Good Friday Service, 19 April 2019

Those two words used together have always caused conflicting emotions to many of our non-Christian and friends of other faith. Why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar?

Of all the events that happened on the Friday of Holy Week, the one story I keep thinking about is of the crowd choosing Barabbas over Jesus. I wonder if the crowds understood the significance of their mob-inspired request?

This year Pastor enacted as Barabbas, the notorious criminal and took us to the scene…

Pilate had a plan. He will punish Jesus and let Him go. But this won’t satisfy the people. They want blood. They need blood for justice. So Pilate gives them a choice: Jesus, the innocent one, or Barabbas, the violent man in prison for leading an insurrection and murder. They choose the blood of an innocent man.

And Good comes from it. The kind of Good I need. A guilty man is free because the blood of the completely innocent man is shed. This insignificant man, Barabbas, is significant to me because I am Barabbas. I need Jesus just as much as this man torn from his imprisonment needed Jesus to secure his freedom.

The fact Jesus loves Barabbas, Jesus, knew the will of His Father, and He said "It's fine Father, let them have Barabbas." For Jesus knew that the Father would have to treat Jesus like Barabbas, so He could treat Barabbas like Jesus.

Our greatest challenge is believing and living the Gospel - Could it be that there's a God with a love so scandalous, so wide, so deep, so vast, so high, so expansive, so welcoming and so inclusive…? "