Good Friday invites us to slow down and really think.

Good Friday invites us to slow down and really think.

Not just about a religious tradition, but about what actually happened on that day.

The cross was not symbolic to the people standing there. It was brutal and public. Rome used crucifixion specifically because it was humiliating, painful, and meant to send a message. And yet the scriptures say that this suffering was not accidental.

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:5

Jesus willingly stepped into suffering that he did not deserve.

And even in that moment, his words were not vengeance.

“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34

Good Friday is the day we remember the cost of reconciliation. God did not ignore sin. He absorbed its cost.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”
John 3:16

For most of my life I was very skeptical of the Shroud of Turin. I assumed it was probably just another religious relic. Maybe a medieval forgery. Maybe simply the burial cloth of some unknown man.

So I mostly ignored it.

But recently I listened to a long discussion with researchers who have studied the cloth itself, and I have to admit something honestly. The explanations were surprising.

The image on the cloth is not paint, dye, or pigment. The image appears only on the very topmost fibers of the linen. Researchers describe molecular level changes in the fibers themselves. Some scientists studying the cloth suggest the image may have been produced by a very intense burst of energy that altered the fibers without burning through the fabric.

Whether someone ultimately accepts that explanation or remains skeptical, the discussion itself is fascinating.

And it raises an interesting thought.

Scripture tells us that the resurrection was not simply a man coming back to ordinary life.

“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”
1 Corinthians 15:20

Jesus rose into a transformed and glorified body.

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”
1 Corinthians 15:44

And because he rose, the resurrection is not his alone.

“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Romans 8:29

The resurrection means something extraordinary for humanity.

Christ is the firstborn of a new creation, and those who belong to him will one day share in that resurrection.

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
1 Corinthians 15:53

Some people will not believe in the resurrection regardless of the evidence presented to them. Scripture says that has always been true.

“And though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him.”
John 12:37

Others come to believe not because of artifacts or relics, but because the truth of Christ becomes clear to them.

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see.”
Matthew 13:16

The conversation I listened to about the Shroud of Turin was unexpectedly engaging and thought provoking. I will post the podcast below for anyone who wants to listen and decide what they think.

But whether someone finds the Shroud convincing or not, Good Friday ultimately points us to something far bigger.

A crucified Savior.

An empty tomb.

And the promise that death will not have the final word.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-shawn-ryan-show/id1492492083?i=1000758827456