John 19 Darby Translation 

19 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged [him].

2 And the soldiers having plaited a crown of thorns put it on his head, and put a purple robe on him,

3 and came to him and said, Hail, king of the Jews! and gave him blows on the face.

4 And Pilate went out again and says to them, Lo, I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find in him no fault whatever.

5 (Jesus therefore went forth without, wearing the crown of thorn, and the purple robe.) And he says to them, Behold the man!

6 When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him they cried out saying, Crucify, crucify [him]. Pilate says to them, Take him ye and crucify [him], for I find no fault in him.

7 The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to [our] law he ought to die, because he made himself Son of God.

8 When Pilate therefore heard this word, he was the rather afraid,

9 and went into the praetorium again and says to Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.

10 Pilate therefore says to him, Speakest thou not to *me*? Dost thou not know that I have authority to release thee and have authority to crucify thee?

11 Jesus answered, Thou hadst no authority whatever against me if it were not given to thee from above. On this account he that has delivered me up to thee has [the] greater sin.

12 From this time Pilate sought to release him; but the Jews cried out saying, If thou releasest this [man], thou art not a friend to Caesar. Every one making himself a king speaks against Caesar.

13 Pilate therefore, having heard these words, led Jesus out and sat down upon [the] judgment-seat, at a place called Pavement, but in Hebrew Gabbatha;

14 (now it was [the] preparation of the passover; it was about the sixth hour;) and he says to the Jews, Behold your king!

15 But they cried out, Take [him] away, take [him] away, crucify him. Pilate says to them, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.

16 Then therefore he delivered him up to them, that he might be crucified; and they took Jesus and led him away.

17 And he went out, bearing his cross, to the place called [place] of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha;

18 where they crucified him, and with him two others, [one] on this side, and [one] on that, and Jesus in the middle.

 

Good Friday.

I sinned. It was my punishment. My actions are what separated me from God. It wasn't God's fault. The Law showed me just how sinful and hopeless I really am. 

God is just. God is righteous. He can't let sin go unpunished. My sin.

But God is also is merciful. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God's righteousness against sin.

The cross is where God's justice and righteousness met with God's mercy and grace.

 

Psalm 85:10 Darby Translation  

10 Loving-kindness and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other