Good Friday 2024 - Morning Prayer - Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus

 There is a poignant line from the Letter to the Hebrews which contains an important injunction for any day of the year, but particularly for today, Good Friday. The biblical author writes, “let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross.”

This line from the Letter to the Hebrews is particularly poignant for Good Friday because it encapsulates the essence of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross.

Let’s break it down. First we are told,  “let us rid ourselves of every burden of sin”. Good Friday is a day of reflection on the weight of sin and our own inability to overcome it on our own. Yet, we must do our part in “ridding ourselves”—rooting out sin with the help of God’s grace, acknowledging our selfishness, and making a firm purpose of amendment to overcome it as we can. 

Next we are told to perseverance in Running the Race of Faith: Good Friday marks the culmination of Jesus' earthly ministry, during which he endured trials, opposition, and ultimately, crucifixion. And we his followers are to persevere in our own journey of faith, following the Lord’s example of steadfastness and endurance, even in the face of suffering and persecution. In this way, the Lord is the leader and perfecter of our faith. Our faith is imperfect until it attains union with Christ crucified. 

Then we are told to keep Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus. This is our task on Good Friday. We are to keep your focus firmly on Jesus throughout the day by reflecting on his life, his teachings, his sacrificial love, his obedience to God's will, the wounds, and blows, and mockery, and agony he suffered to obtain the ultimate victory over sin and death. Make every effort today to avert your eyes from all things that are not Him. 

Finally, Hebrews says that he endured the cross for the sake of the joy that lay before him. Despite the agony and suffering of the cross, Jesus endured it all for the sake of the joy that lay before him. This joy refers to the redemption and salvation of humanity. Your redemption and freedom from sin is God’s joy. Which is why, for God, today is Good. 

May our prayer this morning help us to enter into the goodness of the day. Helping us to keep our eyes fixed on him, to persevere with him to the cross, to be cleansed by him, that we may know his joy, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.