We have no idea what day you’re reading this, but suppose you have to have a root canal treatment this Friday. You know, where going to the dentist is likely going to hurt quite badly. And if, miraculously, that pain isn’t too bad, it will still hurt your wallet…
A not-so-good Friday
So, would you also call such a Friday a Good Friday? Even if you know that your teeth will be in better shape after going to the dentist than before? Behold the paradox of one of the great Christian holidays: Good Friday. For on that day, believers “celebrate” that Jesus Christ died by being nailed—through His hands and feet—to a cross, an ancient instrument of torture. Not exactly a Good Friday, is it?
So then, why is it “Good” Friday?
Yet we call it that. Christians call Jesus’ death on the cross the depths of suffering and desolation, but at the same time the highest culmination of God‘s love. That’s why this Friday is ultimately a Good Friday. Good because that very day shows us how far God’s love goes—to the extreme. Of Jesus Christ’s love for His friends—and therefore, for us—it was said, “He loved them to the end.” (John 13:1). Wow!
Love to the end
This love is also seen in the well-known television series The Chosen. In The Chosen, we do not meet an exalted or aloof Jesus Christ, but rather someone who comes near, who loves his friends, washes their feet, jokes with them, laughs with them—but also weeps with their sorrow. Jesus’ path to the cross is not an accident, but a conscious choice to love to the bitter end.
The Chosen Season 5: The Last Supper… one that lasts?
We are following the road to the cross in season 5 of The Chosen. In this season, the table is set, so to speak, for a last supper—one that lasts. The people of Israel welcome Jesus as their King, while his disciples are hoping for his coronation. But instead of confronting Rome, Jesus turns the tables. As their power is threatened, the country’s religious and political leaders go to great lengths to ensure that the supper Jesus Christ plans to celebrate with His friends is His last. It is all nothing short of a prelude to Good Friday.
Come to the table!
If you were to sit at the table at that last supper—knowing that Good Friday comes after—how would you be present there? What would you want to tell or ask Jesus? Whatever the case, you can be sure He would listen to you lovingly and take time for you. For He knows that after Good Friday comes that even better Sunday, the Sunday of Easter. But that’s coming in another season… 😉
