Today is Good Friday (or Great Friday, in the Orthodox tradition). Jesus is tried, executed, buried, and descends into hell. It’s a sham trial, of course. And a brutal death on the cross. I wrote more here about the descent into hell if you are interested.
The cross has always been inconvenient. Every skeptic has asked, “Why did Jesus have to die?” The truth is that every believer has asked the same question. There are answers to this question, of course. Some deeply theological, some simplistic answers you might offer a child. My favorite is from Hebrews 2, which says the death of Jesus is meant to remove our fear of death. That’s a powerful thought!
But the question about why Jesus had to die remains. No answer fully satisfies. The cross remains inconvenient.
Gene Edwards shared an insight about the cross in his book The Inward Journey:
“One brother wisely said, ‘The cross is usually exactly the opposite of what we thought it was.’ When suffering comes your way, there is one thing that you certainly will do: you will ask the Lord, ‘Why has this happened?’ There is something else almost as certain. You will receive no answer. If the ‘why’ could be removed, dear brother, most of the transforming power of the cross would disappear. The ‘why’ factor of the cross is perhaps its sharpest, most effective, most deadly aspect. Remove the ‘why’ factor of the cross and there really isn’t much suffering involved in it.”
