Good Friday

      Failure.  Tough word.  Heavy, painful and probably a memory explodes in your mind.  Early in my ministry in Kentucky I was leading a class for new believers.  We were sitting in a circle, and I wanted us to go over a large portion of Scripture.  I had each person read a couple verses.  We got to one middle aged man who got very angry, jumped up and left.  Apparently, he could not read, and I had accidently humiliated him.  As far as I know he never returned to that church.  Failure.  Most mornings I step on a scale and look at the painfully large number.  Failure.  I once completely forgot a funeral I was supposed to speak at.  Thankfully two hours before the service the funeral director called and reminded me.  Failure barely averted. What about you?  Have you ever experienced failure?  Maybe you sat in divorce court stunned at the end of your marriage.  Possibly you have had to declare bankruptcy.  Maybe you find yourself middle aged and sitting in a halfway house.  Or possibly you are financially successful, but your kids are a mess or estranged from you or each other.  Failure hurts.
      Today is what we call Good Friday.  Remember that there was no flashing sign saying GOOD FRIDAY during the actual day.  Instead, for the apostles, the days leading up to Good Friday were an intense failure.  At the last supper Jesus visually rebuked the apostles’ argument about which of them was the greatest by taking the role of a servant and washing their feet.  The night before Good Friday, Peter had bragged that even if everyone else abandoned Jesus, he would be steadfast.  Instead, he denied Jesus three times!  All his disciples fell asleep when he asked them to watch and pray for him.  Peter responded with violence when the soldiers arrested Jesus, defending the man who taught him to turn the other cheek.  All the disciples abandoned him when the soldiers came for Jesus.
      The crucifixion itself was brutal.  For the apostles it was the death of a dream.  They had envisioned a political kingdom that drove out the hated Romans with each of them ruling with Jesus.  They had given up three years of their lives and it looked like all was lost.  Most importantly, Jesus was their friend, mentor and Lord; they were heartbroken at his death. 
      But failure is an interesting thing.  Sometimes what looks like failure is not failure at all.  The cross is the supreme example.  Yes, there was failure around the cross, Judas’ betrayal, Peter’s denial, but the cross itself was the pre-ordained, pre-planned rescue mission of God.  Just as special forces soldiers are willing to die to save other people’s lives Jesus volunteered to lay down his life to save us from our sins.  God as the ultimate and final judge must punish all sin.  Jesus volunteered to be our substitute; he paid the debt to God’s holy justice that we could not pay.   He did it because he loved us (John 3:16).  He knew the cross was not the end but the beginning.  The next time you find yourself mired in a painful defeat, remember that failure is the not last word about your life.  Love is God’s last word for you. We call the day of crucifixion Good Friday because we know Sunday is coming!
Pastor Derek Dickinson