Friday is the day the sin debt was paid. Soldiers led Jesus to the place of crucifixion. They nailed Him to a wooden cross as a public display of Rome’s wrath. God, however, was working out something much bigger. This was planned “before the foundation of the world.” (Ephesians 1:4)

Seven hundred years before the crucifixion, the prophet Isaiah gazed across the centuries and wrote, “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53)

“Good Friday” witnessed God reconciling mankind to Himself. His Son took our place. Love compelled Him. Jesus wasn’t just dying, He was bearing the full weight of God’s judgment against evil. “He who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

  After hours of an excruciating and humiliating crucifixion, Jesus spoke a word from the cross. In Greek it is “Tetelestai.” It is an accounting term that means, “Paid in full.” With that word, Jesus proclaimed that sin’s penalty was paid. Our debt is canceled, His goal accomplished. This was His purpose, “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)