The Darkness Before the Easter Dawn

Disciple-Making is the art of helping another live their life in the power of Jesus’ resurrection. John 10:10

Living in Jesus’ resurrection power requires followers of Jesus to regularly die to their own. Luke 9:23

The power of Jesus’ invitation for us to die to ourselves is found in His willingness to do so Himself.

As you prepare for Easter, I encourage you to spend a few minutes considering Jesus’ “active & passive obedience.” The only reason Christians consider Crucifixion Friday a “Good” Friday is because of the atoning work Jesus accomplished on the cross. Jesus took the penalty that I deserved upon Himself. Jesus truly did pay it all. Good Friday is the day, above all other days, to remember. It is the day we visualize ourselves beside Him as He “endured the cross… scoring its shame.” Hebrews 12:2 Jesus’ voluntary submission to that death is traditionally known as His “passive obedience.”

But Jesus’ passive obedience would not have been valuable had his “active obedience,” or His determined volition to obey the will of God at every step of His life, was not fully intact. He taught what the Father taught Him to teach. He corrected those in authority the Father told Him to correct. He went without food when the Father asked Him to fast. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus chose the Father’s will and not His own. Jesus’ active obedience even stretched into the last moments of His crucifixion as He forgave those who were killing and mocking Him.

For me, Good Friday is always a day for me to thank Jesus for BOTH. I certainly thank Him for His willingness to die for me. Even more, I thank Him for His willingness to LIVE OBEDIENTLY for me, so I can choose to die to myself daily in order to truly live.

From Disciples Made, we encourage you to walk patiently through the pain and darkness of Good Friday and Saturday before the big party on Resurrection Day.

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