Have you ever heard the sermon, “It’s Friday, Sunday’s Coming?” I was introduced to this masterpiece in high school. A pastor friend borrowed it for one of his messages. That was almost forty years ago and I’ve never forgotten the message. I found a recording of this sermon on YouTube delivered by the great S.M. Lockridge. I’ve listened to it literally hundreds of times. I still get goose bumps every time I listen.
The preacher starts softly, “It’s Friday…Jesus is praying…Peter is sleeping…Judas is betraying…but Sunday’s coming.”
“It’s Friday,” he says again, this time a little louder. “The disciples are running like sheep without a shepherd…Mary’s crying…Peter is denying…but they don’t know that Sunday’s coming.”
He keeps repeating the phrase. With every turn, that horrible Friday grows darker and more hopeless.
“It’s Friday. See Jesus walking to Calvary…His blood dripping…His body stumbling…And his spirit’s burdened…But, you see, it’s only Friday, Sunday’s coming.”
“It’s Friday…The world’s winning…People are sinning…And evil’s grinning.
“It’s Friday…The soldiers nail my Savior’s hands to the cross…They nail my Savior’s feet to the cross…And then they raise him up next to criminals.”
“It’s Friday…But let me tell you something…Sunday’s coming.”
The cadence quickens.
“It’s Friday…He’s hanging on the cross…Feeling forsaken by his Father…Left alone and dying. Can nobody save him?”
“Oh, it’s Friday…But Sunday’s coming.”
“It’s Friday…The earth trembles…The sky grows dark…My King yields his spirit.”
“It’s Friday…Hope is lost…Death has won…Sin has conquered…And Satan’s just a-laughing.”
The pastor pauses briefly. His next words are stark, emptied of all emotion.
“It’s Friday…Jesus is buried…A soldier stands guard…And a rock is rolled into place.”
Friday ends in the worst possible way, but…
“It’s Friday. It is only Friday.
“Sunday is coming!”
With those last three words, the pastor fills that darkest day with light and hope.
If you ever hear this sermon, you’ll never forget it. To me, it is one of the most powerful, evangelistic sermons ever delivered.
I shared this sermon with you to make this point – Sunday is here!
On that third day, the huge stone was rolled away and Jesus walked out of his borrowed tomb. When the women went to the garden early Sunday morning, they were shocked by what they saw. “Who took his body away and where did they take it?” they wondered.
Jesus told them on seven different occasions that he would rise from the dead. The disciples did not understand what he meant, nor did the ladies that visited the tomb. When they saw the empty tomb, they did not think that he was alive. But he was, and he is today. Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and He lives forevermore. This is the good news story.
Have you come to know this story?
I don’t mean as an historical fact. Has your dark, hopeless Friday come to an end — the searching, the restlessness, the emptiness, the guilt and shame? Have you found what you were looking for in the person of Jesus Christ? Has he given you new life?
If so, the resurrection story has become your story. Sunday is here for you. As John wrote in his gospel account, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life” (John 6:47).
You have everlasting life.
Let that soak in.
Like Jesus, you’ve walked out of your spiritual tomb fully alive – raised to walk in the newness of life here and now.
Sunday has arrived for you!
Excerpted from Simple Gospel, Simply Grace
This is soooo good, it’s Simple Gospel Simply Grace. Thank you.