What makes Good Friday good?

This is a re-post from my blog entry two years ago...

What makes Good Friday good? Death, blood, thieves, darkness...

And why did Jesus have to die anyway? Why couldn't God have said, "To cleanse yourself from your sin, you must wash in the river."

Imagine that my daughter Abby stole $10 from a store, and the punishment I set in place for the crime was for her to pay back the $10 plus do 10 hours of work at the store the following weekend.

If she tried to get a bunny to work in her place, I'd insist it be a human - not a bunny. A bunny could look like it were working, but it wouldn't really be taking her place.

If her friend offered to pay the money and work in her place, that would be a justifiable trade. The debt would be paid and the work would be accomplished. However, if her friend was also guilty and had stolen as well, then he would not be a good replacement because he has to work the 10 hours himself.

Our punishment for sin is death - which is in reality separation from God. When we do works of service or personal sacrifices to cover our sin, it's like having a bunny take the punishment for Abby. Someone else qualified must step in and take our punishment for us.

No other human being is qualified because they are in the same boat as us. They also are convicted and the verdict is "guilty."

That is why God himself provided our needed replacement. Jesus lived a perfect life and was not guilty or deserving of death and separation. 2000 years ago on Good Friday, God put our sins on Jesus in some amazing way I can't comprehend, making him take the guilt for all. Only God could do this.

In the most simplistic way I can think of, that is what makes Good Friday Good.