On behalf of the Columbus Ministerial Alliance, we cordial -
ly invite you to join us for our Community Sunrise Service cel - ebrating the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The service will be held at Bea - son Crossing Park at 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, April 20. Even though the service is brief, we still en - courage you to bring a lawn chair with you. It is easy to know why some in our community greet one an - other on this special day of re - membrance with words like, "He is risen!" To which some joyfully reply, "He is risen indeed!" Oth -
ers say, "Happy Easter!" What a wonderful day! However, before
one arrives at Resurrection Sun- day, there is another important gospel remembrance known as Good Friday. But some may wonder in curiosity, what makes the suffering and death of Christ a "good" Friday? As I read through the Gospel of Mark a few weeks ago I saw the answer to this perplexing question in the unexpected pardon of a man named Barabbas as recorded in Mark 15:6-15. It is strange how the Bible can con -
nect with us personally in a way that is similar to a mirror show - ing us a reflection of ourselves in its pages. That is what happened when I read this historical ac - count of how a guilty man was set free - and in his place of pun-
ishment, Jesus was crucified. Mark 15:6 in some ways re -
sembles a picture of salvation, offering sinful mankind the re -
lease from the judgment of our sins. The verse that follows (15:7)
addresses the problem of sin. The facts were that Barabbas was a rebel and a murderer. Romans
says that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (3:23). Isaiah the prophet spoke of the reason the Messiah would come, and he put it this way, "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." (53:6). As we become aware of our sin, we humbly request a plea regarding our sentence as depict -
ed in Mark 15:8.
We can also behold the sin-
lessness of Christ in Mark 15:14 as even a man who was no fol - lower of Jesus admitted to the crowd, "Why? What evil has He done?" The purity of the Savior is the basis for God the Father's acceptance of the spiritual ex- change, the debts of the guilty forgiven as the innocent Son of God sacrifices His life in order to offer a pardon through His sub -
stitute (15:15). This is why Good Friday is a good Friday. He died
for our sins.
