The full text of this flyer tract is shown below in the KJV version. (Do you want to print this tract in a different version than the one listed? Contact us and let us know what you're looking for—we may be able to create the alternate version for you at no charge.)

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 

What was Jesus’ best day? Was it at the wedding in Cana when He performed His first recorded miracle? Was it in the countryside when He fed 5000 hungry men beside women and kids? Was it when He healed the man who was blind from birth? Was it when He raised Lazarus from the dead? Or could it possibly have been that first Easter morning when He arose from the dead?

All of these moments were filled with awe and wonder, happiness and celebration, blessing and bewilderment. But none of these moments compare with the joy that was set before Him. 

Then, what was Jesus’ best day? His best day was not a “most fun” day, but the day of His greatest suffering. His best day was the day He went to the cross. 

Can that really be true? Didn’t the experience of the cross define Jesus’ worst day?

From a human perspective, everything about the cross resembles His worst day. His beaten body, the agony of the nails being driven into His hands and feet, the spear driven through His side, the pain and the shame, His blood poured out—all of these seemingly pointed to disaster and defeat if we do not understand the reason for His suffering. The events that preceded the cross only seem to heighten the sense of failure—the betrayal, the false witness brought against Him, the illegal trial, the mockery, the spitting, the pulling out of His beard, the harsh lashes that mangled His flesh, the crown of thorns that tore into His skull. 

From the divine aspect however, the crucifixion, with all its trepidation, was Jesus’ best day. It was His very best day because prophetically, this truly was “the day that the Lord had made.” It was the day He looked forward to with the greatest anticipation, THE DAY HE LITERALLY EFFECTED THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION FOR ALL MANKIND. It was the day that would cause us “to be glad and rejoice.” All of Jesus’ life on earth pointed to this day. Regarding His death on the cross, Jesus said, “It was for this very purpose that I have come to this hour.” The prophet Isaiah tells us, “It pleased the Lord to bruise Him.” It was because of the events of this day that “...God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11.

Also, His sacrifice on the cross was Jesus’ best day, the day He accomplished His Father’s will. He glorified the Father through His obedience even unto death, thus He was designated “High Priest after the order of Melchisedec.” The cross was His best day because it was the day of salvation, the day of redemption, and the physical fulfillment of the day that was foreordained before foundation of the world. 

Even today, some Christians observe the crucifixion in a melancholy mood, and spend the day with an attitude of sadness and personal guilt. But alas, the contributory negligence brought on by virtue of your sin has been pardoned by the Savior when He cried “...Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do....” Luke 23:34. Hence you are NOT GUILTY. How could you be guilty of killing Jesus Christ when: 

(1) No man can take His life? HE IS “UNKILLABLE.” “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” John 10:17-18 

(2) He is the Resurrection and the Life? THE ANTIDOTE FOR DEATH. You see? The Resurrection is not a time or a place; The Resurrection is a person—Jesus Christ—“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die...” John 11:25-26. Just as mythological Kryptonite neutralizes Superman, as light immediately dispels darkness at the flick of a switch, even so—and more so—does the Power and Presence of Christ Jesus immediately extinguish the presence and power of death. 

(3) How could you be guilty of killing somebody who IS NOT DEAD? “...I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:9-18. 

Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Black Friday, and Great Friday, is a holiday observed primarily by Christians, commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and His vicarious death at Calvary. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:” Galatians 3:13. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the “Paschal Triduum” on the Friday and often coincides with the Jewish observance of Passover. But it does not end there, for, Thank God, SUNDAY WAS COMING! 

The Enigma of the Cross 

An enigma is something that is puzzling, hard or difficult to explain. It is similar to a riddle. The cross is an enigma to the many who wonder why the center of our salvation is a symbol of death and despair. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” I Cor. 1:18. 

What does it mean for a disciple to “take up his cross daily, and follow me” as Jesus commanded in Luke 9:23-26?

God’s wisdom and plan for that fateful day is more than a one-time salvation event. It is the strategy for the kingdom of God. The events surrounding the cross of Christ comprise God’s strategy to empower His disciples to oppose and conquer the powers of the kingdom of darkness through the ages. 

In military operations there are both strategic and tactical operations. Strategy has to do with the overall war plan, while tactics have to do with the battle plans in particular. God’s overall strategy in kingdom warfare between light and darkness, and between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, is the enigma of the cross. God’s chief Tactitioner is Christ Jesus who knew that SUNDAY WAS COMING (Hebrews 12:2), when He would rise triumphantly from the dead, thus securing eternal life and victory for all who will put their implicit trust in His completed work on the cross of Calvary. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to the world and to those who are seeking to understand by reason alone. Unless the Holy Spirit pulls the scales from the eyes of our heart, we will never see the grace, the glory, the ability, or the transforming power of the cross of Christ. 

The enigma of the cross is God’s secret weapon—His strategy for overcoming sin and rebellion. True Christian discipleship is fulfilled when we understand by illumination, and express by personal application, this enigma. Remove the cross, and God’s secret weapon is gone. There is nothing in our power or ability that can take the place of the cross. Just as the enemy, through mockers and unbelievers, tried to get Jesus to come down from the cross, so the enemy of our soul today is trying to get the church to ignore and render worthless the inestimable value of the cross. 

But Christianity without the cross is a powerless Christianity. And a cross without Christ is nothing but another symbol of meaningless suffering. 

There is a glory in the cross that one has to embrace. Without accepting the Christ of the cross we have no transformation. If we do not embrace the cross of Jesus, we will not know the glory of God and the joy that comes with Sunday. Let us therefore face the adverse circumstances of life with the bold assurance that: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalm 30:5. 

ON THE CROSS CRUCIFIED (by Lois Erwin)

1. On the cross crucified, in great sorrow He died/The giver of life was He/ Yet my Lord was despised and rejected of men, this Jesus of Galilee.

Chorus: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities/ Surely He bore our sorrows, and by His stripes we are healed!!

2. Price for healing was paid, as those cruel stripes were made, with-in Pilate’s Judgement hall/ Now His suff’ring affords perfect healing for all/ This Wonderful Healer’s mine.

3. Came the leper to Christ, saying “surely I know, that Thou, Lord canst make me whole”/ When his great faith was seen Jesus said, “Yes I will”, and touched him and made him clean.

4. He has healed my sick soul, made me ev-’ry whit whole/ And He’ll do the same for you/ He’s the same yesterday and today and for aye, this Healer of men to-day.

If you believe the foregoing and now feel the need to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then put your trust in Him and pray this simple prayer from your heart in faith: 

“Kind Father God in Heaven, I thank you for coming to earth to redeem me. I now acknowledge my woeful life of sin against You, and that the penalty for my sin is death and Hell. I believe and confess that You sent Your only Son Jesus to pay for my sin with His Blood, by His death on the cross, His burial, and resurrection from the dead on the third day. I now surrender and open my heart, and I invite Jesus Christ to come into my life. Please forgive my sins and make me a new creation. Make my body Your temple I pray, and live through me. Lord, let me experience the joy of living for You and serving You from henceforth and forever in Jesus’ name, amen. 

May Jesus come to live in your heart today and forever...Be blessed...Sunday is coming... 

This and other F.Y.E’s are available on the “archives” page on our website. At

www.myfibis.org

Compliments of: 

Back to top of page