THE PIVOTAL EVENT by Mike Hutchinson

This is the day on which we observe THE PIVOTAL EVENT in all of scripture, as well as that of all human history. We call it “Good Friday”…the day we observe the death of Christ on the cross…His Crucifixion.
A sermon I read a few years ago – apparently preached around 1938, about The Cross of Christ – put it this way:

“The natural man is a slave ‘sold under sin’, but GOD’s boundless grace was undaunted by the sinner’s helpless, hopeless condition. GOD would HIMSELF go down unto the ‘slave market’ of sin and buy back that which was HIS own. Such redemption demanded a ransom. It required a life for a life. To redeem the human race from the bondage of sin involved the paying of a price which was nothing less than the PRECIOUS BLOOD of Jesus, the SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD.”

I stand in awe today of the magnitude of what took place there on Calvary, and the power of Christ’s words; “IT…IS…FINISHED”, which He spoke shortly before His death.

At Calvary, God’s MERCY and His JUSTICE collided…like an irresistible force crashing against an immovable object…like steel against steel, neither was diminished, and BOTH were victorious!

Jesus willingly took upon Himself our guilt, as God’s MERCY demanded, and accepting the punishment for our sinfulness and for our sins, died on the cross as God’s JUSTICE required…”in the likeness of (our) sinful flesh, and for (our) sin” (Romans 8;3)

1 Peter 2:24 KJV
[24] (Christ) Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Three days later, He arose again from the grave with victory over death, so we could stand before God justified, cleansed, forgiven of the sin debt, and so we too could pass from death to eternal life, and like Him, live in the presence of God forever more!

Romans 4:25 KJV
[25] (Christ) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

From one of my favorite hymns:

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which The Prince of Glory Died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride

See from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet?
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

I am so thankful for, and constantly humbled by his amazing love for me…for us!
Today, if you have never done so, I encourage you to believe Him and receive the payment HE made for your sin, and make this “Good Friday” an even better one!