The Depth of Despair

     For Christendom, Good Friday represents the darkest of days in the events of our Lord's journey here on earth.  Even though he spent a good deal of time trying to make the disciples aware of what He must go through to fulfill His mission of bringing salvation to mankind, they could not grasp it.  So when events began to unfold, they reacted as many of us would have done.  They fell asleep when the Lord asked them to watch and pray with Him.  Then, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, they ran away out of fear.  Only Simon Peter had the daring to follow behind to see what would become of the Lord.  Yet, in the end, even he denied His Master three times.  Despair, confusion, darkness, fear would all be good words to describe their emotions as they watched events play out.
     In Scripture, we are not told many details about them after they ran from the Garden, but we can put ourselves in their position easily enough.  These men whom Jesus had called watched the miracles, heard the parables, walked with the Lord and listened as He taught.  Perhaps they believed the kingdom would come through Him at the time in which they lived.  After all, He was welcomed into Jerusalem with great fanfare by the citizens.  However, within days, everything changed rapidly until on Friday, Pilate handed Him over to be scourged and crucified.  With His death, the "air" went out of the room so to speak.  How could this be?  They had seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead, but they found it hard to believe that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

Jesus is the light in our darkness.

     As the hour approached of His death, Scripture tells us what nature's response to this terrible moment was like:  (Matthew 27:51-53) "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn top to bottom.  And the earth shook and the rocks were split.  The tombs also were opened.  And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of their tombs after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many."  While these are amazing phenomena took place, it would take the resurrection to fully grasp all that God had just accomplished.
     Most everyone reading this can identify with the painful, shocking day which the disciples experienced on Good Friday.  They may have felt like they let the Lord down, and imagine how deeply sorrowful Peter was for his denial.  In our lives, we also have had times and days when the sky is black and all seems lost.  Maybe we have been a long time caregiver for a loved one who is not improving.  Perhaps we have had a beloved family member die suddenly, and we, like the disciples, cannot fathom why this should have happened.  Each of us is destined to walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" and if we stop there, we are cheated of the peace we can know in Christ who walks with us all the way.
     What the disciples could not grasp and what we often miss is that the Scripture tells us in Psalm 30:5:  "For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."  God poured out His wrath and punishment on Christ for our sake.  The day seemed dark and filled with despair for the disciples, but the resurrection was coming when the darkness was overcome by the light of the world.  The bondage of sin was broken.  The pain and suffering would lead to great rejoicing.
     Often when we are caught up in the despair and pain of this world, we cannot see what God has for us ahead.  We think we shall never be happy again, but God is the lifter of our head.  He has given us the victory over sin and death.  He shines His light into our darkness when we come to Him in true surrender.
     As we meditate on this day and the suffering of our Lord, we must remember that He knows what it is to walk in the darkness and despair of this life, but He also reminds us:  "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John xvi:33).  With Him, we will see the light again and the joy that comes from living in His victory.  Selah!