Good Friday

We all know the story of Jesus being arrested, led before Pilate, being scourged with a whip called the cat of nine tails. He was so severely beaten that the flesh hung from His body. He was unrecognizable. The crown of thorns pierced his brow and He was hung on the cross by nails in His hands and feet! And yet he was without sin! He was the perfect lamb! He was led to the cross and yet he opened not His mouth!
Isaiah 53:7 (KJV)
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Acts 8:32 (KJV)
The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
Why didn’t He speak up and stop the pain and agony? Because He was fulfilling prophecy! Before the world was formed He knew He would die on a cross for the sins of all mankind.
1 Peter:1
18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

In the Old Testament the tabernacle, in the wilderness, was a place where every year people would be required to sacrifice a lamb, or a dove or whatever animal was required to roll their sins forward.
It was a gruesome process. The animal had to be your best animal, letting us know it was loved and cared for. They had to watch the priest kill it, drain its blood and put on the fire of the altar. Then they watched as the priests washed in the laver of water and enter into the tabernacle. This was a place the common people couldn’t go into. This tabernacle was a plain looking place on the outside. It was covered by badgers skins and wasn’t appealing to the eye. Jesus became the tabernacle of the Old Testament.
Isaiah 53: 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
However when we look inside the tabernacle in the Holy place there is gold, silver and brass. Fine linens of scarlets and blues. The furniture such as the golden candlesticks, the table of shewbread and the altar of incense were made of gold! Unimaginable beauty! In the Holy of Holies was the ark of the covenant overlayed with Gold!
Looking inside of Jesus holds beauty that we have not even scratched the surface!
It begins in the front of the fleshly tabernacle (Jesus)
Isaiah 9:6 says it like this! For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Jesus is Wonderful = Full of Wonder. We are forever amazed at His works.
He speaks to us as a dear friend leading us and guiding us daily. So He is our counselor.
He is the Mighty God and He has and continues to do mighty acts!
He is our Heavenly Father. He protects us and shields us from the god of this world (satanic forces). He directs our steps and even when I go thru the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil because He is with me!
He is the prince of peace. I can rely on Him keeping me in perfect peace when my mind is stayed on Him!
When we enter the Holy place we see the Golden candlestick that represents the Holy Spirit. It is the light that drives out the darkness within my human nature. Without the Spirit of God being alive in us with are without hope! I need that light working in me!
The next thing is the table of bread that represents the bread of life. The Holy Word of God. It feeds us and gives us spiritual nourishment. When we read the word we get a glimpse of the personality of God himself. We see what He loves and what he abhors. Thus teaching us how to be pleasing to God. It is my deepest desire to allow the will of God to be prevalent in my life and every day I pray God forgive me for the things that I have done that is not pleasing to you! I want to be Holy because He is Holy! That’s what the bread does for us!
Lastly we come to the altar of incense.its a place of praise and worship to our God! This altar gets you prepared to go into the inner place. The Holies of Holies where the ark of the covenant was placed. Inside the ark was miracles! Aaron’s rod that budded and produced fruit! The tables of stone that the finger of God wrote the Ten Commandments and a container of the Manna from heaven that sustained the Israelites.

This is what Jesus is! Jesus is all of this in a human body! And let us in on how to enter into this sacred place by giving us specific instructions on how to get inside the Holy place. He said to repent, (sacrifice our will and our fleshly desires on the altar) and to wash at the laver of water cleansing us of our old nature. When we look at our reflection in the water you will see Jesus.
In the tabernacle there was a veil that couldn’t be passed by common folks. Only the priests could go beyond the veil. The priests went on our behalf. But when Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple literally ripped into.
Mark 15:
37 ¶ And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
38 ¶ And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
We are much more valuable than animals! The old tabernacle plan required animal sacrifices to roll our sins forward but the new tabernacle Jesus Christ knew that the ultimate sacrifice needed to be a sinless man! Not just any man! But it required God himself to create himself a body, come to earth as a little baby and live among us. What He brought to us was redemption! Repentance gives a complete washing away of our sins! Jesus made that happen for you and I! He is our hope! He is hope for salvation! He is hope for healing and for deliverance and so much more!
When the used the cat of nine tails on him that was for our healing! He took 39 stripes and not by accident there are 39 disease categories! When they forced Him to carry his cross it was a part of the plan! When they nailed Him to the cross it was the plan! When He died it was the plan!
The devil should have been paying attention! He thought he was ending it all! He thought he would be the ultimate ruler of all mankind but boy was He surprised!
Let me tell you! God is in complete control! God knew before the world was formed that you and I was gonna living on earth in 2025! Nothing takes Him by surprise! He sees you and deeply cares about you! And He wants you to live with Him forever!
I know it isn’t the traditional message today but it is what God has given me. Thank you for reading to the end.

Prayer for today (btw…always pray out loud because Satan wants us to be silent. God knows our heart but He wants us to speak it! Jesus prayed out loud!):
Lord, I want to live a Holy life pleasing to You! Guide my footsteps in Your will! Open my heart and my mind to receive your word without reservation. Reveal to me the hidden treasures in your word and give me courage to step out of my comfort zone and obey. In Jesus’ Name I pray! Amen!