Why Is Good Friday Remembered As “Good”?

The other day a friend of mine asked me why Christians call Good Friday good.  There is a lot of logic to his question because by normal standards, it was a horrible day!  Jesus was an innocent man who was handed over to die the death of a criminal in the most excruciating of ways.  He was beaten beyond recognition in front of his family, followers, and friends.  Jesus was beaten nearly to death… but then he was hung on a cross!  He was nailed to it by his hands and his feet, and was spit on and given a crown of thorns by his mockers.  If he slumped down on the cross, he wouldn’t have been able to breath.  So he had to hold himself up to keep from suffocating. 

This is one of the most tragic events in history! It is one thing when a murderer or a rapist or a criminal who deserves punishment faces a painful death… but this is a man who loved people, healed people, ministered to people, and changed lives for the better.  How can this day possibly be good?

Our Need

The answer is connected to the fact that none of this was done apart from God’s own will and plan.  If Jesus had the power to heal, raise the dead, and calm the sea, he could have come down off of the cross and showed the people who he truly was.  If he had done that though… it would have been a very bad day.  Here’s why… In the beginning of creation, man sinned.  From that time forward all of mankind has been cursed.  Instead of worshipping God, we worship ourselves and other things. 

Who do you think about the most?  God? Others? Or yourself?  Most of us say we should put God and others before ourselves, but we put ourselves first 95% of the time!  When someone takes a group picture, who do you look for first? Yourself…  Who do you save up money to buy nice things for?  Yourself…  Who do you clean, bathe, feed, and provide for each day?  Maybe a child or a spouse, but definitely yourself!  We are self centered people… we worship ourselves…

God’s Plan

From the beginning, God knew we would be this way so he started leaving hints in the writings that he gave to mankind throughout history; he promised to one day provide a solution for this problem.  Even though we were under a curse and separated from God because of it, God would eventually provide a way to atone for our sins and remove the curse. Since ancient times, there has always been a correlation between sin and death.  The penalty for sin is death.  But because God is compassionate, he provided a temporary solution.  Whenever a person sinned, they could offer up a sacrifice to atone for the sin so they could be made right with God.  There are always consequences for sin.  People cannot make themselves clean and remove the curse, they must trust God to do it by the shedding of blood and faith in God’s promise.

The Old Testament animal sacrifices were never meant to be the ultimate fix.  They were a temporary representation that pointed to the final solution that God had planned.  His plan was to be born as a human being, to live a sinless life, and then to have his own blood shed so that we could have forgiveness for our sins.  Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”  Christ took the curse upon himself…  He took the punishment that we deserved.  Because he died, we can live! 

Our Hope

Jesus unlocked the doors for us to have eternal life and fellowship with God for eternity.  That is why this day is called Good Friday.  It is the best news we could ever receive!  The cure for our disease was provided on the cross!  But it only gets better… after three days he rose from the dead to prove that he has the authority to forgive sins and conquer death. 

See next post: Is There Any Evidence That Jesus Rose From The Dead?