April 7, 2023
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday the verse from Isaiah quoted above will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word. That word is “all.”
The verse begins with what we may call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like sheep and have gone astray. We have turned every single one of us to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you are included in that first ‘all.’
The ‘all’ with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah tells us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own ways has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus.)
I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess we are included in the first and the last ‘all’ in this great verse, then we know what we need to know and we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news.
And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written: “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
Wishing everyone a Good Friday & Easter Sunday blessed with extra doses of God’s mercy, grace & the peace of Jesus Christ! (the blog posting elf!)
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 15, 2022
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”(Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday the verse from Isaiah quoted above will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word.
That word is “all.”
The verse begins with what we may call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like little sheep and have gone astray. We have turned every single one of us to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you are included in that first ‘all.’
The ‘all’ with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah tells us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own ways has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus.)
I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess we are included in the first and the last ‘all’ in this great verse, then we know what we need to know and we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news.
And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written:
“The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 2, 2021
“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished!’” (John 19:30)
These last words of Jesus on the cross actually are one word in the original language: “Tetelesti.” In those days this word was written over the record of a prisoner after completing his or her sentence in a Roman prison. “Tetelesti” was also written above the cross of a prisoner crucified by Rome. Jesus chose this word at the end of His suffering for your sins and mine.
What Jesus meant is that He paid in full a debt He did not owe because we owe a debt we cannot pay. Theologians refer to this as the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. One thought is that we cannot possibly add anything to what He finished for us on the cross. A more profound thought is that we must put our faith in what He did for us there.
Still another thought is if we could add anything to what He did or be forgiven on the basis of our own good works, then Christ did all that suffering for nothing.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweat great drops of blood as He pleaded with the Father to let this cup pass from Him.
The Father’s response was that there was no other way, so Jesus had to go to and through the suffering of the cross. To think we can save ourselves by our works is like saying to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior: “You really didn’t have to go through all that suffering because I can save myself by the good works I am doing.”
Do you believe in what Jesus finished on the cross? “It is finished.”
Dick Woodward, 28 August 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 10, 2020
“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished!’” (John 19:30)
These last words of Jesus are actually one word in the original language: “Tetelesti.”
This word was written over the record of a prisoner after completing his or her sentence in a Roman prison. “Tetelesti” was also written above the cross of a prisoner crucified by Rome.
What a providential irony that Jesus chose this word at the end of His suffering for your sins and mine.
What Jesus meant is that He paid in full a debt He did not owe because we owe a debt we cannot pay. Theologians call this the “finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.” One thought is that we cannot add anything to what He finished for us there on the cross.
A more profound thought is that we must put our faith in what Jesus did for us there.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus sweat great drops of blood as He pleaded with the Father to let this cup pass from Him. The Father’s response was that there was no other way, so Jesus had to go through the suffering of the cross.
To think that we could save ourselves by our works is like saying to our Heavenly Father and to our Savior: “You really didn’t have to go through all that suffering because I can save myself by the good works I am doing.”
We must believe in what Jesus finished on the cross: “It is finished.”
Dick Woodward, 28 August 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 19, 2019
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”(Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday the verse from Isaiah quoted above will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word.
That word is “all.”
The verse begins with what we may call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like little sheep and have gone astray. We have turned every single one of us to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you are included in that first ‘all.’
The ‘all’ with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah tells us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own ways has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus.)
I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess we are included in the first and the last ‘all’ in this great verse, then we know what we need to know and we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news.
And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written:
“The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 30, 2018
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
If we want to know what is good about Good Friday Isaiah 53 tells us. Specifically, Isaiah 53:6 describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the word: “all.” The verse begins with what we might call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like little sheep and have gone astray. We have turned, every single one of us, to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, agree that you yourself are included in that first all.
The all with which this verse concludes is what we can call “the good news.” Isaiah ends this verse by telling us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own way has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus). I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I confess that we are included in the first all and the last all in this great Gospel verse, then we have done what we need to do to turn our bad news into good news.
And we know what is good about Good Friday.
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 14, 2017
“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished!’”
(John 19:30)
These last words of Jesus actually are one word in the original language: “Tetelesti.” This word was written over the record of a prisoner after completing his or her sentence in a Roman prison. “Tetelesti” was also written above the cross of a prisoner crucified by Rome. What a providential irony that Jesus chose this word at the end of His suffering for your sins and mine.
What Jesus meant is that He paid in full a debt He did not owe because we owe a debt we cannot pay. Theologians refer to this as the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. One thought is that we cannot possibly add anything to what He finished for us there on that cross. A more profound thought is that we must put our faith in what He did for us there.
Still another thought is if we could add anything to what He did, or be forgiven on the basis of our own good works, then Christ did all that suffering for nothing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus sweat great drops of blood as He pleaded with the Father to let this cup pass from Him.
The Father’s response was that there was no other way, so Jesus had to go to and through the suffering of the cross. To think that we could save ourselves by our works is like saying to the Father and to our Savior: “You really didn’t have to go through all that suffering because I can save myself by the good works I am doing.”
We must believe in what Jesus finished on the cross: “It is finished.”
Dick Woodward, 28 August 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 11, 2017
“Goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.”
(Psalm 23:6)
“God is able to make all grace abound toward you, so that you, always, having all sufficiency in all things, may abound unto every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
Two of the most beautiful words in the Bible are mercy and grace. The mercy of God, which is the unconditional love of God, withholds from us what we deserve, while the grace of God lavishes on us all kinds of blessings we do not deserve, accomplish, or achieve by our own efforts.
As we thank God for our blessings, at the top of the list we should thank Him for the mercy that withholds and the grace that bestows. The good news of the Gospel is that when Jesus Christ suffered on the cross for our sins, everything we deserved was laid upon Him that we might have peace with God. (Isaiah 53: 5, 6; 2 Corinthians 5:21)
If you want to grasp the meaning of these two words observe when and why they turn up in the Bible. Try to understand what we deserved and why. That will grow your appreciation of the mercy of God. Then investigate all that is bestowed upon us by the grace of God. As you find these two beautiful words throughout the Bible, you will understand why I challenge you to pray with thanksgiving for:
“The mercy that withholds and the grace that bestows.”
Dick Woodward, 26 February 2009
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Posted by Dick Woodward
March 25, 2016
“God put the wrong on Him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.” (2Corinthians 5:21, The Message)
So what is the biggest weekend in the Church year all about? What does it mean to you and me personally? In the verse above the Apostle Paul answers that by putting the Good Friday message in a nutshell.
Because of what happened on Good Friday God has offered to put all of our wrongs on Jesus, and in exchange put all that is right with Jesus on you and me. That’s the best offer we’ll ever have. All we have to do accept the offer is believe it!
In 1949 while doing social work in Pittsburgh, one night a man asked if he could speak with me. As we sat in the darkness outside a closed recreation center he told me that near the end of World War II he was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. While still under fire he saw a chaplain crawling from one wounded man to another. This chaplain apparently had something very important he said to those men. He hoped the chaplain would make it to him, but after taking several hits the chaplain stopped moving.
He said since then he had been wondering what it was the chaplain had to say to those men. After watching me for a couple of months, he told his wife he believed I could tell him the important message that chaplain shared with those wounded men. Building on the witness of that chaplain, I was able to share the Good Friday message of Jesus with that WWII soldier.
This Easter do you have a Good Friday message for dying people? Do you have a message for people who are going to live?
Dick Woodward, 26 March 2013
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Posted by Dick Woodward
April 3, 2015
“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
If you want to know what is good about Good Friday this verse in Isaiah 53 will tell you. This verse describes with great clarity the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross when it begins and ends with the same word: “all.” The verse begins with what we might call “the bad news.” Isaiah tells us that all of us are like little sheep and have gone astray. We have turned, every single one of us, to our own way. If you want to know the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, agree that you yourself are included in that first all.
The all with which this verse concludes is what we might call “the good news.” Isaiah ends this verse by telling us that the penalty for all the things we have done after turning to our own way has been laid on Him (meaning Jesus). I don’t know about you, but for me that is very, very good news! If you and I will confess that we are included in the first and the last all in this great Gospel verse then we know what we need to know and we have done all we need to do to turn our bad news into good news. And we know what is good about Good Friday.
If you want to make this Friday of Holy Week a Good Friday, believe what Isaiah has written.
Dick Woodward, 02 April 2010
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Posted by Dick Woodward
4SpiritualSecrets 