The Lion of Judah Became the Lamb of Sacrifice. And We Call This Friday Good.

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5

Nobel laureate poet T.S. Eliot once wrote that “in spite of that, we call this Friday good.” In the face of a bloody messiah, in the face of a dead Lord and a stricken God, we call it good. Why? Because this is the our burden to bear, but it’s borne by Jesus. There’s a story I really like about how Mel Gibson, director of The Passion of the Christ, only appears in the movie once: as the hands driving the nails into Jesus’ hands. We put Jesus there, and we ask Him to go there. We need His wrath to pass over to be justified. The Lion became the Lamb. This is the “Lion Man” of Judah sung of by Ghost Ship, a song that turns the sorrow of Good Friday into a victory anthem, that with the cross Jesus’ won. And it’s what you have to hear right now.

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