Take a moment or two to think about your last bad day. A day when expectations were crushed. Perhaps someone you loved treated you with disdain. A day where you may have endured an underserved consequence. A sudden loss of a dream or a loved one. Or a day where you got precisely what your imperfect actions deserved, yet the regret and sorrow made the day painful. Whatever caused the bad day, chances are high that they do not compare to what Jesus endured for us over 2,000 years ago.
The Apostle Peter wrote the verses above around 65 AD. Yet, on four separate occasions, he quotes the words from the prophet Isaiah, written 700 years before Jesus hung on the cross. Isaiah chapter 53 speaks of a suffering servant who carried our burdens, was crushed for our sins, and rejected by those he created. Jesus became the suffering servant and fulfilled these words on the day we call Good Friday. So why would we call one of the worst days in history good? We can confidently call today good because Jesus did something for us that we could never have endured ourselves on Good Friday. Instead of being crushed for our sins, He was. Instead of suffering the weighty consequences of our actions, by His wounds, we are healed. Instead of being lost after running away from God, He came to find us.
So now, go back to your bad day. Think about the shame, the pain, the suffering, and on this Good Friday, give the bad to God. He paid for it all on the cross, and that’s what makes today good.