What is Good about Good Friday that we all should know?
Why is Good Friday called “good,” when it commemorates the day of suffering and death for Jesus, which must be considered as a dark and heart-wrenching event in the history of humanity, what is Good about Good Friday that we all should know?
Good Friday
Good Friday, for Christians, is a victory day of the year because it reverberates what they believe as the most momentous week of the year, in the history of the world, the beliefs, and the humanity. As Jesus died and raised to life, Christians proclaimed the cross along with the resurrection of Jesus as one of the decisive moments and a turning point for all creations.
Paul mentioned it as “of first importance” that Jesus had died for human sins, was then buried, and was again raised to life on the third day from the death, all in accordance with what God had promised all along in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).
On Good Friday, humanity commemorates the day Jesus willingly suffered for the human race and died by crucifixion as the ultimate and supreme sacrifice for mortal sins (1 John 1:10). Easter follows it on Sunday, which is a glorious celebration of the day when Jesus was raised from the dead to life again, pronouncing the victory over sin and death and going ahead to a future resurrection for the whole human race who are united to him by faith (Romans 6:5).
Why called “Good” Friday?
But still, why is it termed as “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or similar to that? Some Christian traditions take the approach: in German, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, the original term “Good” is debated by one and all: some believe it was taken from an older version, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the originality of the name, Good Friday is somewhat appropriate to mark the day because the suffering bore by the Jesus and death of Jesus, as horrible as it was, marked the highly dramatic end of God’s plan to save his disciples and people in general, from their sins.
To have good news of the gospel and to be meaning for humans, we have to understand the bad news of our fate as sinful people under the highest condemnation. The good news of deliverance only gives sense when we see how we are being enslaved with wrongdoings. There is another way of telling this is that it is crucial to understand and distinguish between the law of nature and gospel in Scripture. We need the code to tell us how hopeless the condition of the human race is; then, the gospel of Jesus’ grace comes to the Earth and brings much-needed relief and salvation.
In the same manner, Good Friday is termed “good” because the day may be considered as terrible as doom’s day, it was sure to happen for the humans in order to get the joyous moment called Easter. The wrath of God for the sins committed by the human race had to be dumped on Jesus in the form of extreme step of crucifixion, the perfect sacrificial, in order to get forgiveness and salvation to be given to the human race. During the harrowing day of suffering, sorrow, and bloodshed during the crucifixion,
God played only one part at a time from “just and the justifier” because who trusted Jesus (Romans 3:26), he has remained as human as he could be. Ironically, the day seemed to be the most significant victory of evil over good, but it was the deathblow of God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage and slavery of sin.
The cross denotes the point of convergence of great suffering of humans and God’s forgiveness. Psalms 85:10 rhymns of a day when “righteousness and peace” then “will kiss .” The cross of Jesus is the place where that moment occurred, where God’s wishes, his righteousness, coincided with his powerful mercy. We receive God’s divine forgiveness, compassion, and peace because Jesus, Himself, willingly took our divine punishment, which was the result of God’s righteousness and supreme love and blessing against every sin.
“For the joy came before him” (Hebrews 12:2), Jesus took the cross on Good Friday, helps us led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace.
Good Friday commemorates the day when God saved us from wrath and showered His holy mercy met at the cross. That’s why, now I think you must have understood, Good Friday is so Evil and so Good.
When Is Good Friday celebrated annually?
In 2020, Good Friday is on Friday, April 10. Good Friday is always celebrated the Friday before Sunday Easter.
Bible Verses of Jesus
Romans 5:6-10 – “You see, at the right time, when we were still powerless and empty, Christ died for the ungodly. Very uncommonly will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might dare to die? But God demonstrated his true love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since his blood has now justified us, how much more shall we be saved from God’s anger through him! For if, while we were God’s non disciples, we were reconciled to him through the death of Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”
Peter 2:24 – “He bore our sins” in his body on the cross so that we might die to overburdened sins and live for righteous life; “by his wounds, you have been healed by God.”
Isaiah 53:3-5 – “He was being despised and rejected by humanity, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain and grief. Like one from whom people would hide their faces, he was despised and rejected, and we held him in low self esteem. Surely he took up our evil, pain and bore our extreme suffering, yet we considered him punished by God Himself, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our anger and transgressions, and he was crushed for our iniquities and ill will; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed.”