Good Friday Special

On this Special Good Friday episode, we pause our usual series to reflect on one of the most significant moments in history—the crucifixion of Jesus—and the powerful words He spoke from the cross.

“When they came to the place called the Skull… Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” (Luke 23:33–34)

In the midst of betrayal, suffering, mockery, and unimaginable pain, Jesus responds not with anger—but with forgiveness. In this conversation, Dee and Jodie unpack the depth of that moment and what it reveals about the heart of God.

This episode explores:

•  The weight and meaning of Jesus’ words on the cross 
•  The power of forgiveness in the face of injustice 
•  The story of the two criminals crucified beside Him (Luke 23:39–43) 
•  What it means that forgiveness is already offered—not earned 
•  How Good Friday speaks personally into our lives today 

Romans 5:8 reminds us: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Whether you're carrying guilt, regret, or hurt, or you're seeking to understand the meaning of the cross more deeply, this episode is a reminder that forgiveness, grace, and love were at the center of it all.

Good Friday is not just something that happened—it’s something that was done for you.

 - You are forgiven.
 - You are seen.
 - You are deeply loved.

Subscribe for more conversations that explore faith, Scripture, and the message of Jesus.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, and welcome back to the Muddy Cross podcast. For this episode, a little special one for Good Friday. So we're taking a pause from a series just to really take in today and take in the gravity of what that means.

SPEAKER_01 0:11

It is a big day. It is. It is. And I we watched Passion of the Christ the other day, didn't we?

SPEAKER_00 0:16

We did.

SPEAKER_01 0:17

With our middle one, middle child. The other two, I think they kind of felt not yet, because it is a really impactful movie, isn't it? That really summarizes everything and gets you into the visual of appreciating what today is all about. Yeah, I mean the meaning behind it.

SPEAKER_00 0:35

That that movie had a big impact on me, actually, because you know, we read the word, yeah, and I still struggle sometimes just to take in the gravity of the whole thing that that God came down in human form in Christ and Jesus. And um, you know, I watched that movie, that's one man in one country in the whole world. You know, if we think about that today, you know, one man, me in this country today, it's it's yeah, I am insignificant in that job. But we're talking about Jesus, who's not just insignificant, he's m momentous, and and and what he went through, and it almost felt like a minute-by-minute account watching that movie, and and it just felt agonizing.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:20

And I tried each time to think what were those wounds, what it what it would feel like for me, because he was man, he felt those things. There's no reason why we couldn't feel the pain that he went through, and it's just it's infathomable.

SPEAKER_01 1:33

I think I was much more complacent about the whole event until we watched that film. Yeah, you know, and then it was like, oh wow, that it like it really hit, didn't it?

SPEAKER_00 1:41

It really, really did hit.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Just floods of tears the whole way through it. For personally, I know it's not a good one.

SPEAKER_00 1:47

I was choking because you just, yeah, you're just again trying to take in the gravity of the situation. I think it's um what we'll do is we jump to scripture, yeah. Um not a huge a huge part, but it's it's down in Luke. It's Luke 23, um, verses 30, 33, 30, uh four. And we'll just start here and then we'll sort of carry on from there. So again, Luke 23, uh verses 33 to 34, uh, this is the crucifixion. So when they came to the place called Skull, they crucified him. And the criminals, a tip of glass, also, one on the right side and the other on the left side. But Jesus was saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

It's incredible.

SPEAKER_00 2:33

And they cast lots, dividing up his garments amongst them.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

Still casting up lots, and he's literally forgiving them and and saying forgive them for what they did. And that whole day to everyone around felt like loss. It just felt like yeah, like it was the end. Yeah, but actually it wasn't, it was the beginning, and that's why it's called the good news, because for us it's good, it wasn't good for him, obviously, on that day, but but for us, it just brings so much more, doesn't it, to it? And the forgiveness that he had is that even in that moment, he wasn't thinking about himself, he was thinking about forgive them and and giving that grace, spilling that grace out again. Um, he's not he's not responding in anger, no, he's not respond responding in like like if you think about situations that we you know you personally been in and someone's wronging you, and not even to anywhere to the level of what that is, no, and and we get all rolled up, and you know, why me? Why is this happening? Why are they picking on me? And you just think, wow, even in that moment, he's just forgiveness, spilling love and spilling forgiveness.

SPEAKER_00 3:40

You know, it is, and we take you know, we take a step back from obviously the point of crucifixion, and and look what he's carried over this couple of days. I mean, he he was betrayed by one who followed him, you know, so he's dealing with betrayal, and ultimately that that brought us to the crucifixion. Yeah, and then his followers, they they kind of fled. So there's an element of abandonedness, and still, as you say, the whole time he didn't try and squirm his way out of it, he didn't he didn't scream at it and and and call twisted or bitter words towards those that were persecuting him. They told him to carry the cross, he he carried the cross to the best of his ability. Yeah, he needs to work with that. But but at any point he could have, you know, and he took in all that mockery, yeah. People spitting on him, and I have we have no concept.

SPEAKER_01 4:29

There's so many links back to other passages and scriptures. We I listened to something this morning, um, it was like um a reading that was done around Luke, and it was relating it back to other parts, like him carrying the cross, carrying the wood that's going to crucify him, that's going to be his death. You know, it's parallel to Isaac climbing that mountain. So they're both climbing a mountain carrying the wood. You know, it's it's parallel to him. He was taking the wood to his death. He thought, you know, obviously his dad thought he was going to be crucifying or sacrificing him, sorry. Um so the parallels are just so in there. So it might be good to link that when we put the notes in to link that in because it's just so wonderful to have all these different ways to like from the film to the the Bible to you know to our podcast to other people's podcasts to other words that are being shared. It's just ways to make you sit back and go, Wow, you know, a lot of what we worry about on our day-to-day living, and I know it's all relative, but a lot of what we worry about, a lot of what we stress over, a lot of what we put in ourselves, I'm not doing enough, I'm not being enough, I'm not giving enough, we're saved by grace, not by works. And it is so incredible the human nature just to keep layering all this rubbish on top of ourselves, on top of situations, on top of other people, and actually, when we just strip it back, we're saved. Yeah, like we should be rejoicing and and you know, and celebrating that fact that he didn't ask one of us to take all those sins, he came in human form to take those sins.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

That's what I was gonna say. You know, we we kind of we spoke about what he endured, he he chose that. Yeah, I'm sure it was a very it was still I'm sure from a human perspective, because he was in flesh, I'm sure that was hard.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

Well, if you go back to obviously previous that he was praying in the garden. And and he was bleeding, like literally sweats of blood, because the prayers were so intense, because he knew in his spirit what he was going to be going head to. So so there was obviously the the whole just but I I don't know, like all I can keep seeing is that whip where it's taking out chunks of his flesh, and you're just how how did he endure that? I just don't know. So it's incredible, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 6:44

But and and and the the the other part that really again, you know, we can you can read the Bible like it's a book, yeah, and you can take on the account of he died and there was two guys beside him, and you know, he said one was gonna jump in paradise, and the other one obviously wasn't. Um but when you take on, when you read it a bit deeper and you read what actually that means, when he says that you know he's he's choosing this, he's choosing this for everyone at that time, and forgive them for they know not what they've done. He's talking beyond that moment, yeah. He's talking into our time and talking beyond our time, you know, forgive us our sins, and that's whenever we say that Jesus died for our sins, because Jesus knew what he was doing would endure much longer than than the moment of of his crucifixion. And I I think this is where we have to really read the Bible, dive into the Bible, and understand what happened then and what that means now.

SPEAKER_01 7:51

What that truly means, yeah, it's incredible, isn't it? Because like you say, he chose that, he took that on, he done all that for us, but it's just like it just shows that there's nothing, um, there's nothing that we've done that puts us outside of that box of forgiveness. You know, like we've said this in previous ones, but you you can obviously sin is sin in God's eyes, and you can kill someone, you could do some really horrible things, but if you turn around, and it's why we always say, isn't it, it's like if you go into the prison, there's the Bible in the drawer. Yeah, and it's the book to to you know, most most not all, but most will when they pick that book up, it speaks to the spirit, and it would change the spirit, and it's why you hear so many stories of change in those sorts of scenarios, because it's not something that you can pick up and truly ignore if you're reading it to the level of the the what like we say, the words coming alive from the page, and it really does speak into the spirit at that particular time, doesn't it? And it's that forgiveness. There's nothing not saying that we should go out and do things, not test it, I don't mean that, but just there's nothing that we've done in the past once we are baptized and once we have given ourselves to Christ, um, or given ourselves to Christ, obviously the baptism is a is a you know a physical thing that we do, but once we've given ourselves over and we've repented, it's the repentance. It's the repent, I'll say it again, it's the repentance that's the important part. If we have a pure heart of repentance and we ask for forgiveness on what we've done in the past, and then obviously from then you know, not keep repeating that, but we ask for repentance and we truly repent of that, then we are forgiven, and that blood that He sped, He He gave, would wash us away, and it would wash all those sins over, and it is so powerful. Uh there's no words to do it justice, there really isn't.

SPEAKER_00 9:52

No, there's not it, you know, it's it's quite somber in in in that regard, I find. I never really used to think about it. Obviously, and then you come to God and and over your journey you realize just what that meant, and it seems to hit quite hard. I've I've got another distorted passage just when you're speaking about this in Romans 5. Uh Romans 5, 8, um, it says, But God demonstrates his love towards us in that whilst we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You know, we were still sinners. We can't escape that we have sinned, and we're not gonna not sin again. Hopefully not on purpose. No, but um try not to, but you know, the the the point is that we probably will sin again, but the point is that we are constantly recognizing that, that we're constantly, as you say, asking for forgiveness for that and and just trying constantly to do better and better and better, and but not not not for then that to become a burden.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

I think this is where like I've been through that run. But I'm not doing enough, I'm not reading enough, I'm not you know, but no, because we're saved by grace. So as long as we are forming that relationship with him and we're working through all of that, yeah, you know, like he didn't he didn't wait until everybody at that period in time had it all together, or um, you know, they they were getting life right, or that they they were, you know, like they were they were in the middle of their mess. Yeah, like we're in the middle of our mess, like literally we're in the middle of our mess, and he's there, yeah, and he's still meeting us there, and he's washing it over and he's there with grace saying it's okay, yeah, because I did that, you didn't, you didn't have to go through that, I did that, which means none of us, it says in scripture, no one can boast because he's done that, and he's done all that to save us, yeah. So that we didn't have to keep doing the sacrifices and we didn't have to keep doing all of that. We can just go, we follow you. We want a relationship with you.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

We just need you in our mess.

SPEAKER_01 11:55

Yeah, you know, we we need it in a mess.

SPEAKER_00 11:57

Proverbs 35 lead, not your own on your own understanding. You've got it in there. It's it's um, you know, then this is this is why, and that's why we're as you say, it's not through works, yeah, it's by grace. Yeah, you know, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't do works, you know. We should we should try to help and love each other and care for each other and do what we can for each other, but it's not a tally chart. It's it's we you know, as long as we we continue to try to do our best, we constantly repent. Um God sees that, yeah. But it is by Jesus' sacrifice that we are saved, yeah, it's because of him.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Um and I think also there is another piece of scripture, so Luke 23, um 39. So we go to 39. Um, this shows you mentioned it earlier about the two other people on either side of him. He had he wasn't just crucified on his own, and that was their intentionally, it was their intentionally the same as his death is intentional, everything is intentional. Um, and that was to show us so um 30, one of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him. Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us. But the other criminal rebuked him. Don't you fear God, he said, since you are under the same sentence, we um we are punished justfully for we are getting what our deeds deserve, but this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom, and Jesus asked him, Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. Yeah, like oh, it just brings it all back together, like his grace is in there again. So, what is this whole story of him being crucified teaching us? It's teaching us forgive us because he says, Father, forgive them for the for they know not what they've done. Yeah, so we are supposed to learn from that and go, right, it doesn't does matter, it doesn't matter what someone does to us, we forgive them. Now you can forgive with healthy boundaries and go, well, I'm not gonna put myself back in that situation, but you still need to forgive. So he's teaching us to forgive, forgive, forgive, and forgive again, like constantly forgive. But then it goes to that even beyond that layer, and it's right, well, we've now got two people on the cross. So even in that last moment, when he's when he's saying he forgives everybody here, he straight away responds with, I truly I tell you, you'll be with me in paradise. That is showing that even in that last moment we have that opportunity to repent, and by his grace, he will forgive us in that last moment. So write down to your last moment, yeah, you can be forgiven.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

And we we have that choice, we have that choice, like like the two examples, one to follow, yeah, and one not to follow.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

Forgiveness is always available, which is the most poignant part.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

And this is the this is what we've said a number of times, and is it you know it's it's a book beyond measure. Yeah, yeah. It's it's it's more than just the simple tellings on a page. Um, and when you accept that, it speaks to you in volumes. Um and uh yeah, it's it's it's it's quite incredible. The journey is quite incredible. So I guess we've got to look at what you know, we spoke about what this means to us today, and um the forgiveness is something that obviously we have to do, you know. We we've we've we've got to forgive those um people that that have wronged us, yeah um which isn't easy, but it's doable. No, it you're you're right, it's a journey, it's a journey that we've got to go through. But if you look at what Jesus, everything that they've done to him, yet in spite of that, he asked for forgiveness on them. I mean, Jesus had we could say, and we could argue he had justification to because of everything that they've done to him, um, to to cry to them and to say something back, but his lips did st did sh you know, uh, and and that's a lesson. That's a lesson for us, you know, that it is possible to do that. Um so I guess yeah, we've got to make sure that we don't carry our guilt with us. I think this is the important thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Well, it goes back, doesn't it? It goes back to saying that you know, it we can't expect to be forgiven by God if we can't forgive other people, and we also need to include ourselves in that. Absolutely. So we can't not forgive ourselves for something. If he's saying we're forgiven, we're forgiven. Yeah, yeah, you know, because otherwise we're saying he's wrong and he's not wrong. So so there has to be grace on every level here, but it all comes down, the key is repentance. If we're not repenting from a pure heart and we truly, truly mean it, and don't forget he knows our heart, then it's not meaningful. Yeah, so it has to come from the heart.

SPEAKER_00 16:42

So we've got to, I guess that the point is for you guys is to is to look at your life and you know, we we repent for things and things that we've done in the past, but forgiveness is a big part of that as well, um, and can be separated in some respects um from bad things that you've done because we might need to ask, as you said, forgiveness for ourselves, or forgiveness for something that's happened maybe between a family member a long time ago or a friend or so on and so forth.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

And it feels hard, but that's the whole point. It's meant to feel hard.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

It is, but I think a lot of the time we do damage to ourselves, or quite often the other person's forgotten about it and moved on, um, and and that's where we need that healing from inside.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

Yeah, so that's the true lesson of taking from Luke sort of 23, if we read the whole thing, there's it's just oozing love, and it's more so oozing forgiveness, and that forgiveness on every level, um, and also knowing that there's forgiveness right up to the last opportunity, it's available for us, but it's only available if we choose it. If we don't choose to walk with him, he can't help us. No, we're there's two paths, and we have to choose his path in order for him to then accept us and have that relationship. So it's a choice thing, and that goes back to the beauty of right the way back to the Garden of Eden, right at the beginning, he he gave us with free will, yeah, and he gave us that free will so we can make that choice. We've said it all the way through. I wouldn't want my children to love me because they have to love me, because I tell them they have to love me, or because I'm their mum, they have to love me. I want them to love me out of choice, and if it's not out of choice, then I'd rather not have the love. Um, and that's a separational thing that they get to choose. They can choose to love me, they can choose to want a relationship with me, they can choose to be with me, or they choose to walk away and not have that. But that's a choice that they're making. I can't then, if they're choosing not to want me, I can't chase after them because I can try, like we've said, we've heard God knocking many times on the door, and we've not opened it wrongly. That's our been our thing, we've repented for that. But obviously, when we did open the door, his grace, he received us in, and we've built a relationship with him, and that goes back to the same thing with the children. We are his children, and he's doing the same thing, he wants everybody, and this really is a fight for souls. We know that between him and the devil, and so he wants us, he wants a relationship with everybody, but it's got to be a mutual thing, and I think how beautiful is that that he's given us that free will, he's given us the grace of the free will. Because if we choose not to, that's us, that's fine, and it's that you know, like he doesn't want that, he he cries for that because he doesn't want that, but he still accepts that, and but that's our choice that we choose to make, and I think that's just so powerful, and it's why we personally, you know, like we say you can belong before you believe. We we don't have any, like we don't try and force our beliefs on anyone or anything like that, we're just sharing because this is just so like for us, it's just been such an incredible journey. Um, right the way from starting this in Faith in the Climb, Grace and the Grit, it's just been incredible what's happened and and how we've seen his hand woven from walking with him and right the way back from when we wasn't walking with him, how his hand's just woven in everything, and we just we've said, haven't we, many a time that there's just so much more peace now in our lives because of this relationship, because of personally each of our relationships, and we it's brought us together, it's brought the family together, it's just an incredible journey, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 20:04

It is, and and you know, I think the important thing to remember is we can become quite blasé at this time of the year, and we you know we look at the cross and you know, Easter is as well.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Well, the world's pushing out, bunnies and chicks, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:17

But we you know we we look at the cross and we've really got to understand that this is something that happened, and this happened for us as individuals, this happened for us as a nation, this happened for us as a world, it happened for us, for those people that were with Jesus and living in the world at that time, and every person born since. Um it's very, very deep, and I think that you know, those people that are are following um God and uh and recognize that Jesus came to earth for us and died for us, and those people they're just flirting with faith and curious about faith. You just need to sit with this for a while. You know, I encourage you to read obviously the relevant scriptures, over a third of the new uh the new testament is about this this moment, isn't it? It's about um uh leading up to Jesus uh crucifixion and his crucifixion. Just sit with it and just take it in and just pray, God, just talk to my heart, reveal something to me. Um, because it's it's very deep. It's very deep.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

And if you really, really want to go one stage further, watch Passion of Christ. And and if you're on the edge and you're not sure, watch the case for Christ. Yeah, that's a really good one as well, because it really just helps you. Um from if you're somebody that needs proof in the pudding, yeah, it's a really good one, isn't it, for bringing that proof in. So it's really brilliant. Now we're not obviously going to be doing a podcast on Sunday for his resurrection, but we can't leave it. We know obviously, and we say that this is Good Friday, and we and we are quite sombre about it in the sense of obviously just just from thinking about what he did and giving that honour in and giving that respect back, but at the same time, it is the good news.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Yeah, it was the start of something incredible, it was the end and start of something incredible.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

He told his disciples, not that they understood at the time, and we have to forgive them. They did not have this to hand. No. But but they they were told that I will be back, I will be coming back. And so how incredible that he was then resurrected on the third day. It is just in all his glory. In all his glory.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

He defeated death. He defeated death for us.

SPEAKER_01 22:20

Yeah. So not only did he you know wash away the sins, he had to go to the depths, he had to sort all that out, he came back, um, and all of that was for us. And that just summarizes in in just such a short space of time, really, the love that he has for us and the relationship that he wants with us, but the respect that he has that it's by our choice um to want that back and to have that back. And that really is the heart of Good Friday.

SPEAKER_00 22:47

It is indeed. And that brings us to the end of this little this little episode. So, guys, thank you so much for joining us. We really do appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01 22:54

It's just a little snippy special.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

We do appreciate your time, and please remember just keep following, keep uh keep putting comments on, keep sharing with your friends and your loved ones as well. We hope that it reaches them too. And we look forward to catching up with you on the next episode. Yeah. Take care. Bye.