Casey Crabtree

This changed everything. "It is finished." (John 19:30) But before those final words were spoken, Jesus endured what no words can ever fully capture. He was betrayed by a close friend. Disowned three times by another. Abandoned by nearly all who had followed Him. He stood silent before His accusers as false charges were hurled and crowds demanded His death. A crown of thorns was mockingly pressed into His skull. Soldiers beat Him nearly to death with dozens of brutal lashes. Then He carried the heavy cross through the crowded streets of Jerusalem, the wood pressing into His open wounds. At Golgotha, overlooking Jerusalem, the soldiers drove nails through His hands and feet and lifted Him on a cross between two criminals. For hours, the weight of all of humanity’s sin hung on His shoulders. The Son of God, who had never known sin. He could have called upon angels. He could have come down from the cross. But He didn’t. The sky went dark. The earth shook. The veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus gave up His spirit. It was finished. But this death did not mean defeat, as many people thought. It was part of God’s rescue mission to save humanity from all of their mistakes. Somehow, the darkest day in human history is called Good Friday. Because it wasn’t the end of the story. The resurrection was coming.