In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.
 
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”  This may seem like an odd verse for Good Friday.  We think of this as being a somber day, a day of repentance and reflection upon sin.  It is, but we also must remember that we do not mourn as those who have no hope.  We certainly do focus on the crucifixion, the ultimate price paid by Our Lord for the sake of sheep who love to wander, people who sin in thought, word, and deed, in ways known and unknown.  But we cannot and must not pretend that we don’t know what’s coming.  We know the end of the story, and so there certainly is a note of victory, of rejoicing that runs through this day.  If you want proof, look in the back hallways or side rooms of churches around Cleveland, and around the world.  Lilies are waiting, lined up, waiting to adorn the Altar in praise of Jesus’ resurrection.  We know, and so we rejoice.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.
 
Today is one of the greatest days in the Church calendar, and not just because it is Good Friday.  According to tradition, March 25 is the date of the major events which foreshadowed the salvation of the world by Jesus Christ.  Tradition records that March 25 was the first day after God finished His work of creation and His resting, and likely the same day man fell into sin and was promised a Savior.  By some calculations it is also the date on which Abraham was prevented from sacrificing Isaac, a preview of the Crucifixion.  It is believed to be the date when Israel crossed through the Red Sea, an allusion to Baptism and crossing through the Blood of Christ into eternal life.  Moving into the life of Christ, March 25 is the date on which we celebrate the Annunciation, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary as announced by the Angel Gabriel.  This date of March 25 comes from the transition from a lunar calendar, which the Jews used, to the Gregorian calendar, which the world uses today.  The Passover is celebrated at sundown the 14th of the month of Nisan, which translates to March 25 on our calendar.  Ancient tradition held that great people died on the date of their conception, and for that reason we celebrate the Annunciation on March 25, and Christmas nine months later on December 25.  All of that aside, whether tradition correctly records all these events as happening on March 25 we may never know.  However, it is fitting for us to take all of these events into consideration because all of them are fulfilled in Christ.  The link between the Annunciation and Good Friday is particularly important, because on the same day we celebrate God taking on our flesh we celebrate Him laying it down to redeem the world from sin and death.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.
 
When God gave His Law to the people of Israel He taught them that blood was important.  It is not something to treat casually.  The whole of Leviticus chapter 17 centers on the sanctity of blood.  God expressly forbids the shedding of an animal’s blood apart from sacrifices to make atonement and especially the ingestion of an animal’s blood: “And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people” (Lev. 17:10).  Why is blood so special?  “The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Lev. 17:11). 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Ghost.
 
The events of this week are summed up in the description of Jesus in today’s Epistle: “Jesus, who, being in the form of God did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, … made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”  But what does that odd phrase “did not consider it robbery” mean?  The Greek word itself is difficult to break down, and is only used once in the New Testament.  The best understanding of this phrase is really, “Against all expectation, Jesus did not regard equality with God as a gain to be utilized” (TDNT).  In His earthly life, Jesus never boasted that He is God.  Though He could have done any number of miracles, could have fed Himself in the wilderness, could have taken Himself off the cross, could have changed His own Law to say that innocent Blood wasn’t required to forgive sin, He didn’t.  He endured it all.  He never abused His divinity, wiggled his nose, and made everything right.  Just the opposite.  He endured every hardship imaginable to earn your salvation, to say that He has been where you are—in hunger, depression, poverty, temptation, abandonment, and every other negative thing.  He didn’t avoid the tragedy of human life in a sinful, dying world like a monarch avoiding the slums in a tour of his cities.  He lived it all, He was at all times God in the flesh, possessed the same almighty power as God the Father, but refrained from always and fully using it.