Now a living fountain, see!

Today is Good Friday and I just wanted to write a post about this time of year and what it means to me and to all Christians around the world...


Today is the day that we remember the day that Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of the one true God, was betrayed and tortured and murdered for the sins of the world who had turned against him. Whenever this time of year rolls around I always find myself subconsciously wishing we could skip the whole Good Friday thing and go straight to the rejoicing, joyful part: Easter Sunday. But for some reason this year, I've been embracing this short period of remembering what I used to be, where I was, and what my God did to rescue me. I want to share with you some of the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and his plan to redeem his people.


The prophet Isaiah, through the revelation of God, prophesied of the birth of Jesus hundreds of years before it actually happened. 


     "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14 (This prophecy was fulfilled and the account of this can be found in Matthew 1:18-25)
    
The work of Jesus Christ was also prophesied in Isaiah.


      “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
      Because the LORD has anointed Me
      To preach good tidings to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives,
      And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
        To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
      And the day of vengeance of our God;
      To comfort all who mourn,
       To console those who mourn in Zion,
      To give them beauty for ashes,
      The oil of joy for mourning,
      The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
      That they may be called trees of righteousness,
      The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3 (This prophecy was fulfilled and the account is found in the four Gospel books in the Bible, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

The death of Jesus was prophesied in Isaiah.

      He is despised and rejected by men,
      A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
      And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
      He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
        Surely He has borne our griefs
      And carried our sorrows;
      Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
      Smitten by God, and afflicted.
        But He was wounded for our transgressions,
      He was bruised for our iniquities;
      The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
      And by His stripes we are healed.
       All we like sheep have gone astray;
      We have turned, every one, to his own way;
      And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:3-6 (This prophecy was also fulfilled and the account is found in all four Gospel. One reference is from the book of Matthew 26-27)

Jesus died the death the whole of mankind deserved but to prove to the world that he was more powerful  than Satan and death, he rose again from the dead three days after His crucifixion. Through Jesus' resurrection, he conquered death and made a way for sinful man to be reconciled to God. 

 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.  The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
  The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.  Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Matthew 28:1-10

If you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted him as your savior, I would encourage you to spend today remembering what he did for you. Remember that there is nothing you can do to earn your salvation and that it took the hideous torturing and death of Jesus Christ to make your place in heaven available. Only his blood is sufficient to save. Remember that everyday not just on Good Friday.

If you don't believe in Jesus Christ or are unsure about the Gospel, I would ask you to consider the Scripture above. The bolded passages above come from the Bible, the holy, inerrant word of God that is powerful and living. God is powerful and the death of Jesus has made the way for sinners to restore their broken relationship with God. He is mighty to save and his grace is sufficient for you. 

In His power and strength alone...

M