone.
We still don’t get it. The Creator of the universe talks about US dying, picking up a cross, crucifying our own desires. The Beautiful says we have none of our own; Perfection calls us to be like Him. But it’s ugly, uncomfortable. So we go about our normal lives while the greatest Friend we will ever have is relegated to a corner of our hearts like a faceless 911 operator. “We’ll call if we need something, Jesus.” His commands are viewed as multiple choice options.
Good Friday is meant to call attention to that glaring discrepancy. Good Friday means that if we expect to celebrate our own resurrection some day, we’ve got to experience crucifixion. His call to “deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him” was a call to a resurrection. When Jesus chose to die, He already knew about the resurrection and He wants us to know about it too because we can’t have one without the other.
We love Sunday, but thank you, Jesus, for Friday.
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