Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. This Christian holiday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, and Black Friday.
For Christians, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross represents the ultimate sacrifice made for the forgiveness of sins. It is believed that through his death, Christ atoned for the sins of humanity and provided a way for believers to have eternal life.
The day is considered “good” because of the ultimate sacrifice made by Jesus, which opened the way for salvation and reconciliation between God and humanity.
According to Bible, the Jewish religious leaders who condemned Jesus to death for claiming to be the son of God and king of the Jews brought him to Romans for sentencing on this day.
Before the execution, Jesus went through extreme torture and was forced to carry a heavy wooden cross through a mocking crowd. Finally, Jesus was nailed to the cross by his wrists and feet, where he died later.
Observance of Good Friday:
Christians observe Good Friday solemnly to honor the way Jesus Christ underwent tremendous suffering and died for the expiation of their sins. This may involve attending a service where the account of Jesus’s agonizing crucifixion is recounted. Some believers may even choose to fast as a way of expressing their grief.
After the solemn commemoration of Good Friday, Christians shift their focus to a more joyous occasion: Easter Sunday. On this day, they celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with lively church services, joyful hymns, and gatherings with family and friends. They may also exchange Easter greetings, inspirational quotes, and biblical verses with their loved ones as a way of expressing their happiness and faith.
Why Is it called ‘Good’ Friday?
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 German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, 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.
For the gospel’s good news to have meaning for us, we first have to understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation.
The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we are enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is essential to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture.
We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then, the gospel of Jesus’ grace brings us relief and salvation.
In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. 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.
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.
Christianity
