Why today is differrent

Why is today different than any other day?
  Today is Good Friday!
     Today is Good Friday in a very strange time.

"Why is tonight different than any other night?" is part of the Jewish Seder.  Traditionally the youngest, able child asks this question during the first meal of the Passover, a reminder and celebration of God's mighty work in Egypt.  

After watching the 8th episode of The Chosen, which was about the Samaritan woman at the well, we had a family devotional time.  I asked Jadyn to ask the "Why is today different than any other day?" question.  Then we read John 4:1-24 and finished some incomplete statements I wrote based on 4:1-42 and Good Friday.  

Now before I share what we talked about I would love for you to take some time to think through the passage and statements.  In our family time, I briefly went through the other sections and challenged the family to think about them more this weekend.  Here are the questions.

• Read John 4:1 – 24: 
• When confronted with her sin, the woman at the well turns the conversation to...
• Jesus responds by telling her...
• REMEMBER:  Worship is not so much about WHERE but rather WHO and HOW

• Read 4:25- 37:
• Jesus told the woman...
• Jesus said his food was...

• Read 4:38-42:
• The woman was excited and told the people that...
• At first, this sounds strange because...
• The people said the following about Jesus...

• Good Friday Application:
• In thinking about the REMEMBER statement above, we still celebrate Good Friday and Easter during the quarantine because...
• In thinking about the woman’s reaction and response, today is called Good Friday because...
• In thinking about the woman and the people’s responses, our responses should be...
• In thinking about God, Jesus, worship, and John 4:1 – 42, I should...

So why is today Good Friday?

Watching the woman leave her water jar and run into town excitedly telling people "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did," (v. 29) really struck me. Do you understand what really happened there?   

Jesus told the woman about her sin and she excitedly went back to town telling people to come meet this man.  Why would a woman invite the town to come see the man who confronted her with her adultery?  Because the man was not just any man.  He was the Messiah!  He showed her the gravity of her sin problem along with the only real God ordained solution. 

On Good Friday, we remember and celebrate the real, final, God ordained solution for the world's sin problem.  "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6).  On Good Friday, at the cross, we see our wickedness, total depravity, and ungodliness.  At the same time we must realize that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"  (Romans 5:8).

 So why is this Good Friday different than other Good Friday?

Good Friday, 2020, is a very different Good Friday because it is a forced reminder that our worship is not about the WHERE.  On this Good Friday, whether you are watching a service online or doing something on your own at home, everyone needs remember that the WHO and the HOW are more important.  Our Good Friday "meetings" need to focus on Jesus, the one who is "indeed the savior of the world" (John 4:42).  They also need to remind us of what God did through Jesus Christ on the cross.  We need to remember on this Good Friday, and everyday, who we were without Christ and who we are with Christ.