Holy Week – Day 6

Each blog this week will have two parts: 1. What happened? 2. What does it mean to us?
1. What happened on Friday of Holy Week?
Jesus was arrested by temple soldiers and taken to the Jewish leaders. He was tried before Annas, then Caiaphas, and, as the first light of day came, formally condemned by the Sanhedrin. Next he was tried by the Romans, first Pilate, then Herod, then back to Pilate, where he was sentenced to be crucified, even though the governor found “no crime in him.” The mob prevailed, and he was crucified. He was on the cross from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., then buried in a borrowed tomb. His death was like no other, because he was God’s own sacrifice for us, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” As Isaiah wrote years before it happened, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6 NIV).
2. What does it mean to us?
Perhaps hymns and gospel songs best declare what it means to us: “He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay; I needed someone to wash my sins away. And, now, I sing a brand new song, ‘Amazing Grace.’ Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay. Yes, Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay” (by Ellis Crum). As the hymn says, we first saw the light at the cross (Isaac Watts). “There’s room at the cross for you. Though millions have come, there’s still room for one. Yes, there’s room at the cross for you” (Ira Stanphill).
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Click here to read an account of the day’s events (Last year’s blog about Day 6 of Holy Week).
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You may review last year’s blogs on Holy Week by clicking on “April 2011” in the “Archive” column in the right column of the index page. The blogs began on April 17, 2011 and concluded on April 24, 2011. The blogs give more details about each day during Holy Week.