1 Corinthians 11: 23 – 25: “I pass on to you what I received from the Lord Himself. On the night when He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and said, ‘This is My body, which is given for you. Do this to remember Me.’ In the same way, He took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood. Do this to remember me as often as you drink it.’”

Good Friday is the day that Christians around the world set aside to commemorate the death of Christ and to remember His sacrifice. Jesus commands us to remember His death as we partake of Holy Communion. On this Good Friday, I am reflecting on Jesus’ love, loyalty, and devotion to His heavenly Father. John tells us in chapter 3 that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. God loved the world, and Jesus loved His Father.

It was on Thursday evening that Judas betrayed Jesus. The Lord then spent the night being tormented, tortured, and judged. Early on Friday, as an angry crowd was beginning to gather, the chief priests and the elders plotted His death. They led Him before Pilate, but he could find no fault in Jesus that would justify His condemnation to death on a Roman cross. Instead, Pilate found Him innocent and with the crowd as his witness, he washed his hands of the sinless Man’s blood. It so happened that there was a feast, and it was the custom of the governor to release one criminal to the people during this time. Pilate asked the people if they wanted Jesus or Barabbas, a notorious criminal.

After the crowd had chosen Barabbas as the one who would be set free, Jesus was brought into the governor’s palace—perhaps a courtyard where He was surrounded by a garrison (400-600) of soldiers. He was separated from the Jews, and the soldiers took turns spitting on Him. They beat Him with reeds and slapped His face and plucked His beard with their hands. Finally, they plaited some thorn vines together and placed them on His head as they bowed before Him and mocked Him.

After this, they led Him to Golgotha, the place of the skull. It was there that they hung Him on a criminal’s cross. Perhaps it was the cross that had been reserved for Barabbas, but now the Lamb of glory was nailed to it. The High Priest was offering the Paschal lamb somewhere in Jerusalem that day, and at the same time, Jesus, the Lamb of God was being hung upon the cross. Unlike the Paschal lamb, this Lamb (Jesus) wasn’t being offered to cover the sins of the Jews for another year—His sacrifice was for the sins of the entire world.

As you go through your day, reflect on all that Jesus suffered on your behalf. There’s nothing on earth that can compare to the love Jesus displayed on the first Good Friday.  —submitted by Asa Dockery, US