Originally written for the Good Friday service at Christ Community Bible Church in Arlington, Texas.

His hour had come at last.

 

The hour that all creation had been waiting for

Since the woman first sank her teeth into

A morsel of fruit

And plunged the world into death and decay.

 

This was the hour foretold by prophets,

Sung about by choirs,

Longed for by sufferers,

Written about by the ancients.

 

For three years, Jesus had said,

“My hour has not yet come.”

And finally on that night, he prayed,

“Father, the hour has come.”

 

It came about on that scandalous night.

 

Scandalous, because why would

The innocent be crucified?

Why would the divine God

Step into the place of wrath-deserving sinners?

 

Scandalous, because he was

Betrayed by the kiss of a friend,

Deserted by his followers,

Stricken and mocked by Roman guards.

 

Scandalous, because never before

Has such love been lavished

Where it’s been most undeserved,

And never before was the sacrificial system

Finally satisfied and paid in full.

 

And yet—it was the most beautiful night in history.

 

Beautiful, because the impossibility

Of sinners approaching a holy God

Became a possibility

Through Christ’s propitiation on our behalf.

 

Beautiful, because the darkness of death

Didn’t get to have the final say,

Even as the sinless one gasped out,

“It is finished.”

 

Beautiful, because what was finished

Was the payment for sins

That a just and holy God needed

To have mercy on sinners who could never pay.

 

The night felt long and endless

As they stood by and watched his torment,

Tears streaming down at the horror,

Hearts broken by the cruel murder.

 

Yet little did they know that this scandalous night

Would be remembered for all eternity

As the most beautiful night

Because the Messiah paid the debt,

Loved us to the end,

Stood in the gap,

Willingly offered himself,

And conquered death.

 

May we forever give him

All the glory that he’s due.

 

Photo by Juan Alcantara on Unsplash.