It’s one thing to read about the crucifixion.
It’s another to sit in it.
Good Friday isn’t for passive reflection.
It’s for holy grief.
Jesus stood in our place—tried by sinful men, denied by His friends, betrayed by His disciple. The very Word of God, silent before accusations. Pilate, finding no fault, still sentenced Him. Why? Because the crowd wanted blood.
And they got it.
Roman whips tore His back open.
Fists pummeled His face.
A robe mocked His royalty.
A crown of thorns pressed into His skull.
And then the nails.
Not sanitized, pretty ones. But crude, iron spikes that shattered through nerves and bone.
He was lifted up between thieves. Humiliated, naked, gasping for breath as the weight of every sin in history pressed down on Him.
Yet even in agony, He cried out, “Father, forgive them.”As death crept close, He uttered,
“It is finished” (John 19:30, NKJV).
And then something cosmic cracked:
“Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” (Matthew 27:51, NKJV).
But this wasn’t some decorative curtain. It was a thick wall of twelve layers of animal hides, woven to separate man from God. It symbolized one thing: You don’t belong here.
But in that instant, God tore it open.
The veil that once screamed “unworthy” now lies in ruins. Not because we got better—but because Jesus took the punishment.
Hebrews 10:19–20 says we now have boldness to enter the Holiest
“by a new and living way… through the veil, that is, His flesh.”
That’s why this Friday is Good.
Because the righteous wrath of God fell fully on Jesus… so that mercy could fall on us.
Take some time today. Really take it. Sit with what Jesus endured.
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