A WORD FOR TODAY, April 3, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, April 3, 2026
“You, being in past times alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil deeds, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without defect and blameless before him, if it is so that you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the Good News which you heard, which is being proclaimed in all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a servant.” Colossians 1:21-23, WEB
Why do we call this day “Good Friday?” How could something so horrible be called good? The form of capital punishment used on Jesus was cruel and painful. The criminal was beaten, humiliated, hung from a cross, and left to suffocate. If they took too long to die, the soldiers broke their legs so that they could not push upward with their feet to get a breath of air. They were not given water to drink, but rather vinegar that was sometimes laced with poison.
Good Friday is part of what we call Triduum, The Three Days. It began the evening of Maundy Thursday and then continues through the evening of Easter Sunday. A vigil is held Saturday night which counts down the moments until sunrise, recalling the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament as the Christians waited for the rising of the Son of God to new life. Ancient Christians baptized new believers at the end of the vigil so that they could partake in the first Communion after the Resurrection.
After the Passover meal, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples to pray and wait. Jesus asked very little of His disciples over the years they were together, but at this final hour He asked them to stay awake with Him and pray. Three times Jesus found them sleeping, unconcerned about things to come. For them this was a night like any other night. Jesus asked them to pray, not for His well-being but for their own. They needed the strength that was gained through a close personal relationship with God to get them through the events of the next few days. They needed to be in prayer so that they would not fall into temptation. They would face anger, fear, confusion, and doubt, leading them to do something stupid or lose all hope just like Judas whose despair led to his destruction.
Jesus prayed in that garden, asking God if there were not some other way to accomplish the work to be done. But even at the moment of His greatest anguish, when His prayers brought sweat that was mingled with blood, He submitted Himself to the good and perfect will of His Father. “Not my will, but yours be done.”
For the next few hours, the world seemed in control. A large crowd was led by Judas into the garden in the dark of night with torches and swords. They came to take Him away as if He were a traitor, leading a rebellion against them. Peter had one of the two swords the disciples carried with them, and he used it to strike one of the servants. Jesus stopped that foolishness, for how could twelve men with two swords defeat such a crowd? Jesus touched the ear of the servant and healed him, then went willingly with the crowd to His trial and death.
Those hours were grueling. Peter denied knowing Jesus. The guards mocked and beat Him. Caiaphas brought forth false witnesses, Pilate washed his hands of the matter, and the priests goaded the crowds into a frenzy until they cried out for His crucifixion. The disciples disappeared into hiding, afraid for their very lives.
Jesus was forced to carry His own cross until He could no longer stand under its weight. The Roman soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry it to the hill for Him. The women followed, weeping for their beloved Master and friend. They did not understand that this was His hour of glory. This was not a time of darkness but of light. This was the culmination of God’s love and mercy, the moment when the wages of sin, meaning death, would be defeated for all who believe in Him.
At the Skull, the place of crucifixion, Jesus was nailed to the cross. He spoke little during these hours, but every word was powerful and meaningful for those who heard. He spoke the words of David from the psalms, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” This means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This psalm was the anguished prayer of a righteous sufferer, one that did not call for the Lord to avenge the wrongs done. He then said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Though we see this as His darkest hour, for Jesus this is the hour of His fulfillment, when death was defeated so that life could reign. That life is found in forgiveness for all our sins.
One of the thieves ridiculed Jesus, telling Him to save them and Himself. The other asked Jesus to remember Him in His Kingdom. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” The world grew dark as the sun stopped shining. The curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. God would no longer live in a box for the Jews, but would bring life to the world through the death of His Son.
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Jesus’ time was closing quickly. It would not take Him days to die. They would not need to feed Him poison or break His legs. Jesus was here by His own free will and would die at the moment He chose. Many of the people who had gathered began to grieve over what had happened. A centurion proclaimed, “Surely this was the Son of God.” Jesus turned to His mother who still lingered at the base of the cross. She was with John, the beloved disciple. He said, “Dear woman, here is your son. Here is your mother.” From that day forward, John took Mary into His home and cared for her.
“I thirst.” He once again turns to the words of the Psalms, speaking not only of the physical need for something to drink, but the utter loneliness He felt at that moment. David wrote in Psalm 22:15, “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of the earth.” The story we’ve been hearing all week seems to end abruptly, making us ask whether it is too late. Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He gave up His spirit. Is it really over?
Jesus died at the ninth hour, 3:00 PM. Even to the final moment of His life, Jesus was in control. Those final moments on the cross, He took care of His business He forgave His enemies, honored His mother and found a son to care for her, and provided the hope of Salvation to a sinner in need. When all was complete, when the scriptures had been fulfilled, Jesus finished the work.
The world rocked with the anger of God. The earth shook and the rocks split. A centurion pierced Jesus in the side, and His blood spilled into the earth. The curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom. This curtain was not some flimsy piece of material like lace, easily ripped. It was thick, a wall like protective covering over the Most Holy Place, the dwelling of God Himself. Within the room which was covered by this curtain was the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, the Throne of God. When Jesus died, God opened the way into His presence for all people, not just the High Priest. God would no longer live in a box.
Where was everyone else at this point? Judas, so upset by the events of the day, went back to the priests and confessed his sin against Jesus. He gave back the money. But there was no one left who could help him see the forgiveness offered by Jesus. The priests did not care; they got what they wanted. Jesus was unable to speak to Judas, and the disciples were scared and hiding. So, Judas did the only thing he felt he could do. He committed suicide to end the pain.
When Jesus was arrested, the disciples hid in the crowds. They listened in fear to the false accusations and watched the events unfold. Peter wept because he was so heartbroken that he denied Jesus. Only a few of Jesus’ closest companions were at the foot of the cross. His mother was comforted by John as she watched Him die. Mary Magdalene was there, too. She had anointed Him once, just days before, and now she would have to anoint Him again, but this time for His grave. Several other women wept in the crowds.
The hour of His sorrow, pain, and humiliation was over, but it would last for several days for the disciples. They would grieve the loss of their beloved friend and teacher. They would fear for their lives. They would try to make sense of it all. How did this happen and why? What would they do now? Should they just return to their old lives and forget these past few years? Nothing was as it should be, nothing was right. Oh, LORD, where are you?
After the crucifixion, the disciples hid from the world and mourned the loss of their beloved teacher and companion. Can you imagine the things they must have thought about, and talked about? Who was Jesus? Why did He die? Why did we spend these years following Him? What will happen to us? Had we truly wasted three years of our lives? Is this really the end?
We, too, consider these questions as we journey with Jesus, particularly at times of sorrow and distress. Why me, why now, why this? Is this really the end?
We know that Easter is the end of the story, but the disciples spent the next few hours in fear and confusion. I encourage you to spend the next day mourning the death of Jesus, the death that rocked the world but saved you and I. Read through the story again from the Gospels: Matthew 26:36-27:56, Mark 14:32-15:41, Luke 22:39-23:49, John 18:1-19:37. Each writer gave his own perspective of the story, while remaining true to the event. For a fuller understanding of the depth of Jesus’ love for us, for what He did that day so long ago, read each of the Gospel accounts in their entirety. Experience this day of mourning along with them to truly understand the depth of God’s love for those who believe. Good Friday is a day that seems so bad but is so good, because without the Cross, we can never have Easter.
In today’s scripture passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Paul reminds us why He did this: we were separated from God our Creator and Father. Jesus died to reconcile us to Him. He makes us holy and blameless before our God, an impossible task except for the one who is holy and blameless. He did this so that we would be made new, given faith to live as we were created to live, to dwell in the hope that God promised for us from the very beginning of time. He did this because He loved us so much, He was willing to do anything to make us right again.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276.