Good Friday Thoughts

On Good Friday in 1964, a priest in Anchorage, AK was reading scripture during a service. When he came to the section regarding the earthquake that occurred while Jesus was on the cross, a real earthquake shook the area. Actually, this was the "Big One." This quake was one of the most powerful earthquakes ever to hit a populated area in North America. The city was destroyed. Read about it here.

I lived in Anchorage for over 3 years. Philip Griffin was one of the members of Raspberry Road Baptist, which I served as Associate Pastor. Mr. Griffin was living in Anchorage at the time of the big quake. He said when he first felt the earth shaking he ran outside. He saw many people laying on the ground and he remembered thinking that he wasn't going to be a wimp like them. So, he remained standing. Then, he saw the ground rolling like waves on the ocen. Consequently, he was violently thrown to the ground.

As a result of the 1964 earthquake, large amounts of money were invested in rebuilding the city. Eventually, the city was restored and soon began to thrive. While the catastrophe was a bad thing for the city, ultimiately, the rebuilding of the city was a great stimulus to the economy. Also, many people were drawn to Anchorage to work and, when they discovered the beauty of Alaska, they stayed. Good Friday 1964 was a dark day. However, the dark day transformed life in the city for the good.

As Jesus died on the cross, the Bible says the earth was covered with darkness. Jesus struggled, but eventually he "yielded" His spirit. The death of Jesus is a dark day upon the pages of history. However, as Christians we believe the death of Jesus was not the end. He had predicted he would be in the grave 3 days, then, the resurrection.

Please don't forget the pain Jesus endured. We remember that pain on this Good Friday. We should mourn what placed Jesus on the cross. However, as stated in I Thess. 4:13, we do not "sorrow as others who have no hope."