a Good Friday reflection

The world turned upside down...

Photo by Kaileen Fitzpatrick on Unsplash

The world turned upside down.

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As a lover of music and the medium of hip-hop in particular, I am a fan of the show Hamilton. It undoubtedly takes a number of liberties in telling the story of Alexander Hamilton and, some would even argue, willfully distorts it. But it does paint a fascinating picture of a complicated man in a compelling time of history – a time when, as the show puts it, the world turned upside down.

But the days of Washington and Hamilton were completely uninteresting compared to the intrigue on the streets of Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. Shocking news of a trial, a conviction, and a crucifixion was spreading all over. The man mockingly called the King of the Jews was to die on a criminal’s cross because he dared to make himself a god and would share no glory with men.

Soon after, a different story would be told. That criminal went missing. His body wasn’t in the tomb. The government staged a cover-up. His disciples partied and celebrated his resurrection. 500 different people said they saw him after he died. The news traveled through the whole world and still sparks wonder today.

It’s a fascinating story, one that truly did flip the world upside down.

Jesus.

Slaughtered lamb offered for the sins of the world.

Death-defeating lion conquered death and the grave.

Ascended king ruling and reigning at the right hand of God.

And yet…I can’t get over thinking about the fine details. Especially when you consider the story of Jesus’ birth alongside the story of His death.

He was born in the middle of nowhere, a king in a stable. He was crucified in front of everyone, a criminal on a cross.

His birth was announced to simple, Jewish shepherds. His death was announced by cruel Roman soldiers.

His birth was sung and celebrated by angels. His death was mourned by weeping and wailing women.

His birth was the kiss of God’s grace. His death was the rod of God’s wrath.

His birth was greeted with the gifts of wisemen from afar. His death was greeted with the cheers of his own people.

In His birth, God took on flesh. In His death, God’s flesh was ripped apart.

In His birth, the darkness fled and the light came on. In His death, the darkness drowned out the sun.

In His birth, the world order was shaken. But in His death, the world flipped upside down.

Today is a day where we mourn and celebrate simultaneously.

We grieve that our sin severed us so deeply from God that the only solution was for God Himself to take on our flesh and be crushed on our behalf.

But we also celebrate the love of one who would do exactly that for us. It is this exact love that is extolled as patient and kind, greater than all other loves. The kind of love that would sacrifice itself not just for its friends but for its enemies.

And make no mistake, before the goodness of Christ Jesus our Lord appeared, we were enemies of God. We were walking in the flesh, given over to its desires.

But look today at the great price which God has paid to redeem us. The price of His very own Son. His one and only Son. His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

And so, though we mourn this great cost and our great sin, we celebrate our great Savior.

And we rejoice that, a few thousand years ago, the world truly turned upside down. In 500 generations, Hamilton’s story will be a distant memory. Who knows if the country he helped to found and build will even exist still? (I’m not betting on it.)

But what I do know is that the story of Jesus will still be told. It will be celebrated and sung and preached and believed. The story of Jesus will never fail. Because Jesus was dead, and now He’s alive.

And the world turned upside down.

Happy Good Friday.