Irony is when two things are contrasted in a way that seems striking and odd – things that can make us laugh or cry because they seem so inappropriate. As Alanis Morissette has reminded us in song, it is like having rain on your wedding day, or someone winning the lottery and dying the next day. When Jesus died, the scene was very ironic. Here is a man, beaten and bloody, hanging on a cross, with a sign above him saying “This is the King of the Jews” (John 19:19
). The contrast is huge. This man looks nothing like a king, hated by his people, not wearing fine clothes, but he looks like a common criminal.
It is this ironic scene that is at the heart of Christianity. Although he doesn’t look like a king, Jesus is the real King of the world. His death is the sacrifice for the rebellion of all people who trust in him. His coming and death were prophesied down to the minor details over 1000 years earlier (see Psalm 22). And his dying at Passover time reminds us that because of his death, God passes over the sins of those who trust in Jesus, saving them and rescuing them.
This man is worth looking into more. He is the pinnacle of history. His death for our sins makes it truly a Good Friday.
(Based on Good Friday teaching at All Nations, 2 April 2010 
).