Good Friday of the Lords Passion

Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus suffered and died on the cross because people didn’t believe Him that He is God. They saw in Him a teacher, a prophet, a man with extraordinary power, but they couldn’t stand when Jesus was trying to tell them that He indeed is the one for whom they have been waiting -- the Son of God. This made them so angry that they accused Him of blaspheming and thus killed Him for it. We know that Jesus had a divine nature; He is God and human at the same time. However, over 2000 years ago, they were unable to see in this man, who looked like every ordinary person, God. They expected that the Messiah would come as a royal king, with all his power and richness. In Jesus they saw a man but could not recognize God. The paradox is that today, many of us recognize that Jesus is God, but we can’t see Him as a simple human. We worship Him on beautifully decorated crucifixes, in golden tabernacles, in majestic basilicas around the world, and we think of Him as a powerful King, looking at us from on high. But Jesus said that He can also be found in another person. He does have a divine nature; He is God and human and we can’t separate those two. On this Good Friday, while you venerate the cross, thank God that He became one of us, that He is human and God.