CLEAN (Personal Reflection - GOOD FRIDAY)

Precious blood has left me forgiven

Pure like the whitest of snow

Powerful to make sin and shame retreat

This covenant is making me whole

So I will rise and lift my head

For by His mercy my life was spared 

The highest Name has set me free

Because of Jesus

My heart is clean

Purify my heart in Your presence

Teach me to discover the joy

Of holiness that forms as You draw me close

In You what was lost is restored

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There is nothing more beautiful than a hymn sung a-Capella with harmony. I grew up singing in many choirs, ensembles and worship groups, so I have a deep appreciation for the intricacy of harmony which cuts through the air like no other. Considering the gravity of Good Friday, the simplicity of "Clean," by Hillsong United, is a perfect song of reflection to honor the sacrifice Jesus made over 2,000 years ago. Just as there is no need for numerous instruments to convey the beauty of this song, there is no necessity to over-complicate Good Friday as well. Its historical meaning and eternal significance speak for themselves. What's more important for us to remember is how MOURNING is one of the greatest teachings of Scripture we could ever embrace. Jesus said in His sermon on the mount, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matthew 5:4). This verse is familiar to many of us for it is a popular word of encouragement during funerals when loved ones pass away. However, most people would be surprised to learn Jesus' intent was not to offer a word of comfort to those mourning the death of a loved one. Rather, this verse speaks to those who mourn over their sin, for comfort is the byproduct of owning our failures and recognizing the eternal significance and impact sin has on our relationship with God. For many of us, Good Friday is simply a quick reminder that Jesus died on the cross of Calvary for the sins of mankind. However, it begs two simple questions. Without realizing, do we compartmentalize Good Friday in our minds to avoid the harsh reality that Jesus endured indescribable pain and horrific torture on our behalf? Or perhaps more plainly, do we recognize our indirect role as Christ's judge and executioner based on our continual addiction to sin in our lives? Isaiah reminds us He was scourged (beaten and whipped) beyond recognition to the extent He should have died from the flogging itself. Moreover, "His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind" (Isaiah 52:14), which paints a much more gruesome picture than we care to remember. "In his passion, Jesus was beaten into a shockingly inhuman mass of wounded flesh" (ESV Study Bible), yet very few of us care to admit that when we sin, we are carrying out His unjust sentence and secondarily performing the torturous acts against Him.

To mourn our sin means we understand, accept and embrace all the facets and intricacies of Biblical repentance which reconcile our hearts to God. Therefore, we must not only own our sins, but also correlate our iniquities to the literal torture and execution of Christ. In other words, we comprehend in our minds how sin leads to spiritual death, but we typically stop short of recognizing ourselves as Jesus' executioner. That is why Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ" is so gripping to the eye, because it does not sugarcoat what really happened. Rather, it paints a horrifying picture, historically accurate, of the torture and execution techniques commonly used 2,000 years ago. Without question, it comes across as barbaric and inhumane to our modern sensibilities, but the gravity of seeing Jesus' flesh ripped apart at the expense of a leather whip strewn with metal prongs and shards of glass should compel us to tears, and more importantly, give us a sobering glimpse into the destructive reality of atonement our sin demands. Scripture affirms, "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. 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 53:4–6). This is certainly not a message any of us care to deeply reflect upon this joyous Easter holiday, but the reality of Good Friday alone demands we stop compartmentalizing ourselves from the Gospel story and start recognizing the part we played. We simply cannot allow self-righteousness to render us incapable of condemning Jesus. That was the Pharisees' problem. They considered themselves above the law and able to justify their sinful thoughts and actions, which consequently led them to discredit and/or erradicate anyone who stood in their way (i.e. Jesus). Therefore, we are wise to reconsider Good Friday with fresh perspective, grounded in humility and a solemn understanding of our role Jesus' death. Far too long we have been content to gloss over Good Friday as if it were a quick pit stop on the 3-day journey to Easter. Unfortunately, our passivity to stop and seriously contemplate what truly happened on the road to Calvary has desensitized us to the point we've minimized how guilty we truly are.

"Precious blood has left me forgiven, pure like the whitest of snow, powerful to make sin and shame retreat. This covenant is making me whole." The whole point of forcing our minds to soak upon the gory details of Jesus' torture and execution is to magnify how precious His gift of salvation truly is. When we consider how Jesus, innocent and blameless, was unjustly crucified for sins He never committed, we begin to understand more deeply why God chose to sacrifice His son on our behalf the way He did. "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly" (1 Peter 2:22–23). Our sins are the epitome of wretchedness and filth, which demand God's wrath be poured out to atone for our transgressions. For we cannot stand in the presence of God for eternity with any stain of unrighteous guilt on our hands, which is why Jesus sacrificed His own body to the point of torture and crucifixion so we would not have to endure it ourselves. Just as God's immeasurable love is magnified by His holy wrath, we are washed, cleansed and forgiven, without stain or blemish, by the precious blood of Jesus. "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (Romans 5:8–11). The beauty of God's covenant of salvation is that He offers it freely to every man, woman and child who humbles themselves and submits to the supreme authority of Scripture, God's Word, through obeying His commands. By surrendering our lives to Christ, we are set free from the stronghold of sin in our hearts, and born-again into new life with Jesus. Therefore, we are forever united with Him as our Lord and Savior, who gave His life to ensure we would live for eternity. "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3–4).

"So I will rise and lift my head, for by His mercy my life was spared. The highest Name has set me free, because of Jesus my heart is clean." This chorus echoes the time a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus. The Pharisees sought to entrap Him in blasphemy in order to justify His arrest, so they calculated an opportunity to see if He would reject the Law of Moses. There was no denying this woman had committed a grievous sin which the law demanded retribution in the form of death by stoning. What happened next, though, is truly remarkable. "Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more'" (John 8:6–11). The reason the Pharisees could not follow through with stoning this guilty, adulterous woman was because Jesus challenged them to first remove the log from their own eye before judging the sins of another. "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?" (Matthew 7:3). What we cannot miss is that unlike the Pharisees who were sinners just like us, Jesus was perfect and sinless. He actually had the power and authority to not only judge her, but carry out her death sentence without question. However, Jesus chose to lift her head from the ashes and forgive her sin, sparing her life with immeasurable grace and mercy because He knew He would eventually die shortly thereafter for the sins she committed. "But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:4–5). Just because Jesus died for the sins of mankind doesn't mean we automatically go to heaven when we die on account of what happened at the cross and empty tomb. Rather, we must BELIEVE what happened is true, and in turn ACCEPT Christ's death, burial and resurrection as atonement for the forgiveness of our sins. Only then can we be assured salvation for eternity. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8–9).

"Purify my heart in Your presence. Teach me to discover the joy of holiness that forms as You draw me close. In You, what was lost is restored." "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment" (Psalm 51:1–4). King David wrote this honest prayer because he was convicted in his spirit by the prophet Nathan that he had sinned mightily against God. David had to humble himself (as king), publicly own his sin, and unconditionally accept the consequences of his actions to receive reconciliation with God through repentance. It was not easy for such a proud king as David to be brought humiliatingly low, but God redeemed his heart and washed away his iniquity because David did not shy away from the spiritual responsibility his faith in God demanded. That is why we can all learn so much from Psalm 51 and apply its wisdom and understanding as our blueprint for repentance when we stray from God's righteous standard. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit" (Psalm 51:10–12). Again, mourning our sin with the same passion and exhaustion we mourn the death of a loved one is the key to experiencing peace which transcends all understanding. For we are not called to wallow in our shame for eternity; rather, guilt should motivate us to reconcile our hearts to God so we can relinquish the scarlet letter of regret we tend to hold onto at the foot of the cross. "But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:22–23).

In the end, there must be a stop-gap placed in our hearts and minds when temptation presents itself. Paul wrote, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:13–14). Inevitably, our spiritual survival hinges upon the depth at which mourning sin resides in our soul. If our intentions are shallow, we will fall victim to idolatry and continue sinning without the slightest remorse and/or desire to break the cycle. However, if our mourning reaches the depths of our souls, we have a far greater chance of resisting temptation and avoiding getting entrapped in its deadly snare. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you" (James 4:7–10). Bottom-line, Good Friday should not only be a day of remembrance for the Christian church, but a sobering reminder that our sins drive the nails deeper into our Savior's hands and feet, the thorns deeper into His brow, and the sword deeper into His side. Therefore, we need literal perspective on occasion to break through the compartmentalization of our minds which separates personal sin from what happened at Calvary. It's easy to blame the Pharisees for instigating Jesus' arrest and manipulating His trial and ultimate, death sentence, but are we so foolish to presume we played no part in His execution? In other words, we will never be the ones who shouted, "Crucify Him," that fateful day before Pilate, but we are indeed endorsing His crucifixion every moment we yield to temptation and willingly choose to sin. It is a sobering reality, but necessary to drive home how serious sin is and the penalty required to pay our ransom. King David humbly confessed, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:17). Therefore, may we never forget the ultimate price Jesus paid to purchase our souls from hell and reconcile our hearts to the Father—perhaps then the gruesome details of His flogging and crucifixion will convict us enough to steer us away from our tempestuous patterns once and for all. "Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise" (Psalm 51:14–15).