What’s So Good about Good Friday?

Good Friday is one of the most significant days in the Christian calendar. It is a holy day that resulted in the Resurrection of Jesus, his victory over sin and death, and the celebration of Easter, hence it is deemed to be "good." Of all Sacred Books, there are?only two?weeks where the events of each day of the week are narrated in detail.?The first such week, recorded at the beginning of the Bible records how God created everything.?The other week with daily events recorded is Jesus’ last week.?It starts with?Palm Sunday?when Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem. The week leads us through the Last Supper, His crucifixion, and ends on Easter Sunday with His resurrection.?In the Christian faith, Holy Week, the week leading to Easter Sunday, is commemorated with notable importance, honoring the acts of Jesus Christ in the days before His crucifixion and resurrection.

Some of the first uses of the name Holy Week appeared in the 4th century from St. Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, and St. Epiphanius of Constantia when just Good Friday and Holy Saturday were recognized as holy days. Before the Nicene Creed of 325, the early Christian Church focused its observance on the feast of the Christian Passover the night before Easter Sunday.?By the end of the 4th century, the tradition had been established of honoring the various events on the days of the week on which they happened. Believers throughout the world express their love, gratitude sorrow, and devotion in different ways. Bible holds that when Jesus was put to death, he gave his life as a sacrifice so that everyone could have their sins forgiven.

?What Happened During Holy Week?

Palm Sunday

On the Sunday before his crucifixion, Jesus started his journey to Jerusalem, understanding that he would be killed there for the sins of mankind. Close to the village of Bethphage, he sent two of his disciples forward, telling them to find a donkey and its untamed colt. The disciples were instructed to untie the animals and bring them to him. Then Jesus sat on the young donkey and gently, meekly, made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, accomplishing the biblical prophecy in?Zechariah 9:9: The crowds there greeted him by waving palm branches and yelling, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna is in the highest! “ The Bible account of Palm Sunday is found in?Matthew 21:1-11,?Mark 11:1-11,?Luke 19:28-44, and?John 12:12-19.

Monday: Jesus Cleanses the Temple and the Cursed Fig Tree

The following morning, Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, he cursed a fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. When Jesus appeared at the Temple, he discovered the courts full of corrupt money changers. He overturned their tables and cleared the Temple, saying,?"The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves"?(Luke 19:46). The Bible's account of Holy Monday is found in?Matthew 21:12-22,?Mark 11:15-19,?Luke 19:45-48, and?John 2:13-17.

?Tuesday: Jesus Goes to the Mount of Olives

On Tuesday morning, Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem. At the Temple, Jewish religious leaders were enraged at Jesus for establishing himself as a spiritual authority. They arranged an ambush with the intent to put him under arrest. But Jesus eluded their traps and declared severe judgments on them, saying:?"Blind guides! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people's bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness...Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?"?(Matthew 23:24-33)

Later that day, Jesus left Jerusalem and went with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, which overlooks the city. There Jesus delivered the Olivet Discourse, an extensive revelation about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. He speaks, as usual, in parables, using symbolic language about the end times events, including His Second Coming and the final judgment. The Bible designates that on this day Judas Iscariot agreed with the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court of ancient Israel, to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16). The Bible account of Tuesday and the Olivet Discourse is found in?(Matthew 21:23; 24:51,?Mark 11:20; 13:37,?Luke 20:1; 21:36, and?John 12:20-38.)

?Wednesday: Judas Betrayed Christ

Although scripture does not affirm what the Lord did on Wednesday, theologians consider that after two days in Jerusalem, Jesus and His disciples used this day to rest in Bethany in expectation of Passover. It is traditionally believed that Judas agreed to betray Jesus on the Wednesday before Easter Sunday. “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,?and said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.?And from that time, he sought opportunity to betray him."?(Matthew 26:14-16) "Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.?And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him; for they feared the people.?Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.?And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.?And they were glad, and covenanted to give him money."?(Luke 22:1-5)

Thursday: Passover and the Last Supper

On the Thursday of Holy Week, Jesus washed His disciples' feet as they prepared to share in the Passover. By doing this humble act of service, Jesus showed by example how His followers should love one another. Then, Jesus bestowed the feast of Passover, also known as the Last Supper, with his disciples, stating: "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God."?(Luke 22:15-16) ?After the Passover meal, Jesus and the disciples left the Upper Room and went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed in anguish to God the Father. The book of Luke states that?"his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground"?(Luke 22:44). Late that night in Gethsemane, Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot and arrested by the Sanhedrin. He was taken to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, where the full council had assembled to make their claim against Jesus. In the early morning, as Jesus' trial was beginning, Peter denied knowing his Master three times before the rooster crowed.

The Bible account of Maundy Thursday is found in?(Matthew 26:17-75,?Mark 14:12-72,?Luke 22:7-62, and?John 13:1-38.)

Good Friday: Jesus' Trial, Crucifixion, Death, and Burial

According to the Bible, on the evening before Good Friday, Jesus told his disciples to expect his death during what is known as the Last Supper. Later, one of his disciples betrayed him. Judas Iscariot, the disciple who had betrayed Jesus, was overwhelmed with guilt and hanged himself early Friday morning. Jesus was arrested and taken to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest, which was an informal late-night meeting of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. They had plotted to put Jesus on trial. They were looking for evidence that would justify putting Him to death, but they could not find any.

Finally, the high priest demanded Jesus, "Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus then replied, "I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand and coming back on the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest said, "You have just heard His blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? What is your verdict?" They all shouted, "He deserves death!" Then they spat in Jesus' face and started beating Him. After he was convicted in their mock trial, they took Him to Pilate because they did not have the authority to put anyone to death under Roman law. They falsely accused Jesus of treason against the Roman Empire for claiming to be the king of the Jews and for urging people not to pay their taxes. However, Pilate knew Jesus was not guilty of any crime; yet the mob wanted Him crucified. So he washed his hands of it and did what the crowd wanted.

After various unlawful trials, he was condemned to death by crucifixion, one of the most painful and disgraceful practices of capital punishment known at the time. Before Christ was led away, soldiers pierced him with a crown of thorns while mocking Him as "King of the Jews." Then Jesus carried his crucifixion cross to Calvary where he again was mocked and defamed as Roman soldiers nailed him to the wooden cross. Jesus suffered the shame of false accusations, rebukes, ridicule, whippings, and abandonment.

At the time, crucifixion was the cruelest form of death reserved for criminals and slaves.?Jesus, the son of God was flogged and ordered to carry a cross that would he die upon. After he was nailed to the cross, he was given a crown of thorns and the title of “King of the Jews.” The cross was placed between two other men who were crucified that day. The soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross and left Him to die. They put a sign on the cross to mock Jesus that said, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Jesus struggled on the cross for six hours, and according to the Bible, when he eventually gave up his spirit darkness fell across the land.

Then at noon, strange things began to happen. The sky grew dark for three hours and Jesus cried out, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit," and then He died. The curtain of the temple was mysteriously torn in two from top to bottom and there was a great earthquake. It was Friday afternoon, and the Sabbath would start at sundown, but it was not just any Sabbath! It was during the?Passover?celebration, making it a very special Passover. After Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross, He was wrapped in strips of cloth and laid in a tomb. Roman guards were sent to guard the tomb to ensure no one stole the body or spread rumors that He was not dead. Finally, three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death!

?If anyone has viewed the?Passion of Christ?where the last hours of Jesus are shot in excruciating detail, most would question why Good Friday is called, ‘Good Friday.’ What is Good about Good Friday, and why do we call Good Friday “good” when it is such a dark and bleak event commemorating a day of suffering and death for Jesus? On Good Friday, Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10). Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions do take this approach: in Malayalam, for example, the day is called Dukkavelliyacha, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, the origin of the term “Good”?is debated: some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.

Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Easter Sunday. During this one week, many biblical prophesies were fulfilled. Jesus came to earth to save humanity by dying on the cross on Good Friday and resurrecting on Easter Sunday. By enduring and defeating death sacrificially for us, He swung open the gates of heaven, allowing our sins to be forgiven and ushering us into the presence of God (Romans 5:8). Due to the sinful nature of humanity as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall in the garden of Eden, it’s impossible for us to be “good enough” to be in the presence of God and forgiven for our sins. Jesus died to make the way for salvation. The Old Testament Law offered many sacrifices to God, but Jesus was the perfect atoning sacrifice once and for all. He endured the cross?out of His great love for us. Our God is not one of coincidence. Every step toward the cross was intentional, every lesson laced with His personal love for all of us.

D.A. Carson?wrote, "It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will—and it was his love for sinners like me." It is a good day because he traded places for you and for me. It is a good day because it was the day, he conquered sin and death so that we will never be apart from God on this side of heaven or the other.

The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness.?Psalms 85:10?sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other.” The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin. “For the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace. Good Friday marked the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good.

?The good news of deliverance from sin only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. It is called Good Friday because, by Jesus’ death, he became the final, complete sacrifice for our sins. Easter follows it, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, heralding his victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to a future resurrection for all who are united to him by faith (Romans 6:5). ?We could not have erased our sins. Our hands would have been forever stained with every single sin for a lifetime. But Jesus broke the bonds of death and sin. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the death blow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

Even though the Bible doesn’t tell us to celebrate Good Friday, we observe it and call it Good Friday because it was a good day for humankind! God demonstrated his love for us through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. Bible says “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”?1 Peter 3:18?tells us,?“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”

This year 2023, Good Friday will take place tomorrow April 7th; no matter how you choose to observe it, knowing the story of Good Friday causes our hearts to cry out to God in humility and thanksgiving. It is a day that is holy and makes us holy because God was drawing the world to God's self in Christ. Paul considered it “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, following what God had promised in the Scriptures. "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures"?(1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

Jesus, the Son of God, entered our world that first Christmas on a rescue mission. Jesus offers the good news of salvation, healing, and hope. His invitation is for all people, all nations, all languages, whoever calls on His name. His name itself, Jesus, means 'God saves.'?Jesus is truly human, having experienced a normal birth, childhood, and upbringing. He lived with a family in a typical first-century Jewish house. At times he felt weary, hungry, and thirsty.?He experienced pain and suffering when he was tortured and crucified. He felt a full range of emotions; He was tempted to reject God, but he remained faithful.

And yet, Jesus is also truly God. The eyewitness records of his life tell of his divine power and victory over evil. He healed the sick, loved the broken, taught the truth, forgave sins, condemned religious hypocrisy, ruled over natural forces, and even raised people from the dead. Jesus claimed to be equal with God. This staggering claim got him into a lot of trouble with religious authorities. They were jealous of his popularity with the crowds and were rebuked by his condemnation of their religious pride. So they campaigned for his crucifixion by the Romans. However, this was all part of God’s original rescue plan. As Jesus died on the cross, he died in our place and for our sins. He took on himself the judgment for all our rebellion and sin. He died and his corpse was laid in the tomb.

However, on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus is the most striking thing that singles him out from other religious leaders, and any other person. This is central to Christianity. Jesus made some astounding claims about himself, which were validated when he came back to life, showing his power over death.

He came to bridge the divide between heaven and earth and to make a way for humanity to be restored to God.?He gave his life in payment so that anyone can receive forgiveness and redemption. His character and mission are to do good and to represent His father. He says: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me.?He has chosen me?to be His representative to the poor and to preach good news to them.?He sent me to tell those who are held captive that they can now be set free?and to tell the blind that they can now see.?He sent me to liberate those held down by oppression.?To proclaim that now is the time; it is the year of the Lord's favor."?(Luke 4:18-19) Jesus delivered seven final remarks from the cross. His first words were,?"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."?(Luke 23:34).

Good Friday is the mirror held up by Jesus so that we can see ourselves in all our stark reality, and then it turns us to that cross and to his eyes and we hear these words, "Father forgives them for they know not what they do." That is us! His last words were,?"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"?(Luke 23:46 By Friday evening, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had taken Jesus' body down from the cross and laid it in a tomb. The Bible account of Good Friday is found in?(Matthew 27:1-62,?Mark 15:1-47,?Luke 22:63, 23:56, and?John 18:28; 19:37.)

Good Friday is a wonderful day because it reminds us that we are important to the Great God. Good Friday is a day that contains both happy and sorrowful aspects. It is a moment to rejoice and recall the Lord’s great love and great sacrifices, as well as a time to mourn for all of mankind’s sins. The Cross of Jesus Christ was the genuine embodiment of divine love, yet it was also a symbol of humanity’s poisonous side. If we want to love God deeply, we must thoroughly understand the profound meaning of Easter, Good Friday, and Palm Sunday. many people do not understand the true meaning of Easter. They do not grasp what the death and resurrection of Jesus really mean. They do not see how Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Resurrection Sunday are all connected.

Of all the needs that humanity has, what is the greatest need?

If it were education, then when the Lord Jesus came to Earth, He would have come as an educator.

If it were financial, then the Lord Jesus would have come as an economist. If it were peace, then the Lord Jesus would have come as a diplomat. Why did Jesus die? Luke 19:10 says “For?the?Son?of?Man?came?to?seek?and?to?save?the?lost.” Salvation is man’s greatest need.?We have no hope of forgiveness apart from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a result, death would have dominion: “Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Corinthians 5:18). Jesus Christ is the one who walked out of that grave and took the sting out of sin. He took the dread out of death, took the gloom out of the grave, and He has given us a hope that is steadfast and sure.

Do you know Jesus personally? If not, you can pray to Him today by asking Jesus Christ to come into your life. The resurrection of Jesus guarantees your future resurrection as well. We are not going to be eternal spirits in heaven. Just as God created our first body, so He will create our second one. When Jesus returns, He will resurrect every Christian who has died (“those who sleep in Jesus”). We will receive resurrection bodies that are incorruptible, not tainted by sin or sickness or pain.

God led Jesus to a cross, not a crown, and yet that cross ultimately proved to be the gateway to freedom and forgiveness for every sinner in the world. The atonement of Christ, in its vast beauty and richness, always speaks to all human beings. Here, an answer can be found to every human problem and every temporal concern. For this God in Christ is the God of all people and the redeemer of all people. As this passion week nears its end, let us imitate and reflect on the gratitude of the Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Roman church, meditating on his most memorable doxology:?

“Oh, the depth of the riches?of the wisdom and knowledge of God!

????How unsearchable his judgments,

????and his paths beyond tracing out!

‘“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

????Or who has been his counsellor?”’

?‘“Who has ever given to God,

????that God should repay them? “’

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

????To him be the glory forever! Amen.” (Rom 11:33-36)

On the momentous occasion of Good Friday 2023, the most virtuous thing you can do is exercise godliness, gentleness, kindness, and generosity and Spread the Message of Love and forgiveness in Jesus’ name!