Guest Editorial
Dr.N.R.Newmai
Christians all over the world celebrate Good Friday today. The Bible says in Romans 5 verse 8 that God gave His only begotten Son as a substitute to die for our sins. Jesus Christ when He died on the cross, he paid the price of our sins that we might be forgiven and have eternal life through faith in him. “It is finished” was the Lord’s shout of victory because now through Him, we can escape the power of sin; we can live and be free. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we call the day of His death – Good Friday. Jesus died that we sinners might live.
Jesus knew in advance that He would experience pain and death on the cross (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33-34).He told his disciples about his coming death by crucifixion which they could not understand that time. According to the four Gospels, Jesus was arrested in Gethsemane following the Last Supper with the twelve Apostles and then stood trial before the Sanhedrin (Jewish judicial body). Pontius Pilate (a Roman authority in Judea) and Herod Antipas (king of Judea, appointed by Rome), before being handed over for crucifixion by the chief priests of the Jews. After being flogged, Jesus was mocked by Roman soldiers as the “King of the Jews”, clothed in a purple robe, crowned with thorns, beaten and spat on. Jesus then had to make his way to the place of his crucifixion. A man by named Simon of Cyrene was suddenly forced by the Roman official to carry Jesus’ cross while leading to Golgotha.
Once in Golgotha, Jesus was offered a drink of drugged wine which would deaden the terrible pain that he refused this. He wanted to be wide awake on the cross and He did not want to be bearing the sins of the world while He was asleep or drugged. He was then crucified and hung between two convicted thieves. He endured the torment of crucifixion for some six hours from the third hour, at approximately 9 am, until His death at the ninth hour, corresponding to about 3 pm. The soldiers affixed a sign above his head as per Pilate’s order, stating, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”, in three languages, divided his garments and cast lots for his seamless robe. The Roman soldiers did not break Jesus’ legs as they did to the other two men crucified as Jesus was dead already but one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.
Results of the cross: According to Gospel Mark, two things happened immediately. (1). The holy of holies was opened up by the veil being torn from top to bottom (15:38). It was God’s way of saying a higher level of fellowship would now be opened to God’s people by the blood of His Son. (2). Also, a Roman soldier immediately came to faith in Jesus as the Son of God (15:39). It is a sign of great power of the cross. The witness of the cross: Although, the disciples of Jesus all abandoned him, the women among Jesus’ disciples were watching what was happening from distance away. They were important witnesses because they would know exactly what happened to the body of Jesus. On the Friday evening, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of Israel’s parliament, the SANHEDRIN, asked for the body of Jesus from Pilate and he gave permission for the body to be taken down. Joseph had Jesus buried in a rock-hewn tomb, with Nicodemus assisting and the women who were among Jesus’s disciples took note of the place. There could hardly be any greater testimony to the fact that Jesus was dead and buried before He was raised.
When you look closely at the life of Jesus, and all that He has said and done, you would realize that He came only for one purpose – to seek you, to save you. How? By dying on your behalf to pay the penalty for your sin.
The Bible says, repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:37,38).That’s the challenge to us and to all people. Will we rise to it?
