A Miraculous Death

Grace, mercy, and peace…

The title of our Good Friday devotion is: A Miraculous Death.

Many miracles surrounded the birth of Jesus, like the eastern star, and the angels, and the virgin birth.

Likewise, many miracles surrounded the ministry of Jesus; many miraculous healings, driving out demons, feeding the 5000, walking on water, calming the storm, and many more.

Finally, there were many miracles surrounding the death of Jesus. First, that he could die at all was a miracle, because, Jesus is the very Son of God, and God is eternal. Yet we confess that in Jesus, God Himself died for us. That’s a miracle, a miracle that saved us. Because it was the Son of God who died, he also had the power to rise.

Secondly, that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world was a miracle. No one else has ever been able to do that. We can be punished only for our own crimes, and die only for our own sin.

Having no sin of his own to die for, Jesus had the innocence to so that. Being true God, he had the authority to take the sins of the world upon Himself, and die for them all, thereby miraculously winning our forgiveness and salvation.

A third miracle is the darkness that covered the earth for three hours until Jesus died, indicating God’s judgment, as the sins of the world were being punished, and that justice was being carried out on the cross.

Now, no one, not even the devil, can ever accuse us of being falsely acquitted. And if we would have been falsely acquitted, you can be sure the devil would use that to try to claim our souls. But he can’t use that, because in Christ we are justified even before God; justly forgiven and rightly saved.

At about 3 in the afternoon, a fourth miracle happened, this one in the temple.

The thick, heavy curtain dividing the two rooms of the inner temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The curtain represented our separation from God on account of our sins. The curtain torn in two showed that through the death of Jesus for our sins, we now have access to God, and His grace, and the love and joy and life he gives us now and forever. God is now our friend forever.

Then the fifth miracle took place as Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!"

The Roman centurion knew that crucified people didn’t die that way. Their lungs slowly filled with fluid, and their last moments were gurgling sounds, and desperate gasps for air, not a loud, clear proclamation that everyone could hear.

Hearing this, seeing the darkness and all that had happened, the centurion said, “Certainly this man was innocent”; “Surely He was the Son of God”.

Then a sixth miracle as Jesus’ soul was taken up to His Father in Heaven, just as Jesus promised to the repentant thief dying beside him, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Then Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, and buried him in a tomb. For the rest of Friday, all day Saturday, and the first part of Sunday, a seventh miracle was happening in the tomb: Jesus’ body was not decaying.

In those days, when people didn’t eat foods full of preservatives like we do today, their bodies would start to decay very soon after dying. But God promised that wouldn’t happen to his Son. Psalm 16 says, “For you will not abandon me to the grave, or let your holy one see decay.”

Jesus’ body was kept from decaying as a sign that he would rise. And that’s the 8^th miracle, that we will celebrate on Easter morning. And ironically, the number 8 in the Bible symbolizes a new creation or new life.

What all these miracles mean for us is that we need not fear death, but instead, live in confident faith, with great hope. Considering all the miracles around Christ’s death, we can be sure that he will miraculously save us, too.

By sinning we’ve dug ourselves in a deep hole, but Jesus died to rescue us from that deep pit of sin and death.

Miraculously forgiven and rescued from sin and death, we live to serve our gracious God; and we live to love one another, both now in time, and forever in eternity.  We are His living, loving miracles.

Thank you, dear Jesus, for your miraculous love, for your terrible but miraculous death, and for your miraculous life forever.

As we love and serve You, keep us, we pray, forever in the miracle of Your peace, which passes our understanding, and guards our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our miraculous and loving Lord. Amen.