“Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away and turned him over to Pilate.” Mark 15:1.
This day is called, Good Friday. Why could this day be called “Good” Friday, above all other Fridays in the year? It is simply because, as hard as this Friday was for Jesus to ‘get through,’ it was the last few dramatic steps of a journey, to provide a new beginning for all of mankind. It was a dark time for all of humanity.
Prophetic voices had ceased. Religion was not relationship. Corruption, poverty, despair, war and confinement, were the ‘order of the day,’ for most people. With little or no access to the limited medicine of their time, if you got sick, you recovered simply, because you weren’t that ill, or you died. There was nothing to rejoice about in life on this earth.
Even a new-born baby was simply another mouth to find food for. As a nation, God’s people were in ‘lockdown’ to the Romans and were, spiritually, in ‘lockdown’ until “faith came.” Gal. 3:23. Life was defined by its prohibitions. Jesus came to give all of mankind, a new beginning.
In this season of ‘lockdown, God is allowing this ‘compression’ to work in all of us, new beginnings: a new focus on what is truly important; a new valuing of relationship to Him, as He is truly the Source for our lives; a new valuing of relationships as we can’t get out to see others; a new faith to believe for the miraculous as we have no earthly options; a new confidence in His Word; and many more things.
Let us all, in the ‘forced quietness’ of our ‘confinement,’ hear the Lord speak of the new ways of living He has for us in these new days of new beginnings!