Today is known as Good Friday, and it’s a day that Christians have set apart to remember the sacrifice Christ made in dying on the cross because of sin. As bad as crucifying an innocent and perfect man is, it is good because Jesus is good and did it for us. The night prior to this is the lesser known day called Holy Thursday, and I confess I had no idea until yesterday. It commemorates the Last Supper Jesus had with His disciples before giving His life the following day. This supper was actually the feast of Passover, which is a festival that celebrates Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, as well as remembers how God passed over the houses that had the lamb’s blood on the door posts. Signifying that death has passed over them.

This was very intentional by God in order to declare to us that Jesus Himself is the Passover lamb that was sent to save us from the penalty of sin, which is death.

The terms of death, sin, blood, Passover, and sacrifice, they’re definitely not what modern society chooses to identify with. For many of us, we’re ok with not being perfect, we understand what being human is all about. But suggesting that sin is a real thing that we need saving from? Most would say this is over the top. But yet, this is the clearest picture that we have of the love of God towards those who aren’t perfect. This is where love and truth collide.

It is much easier to talk about the love God has for humanity, because we all need to love and be loved. It’s the only way that humanity progresses. We also see so little of it in action. But at the same time, love is never fully authentic if the truth is intentionally scratched out. In the same way, to talk about the love of God that was expressed during Passover, and not speak of the conditions that made this necessary is to miss out on the fullness of His love.

Jesus came because He knew the truth about us in complete detail, and because He is truth personified, He always spoke the truth and lived out the truth. He went deeper than commanding us to do good deeds, and exposed the darkness in us. He showed us the depth of trouble we are in. You wouldn’t come and save someone out of a shallow pool, when all they have to do is stand up again. Yet this is how we treat religion and doing good works to earn the love of God. We never stop and think about how far off we have fallen, and that God rescues us from bondage.

Even Christians can lose sight of how far God went to save us. We can get used to being spiritually disciplined, learning more theology, and all the apologetics that helps us appreciate our thoughtful faith. Yet if Christ did not save us Himself, we would still be enslaved to our desires, and use God to glorify our own pursuits.

So on this Good Friday I encourage you to take a moment, and think about the depth of God’s love for you, as well as the truth about yourself that moved Him to show it in this way to us. Love and truth aren’t just actions and information. They both describe who Jesus is as a person. This same Jesus did what was needed, so that our relationship with Him who is Love and Truth was alive again. Be restored to life, because death, sin, and everything else that separated us from Him can now pass over us because of Him.