“Why do you call me, ‘Good’?” The question must have shocked the young man. He had come to Jesus to learn how to refine his own “goodness,” his own “holiness.” No doubt this ruler identified himself as a “good” man. I mean, ever since birth he had strove and worked to keep the sacred commands passed down from Moses. When others were having fun and partying, he had resisted. It is not like he didn’t have opportunities. Being rich, young, and powerful, one always has opportunities. But he had held back. He had chosen the straight and narrow. Yet here was this Rabbi he had heard so many “good” things about asking why was he calling him “good’? The next line must have truly stung. “No one is good – except God alone.” Who did this strange teacher that everyone was talking about think he was talking to? He doesn’t know anything about me, the man must have thought. I know I’m not perfect, but who is? he may have reasoned. And if he knew my walk, the way I live my life, the way I love and serve the Lord, all the good works I have done and the money I have given away, he might feel differently. The man listened as Jesus described the commands he had been obeying for years and eagerly boasted of his record. Now, he may change his tune. You can almost hear the smile on his lips and the well-deserved pride in his words, “All these I have kept since I was a boy!” So Jesus did what he always tends to do, He ripped open the spotless façade to reveal the heart underneath. “Sell everything and follow me.” He called the ruler to make a decision. “Young man, do you believe that I am worth more than your money? Then your security? Then your status? Is eternal life worth more than a ‘good’ easy life here on earth?” And sadly, the “good” young ruler dropped his head, turned without a word, and simply walked away, distraught that he had to make a choice. Perhaps later in life, as he dwelt on that moment, the most depressing realization may have been that at the critical moment, when his “good” heart was put to the test, what he thought he had been defeating all these years, the love of the things of this world, was in the end that which he most cherished.Today we use that word, “good” all the time. “He is a good man.” “That is a good thing that you did.” Today we call Good Friday. Why? What makes this day in history “good”? It is not because of man. The brutality of humanity is the most defining characteristic of our history. It marks time in the form of wars, genocides, murders, and oppression. And as we have got more sophisticated, we have merely gotten more efficient in our death. The 20th century was the bloodiest century in our illustrious history. Today, nearly 500,000 people are murdered every year. The original Good Friday was no different. It was marked by public torture and execution. On that “good” day the only thing man offered was his twisted invention of crucification. The most sinister and gruesome form of death we could devise. So, three men bled, screamed, cried, suffered, and eventually died that day. And when it was over, man went back to living life. Nothing to see here. Just another average Friday afternoon. I wonder what the wife is cooking at home. I wonder if I get overtime for having to work late?

“There is none good –except God.” Good Friday is “good” because God is there. It was the darkest day because of man. That Friday when God himself hung on his own creation’s created crucifix, when the unending Morning Star was blotted out by the hands that His hand’s had shaped, when the only truly Holy Spotless Lamb was slain in the name of godly holiness, it was the work of man that succeeded in making sure the Light of the World would no longer shine. No, there was no “good” from man. Looking back from our vantage point, what sadness must have marked that day for those that hope and trusted that Jesus Christ was the Savior. I often associate the words of Lamentations 1:16 with it: “This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit. My children are destitute because the enemy has prevailed.”

Oh, but now, GLORIOUSLY!, we know the “good”. Sunday morning, in a garden tomb, the glorious Light arose. In an instant, every grip that Death had on man was cut. The hands of the Savior, once stretched out on a cross, are now stretched out freely to receive whosoever will come. The darkest day became the brightest because a Good God gave up His son and took death on a cross at the hands of his beloved creation, man, so that He could take death away from them. He made the cross, the symbol of pain and agony, into the source of our only hope. God made the day good. God and God alone, made that Friday, good.

 The story of the rich ruler ends with the crowd that witnessed the exchange exhaustedly asking, “Who then can be saved?” In other words, what can we do to be “good”? If this guy has lived better than us all his life and he doesn’t cut it, what hope is there for us? The answer Jesus gave rings just as true today, “The things that are impossible with man are possible with God.” And that is why we can call this a “good” Friday. God is in it, God is here. And we all must face the same point of decision. “Follow me,” Christ beckons. “Trust in me for your forgiveness and your salvation,” He prods. Will you trust? Or will you walk sadly away?