What if one sacrifice could cleanse your soul, secure your future, and silence your striving—forever?

What does it take to be made right with God? It’s a question I once chased across world religions—Catholicism, Buddhism, meditation, even Scientology. I thought sincerity would lead to truth, that all religions were essentially the same, and that what mattered most was how serious you were. But then I met Jesus—not just in name or history, but in Scripture. And everything changed.

And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him." Mark 16:2–6 (ESV)

The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Luke 23:55–56 (ESV)

On Good Friday, we remember what is of first importance: Christ died for our sins. This powerful meditation unpacks the weight of that truth—substitution, fulfillment, salvation. Not sentiment, but surrender. Not myth, but history. Come and consider the cross, where justice met mercy and love bled for sinners like us.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. John 13:14-15

And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers how he might betray him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of a crowd. Luke 22:2–6 (ESV)

Hebrews 9:1–10 brings us to a decisive moment in the story of redemption—a moment that forces us to ask where our hope truly lies. In a world that celebrates self-reliance and ingenuity, especially in cultures like New England’s, the text confronts our confidence in ourselves.

Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:42–44 (ESV)