by Stef Connock
JUDGEMENT, CRUCIFIXION, DEATH! These are the words associated with the Friday before Easter. So why is it called ‘Good Friday’?
The world may try to explain it away as a derivative of ‘God’s Friday’, diminishing its true meaning. However, Good Friday is appropriately named and is a day of celebration. A day to acknowledge the crucifixion of Jesus and the weight that this sacrifice carries. You might be wondering how the words ‘celebrate’ and ‘crucifixion’ could be used in the same sentence, but if we think about what was given up for us, we can surely celebrate with no other emotion than immense joy. It was a selfless act of love displayed by God when he gave up His son for us. Jesus died in our place so we wouldn’t have to.
God’s love:
“‘For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.” – John 3 vs 16-17 (NLT)
This scripture can be explained as follows:
- God loved all His children with an everlasting love. He is a good father. God did not pick and choose who He wanted to love.
- God already knew that this life would be full of challenges and we would make mistakes so he sent His sinless, perfect Son to be the ultimate sacrifice. Without this sacrifice, we would still be separated from the love of God.
- This ultimate sacrifice made it possible for us to believe in Jesus, repent of our sins, and be baptized in the Holy Spirit. In turn, we received eternal life.
- If we follow the gospel of Jesus and believe in Him, one day we will be reunited with our loving Father for eternity.
[adapted from https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/believe/bible/john-3-16]
“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”- John 15 vs 13 (NLT)
Jesus laid down His life for you and me when he was nailed to the cross. By doing this, He made salvation as easy as accepting and responding to this love. It was not anything we had to work for or anything we could earn. His act of love sets us free from the penalty of sin.
We live in a fallen world and with God sending His Son to die for us we can live a life filled with freedom. We could never have lived a life worthy of God on our own, and because of this, we would have remained separated from the love of God, so the solution to this problem was Jesus living a sinless life on our behalf so that one day we would be reunited with God.
Was Good Friday necessary?
Absolutely yes! It is easier to appreciate something once you know how much you needed it and how much your life was lacking without it.
Without the suffering of Jesus on Good Friday, we could have never experienced the inexplicable joy of seeing our Lord and Savior raised from the grave on Easter Sunday. He defeated sin and death once and for all, so we do not have to.
We could never fully understand the victory we have because of the price that was paid for us and what it means for us as Christians and our daily Christian walk.
The death and resurrection of Jesus were turning points in history. The only way to appreciate good news was to understand the bad situation we found ourselves in first. The good news of deliverance only holds meaning once we understand what enslaved us.
In the same way, as terrible and heart-wrenching as Good Friday was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. These events were so meticulously planned by God.
“Unless there is Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.”- Fulton J. Sheen
During this time of Easter let us remember the relentless love of Christ in our moments of despair. Let us remember that we do not carry the weight of guilt and sin anymore.
Let us live in the freedom that we have gained and most importantly let us surrender everything to the one who loves us more than we could ever love ourselves.
Good Friday was a dark act of hate that exposed the greatest expression of love from God. The death of Jesus on Good Friday was the culmination of God’s plan to save His people from their sins. It was all part of His plan, His perfect plan!
So this Good Friday:
- Remember the sacrifice and price that was paid for you.
- Submit your guilt and shame to God.
- Live a life of freedom and extend a fraction of the love that God showed us to others.
So I leave you with one last thing to ponder: How are you going to accept and use the most expensive gift you will ever receive?