Daily Thought for Friday 18th April 2025 (Good Friday)
Colin Sinclair
“Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.”
John 19:16 (NRSV)
The day that changed the world
I still vividly remember the first time I heard the story of Good Friday. I was in S1 and attending my first ever SU holiday. I wanted to go because of all the activities on offer, and thought I could put up with the “religious bit”! To my surprise I increasingly found myself looking forward to the meetings. Lively singing, and short relevant prayer led into a talk that connected my world to the story of Jesus. About half way through the week someone told us the story of the cross. It was done very simply and, like all the gospel accounts, the speaker made no attempt to play on our emotions. They didn’t need to, because I was right there, drawn into the story.
I had become increasingly attracted to Jesus by the stories I had heard, and by what I had seen of the leaders’ lives. But this story was on a different level. His betrayal and arrest, the failure of the disciples, especially Peter, set the scene for the kangaroo court that followed. Whether before Annas and Caiaphas or before Pilate there was no possibility that justice would be done. I hoped that Pilate might see sense, and he nearly did, but in the end he walked away, washing his hands of his responsibilities. There was now no turning back. As if the cross were not enough, Jesus was tortured and humiliated before being crucified. Each gospel records a few of his final words, each I realised later full of significance. Then, when the end came, a cry of triumph “Finished” and quietly Jesus gave himself back to his Father.
Over 60 years later that story still moves me as no other has ever done. Today we need to find space and silence to let it into our lives afresh.
Shall we pray?
Lord Jesus, thank you that you set your face towards Jerusalem and in your grace and mercy you died for us. We are lost in wonder, love and praise, Amen.
Colin Sinclair is a retired minister living in Peebles. He was minister of Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh and Moderator of the General Assembly in 2019.
Thinking it through
What part of the story stands out for you?
How do you think the women at the foot of the cross coped with what they saw? What did the disciples who were not there feel?
Why do we call it “Good Friday” when it was so bad?