As someone blessed with godly parents, I grew up hearing the word theology thrown around almost daily, yet found the concept very intimidating. I didn’t fully understand what it meant, and in fear of seeming shallow, I would often just avoid talking about it. But, as dangerous as that was for me to do – ignore the study of God’s Word and His character – I would guess that many of our girls feel the same way, regardless of their upbringings. In order to move them into a deeper understanding of (and deeper obedience to) the Lord, it is important to discuss theology and the implications that it brings.
With that being said, today is Good Friday, one of the the most important days of the year for Christians….but why? What is so good about a day that seems so horrible? As strange as it may seem, this day is beautiful because of Christ’s wounds. John 19:1-42 gives a vivid account of the torture, crucifixion, and death that Jesus endured for our sake. Isaiah 53:7 says that Jesus “was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth” (CSB). He gladly bore our penalty for sin in order that we may be found righteous before God the Father (2 Corinthians 5:20).
But Jesus didn’t just die; we know that He rose again on the third day.
God has declared victory for His people through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. The bad news is that we are sinners, wicked from birth and incapable of living perfect lives, wholly deserving of an eternal death. But as God’s Word says in John 3:16,
“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”
We understand that it is because of Jesus’ sacrifice we have been redeemed. He is alive and seated at the right hand of the Father, and we become a new creation in Him when we repent of our sins (2 Corinthians 5:17). As Adrian Warnock puts it, “Jesus was our obedience substitute during his life, our punishment substitute in his death, and our rebirth substitute in his resurrection.”
The resurrection is not only assurance of what Christ has already done by conquering death, but it is also a reminder of the hope we have in Christ Jesus today, and the glorious moment of His return to come.
Victoria “Tori” Klump is the founder and main blogger for ThirstyNoMore, an online home for young women in pursuit of Christ’s living water. She is an ocean-loving, coffee-obsessed, procrastinating perfectionist who has to learn time and again that true identity and the fullness of joy are found in His loving arms. Follow her @toriklump.
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