Reflections for Holy Week: His Cross . . . Our Salvation

GOOD FRIDAY | Psalm 22, Hebrews 10:16–25
By Dan Darko, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament 

Imagine the sense of despair, humiliation and agony on the cross of Calvary as Jesus exclaimed in the words of the psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!’ (Psalm 22:1; Matthew 27:46) Why? As we read in Psalm 22, this is not a cry from a sense of hopelessness but a lament to a faithful God. God desires to reconcile humanity to himself and, in his infinite wisdom, he chose to offer his sinless son as a sacrifice for the sin-full world. Thus he (Jesus) was despised, mocked and suffered not for what he had done but for those he came to save. He shared his life for the forgiveness of our sins—that we may have access to God and experience the abundance of his grace (Hebrews 10:19–20). We no longer approach God with guilty consciences, tear-stained cheeks or veiled faces in shame, but as a people secure in his love and warm embrace. In the words of the author of Hebrews, “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water” (10:22). Yes! God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were still sinners (just when we deserved the consequences of our sins), Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). As recipients of God’s love, then, let us love one another and glorify God in good deeds (Hebrews 10:24, Matthew 5:16).

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“Reflections for Holy Week”—daily devotionals written by Gordon College faculty and compiled by the Center for Faith and Inquiry (CFI)—was first published in the spring 2018 issue of STILLPOINT magazine. CFI is dedicated to forming thoughtful Christians for global engagement by carrying on valued traditions and innovating new ones—such as the Distinguished Visiting Scholars program, Jeffersonian dinners, the Gordon College Symposium and a variety of publications.