The Easter weekend always begins with Good Friday. Before the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday, believers spend Friday reflecting on the barbaric death that He had to face on the cross. So, what makes Good Friday good if the entire day is centered on remembering the unjust and gruesome death of the Lord Jesus Christ? In this blog, we’ll share why Good Friday is good and the vital role that the death of Christ plays in the Easter Sunday celebration.
Obedience
Good Friday is only possible because Jesus was obedient to the will of God the Father. Isaiah 53:10 states the will of God the Father for His Messiah, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.”
From the beginning, 700-plus years before Jesus was even born, the Scriptures made it clear that the Messiah would be crushed for the sins of mankind. Jesus affirmed that His purpose as Messiah was to be crushed during His earthly ministry when He predicted His death on the cross three distinct times (Matthew 16:21, Mark 9:30-32, Matthew 20:17-19). In each prediction, Jesus shared that He would suffer, be mocked, be crucified, and be raised from the dead on the third day.
How does this help us see the goodness in Good Friday? Well, it encourages us that though the death of Christ was brutal and unjust, it was a part of God’s sovereign plan for the Messiah. From the words of Isaiah to the predictions of Jesus, it is evident that the cross was not an accident but a purposeful plan that God the Father had put into place for God the Son to accomplish.
Though Jesus knew His earthly ministry would be encapsulated in death on the cross, it still required His obedience. It is important to remember the essential elements of the doctrine of incarnation, which states that Jesus was both fully God and fully man during His time on earth. Hebrews 4:14-16 teaches us that because Jesus took on a human nature, He dealt with the same temptations that we face, and therefore, He can sympathize with us.
So, it is safe to assume that Jesus experienced temptations to avoid the difficult task of obedience to God the Father's will for His life. Philippians 2:8 tells us, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross.!”
We get insight into the mind of Jesus the night before He died while praying in the garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:46. In these verses, we see Jesus battling in prayer with His Father about the difficult task that He knew was coming. He prayed twice to the Father that the cup of suffering would be taken from Him, but not that His will would be done, but the will of the Father (Matthew 26:39).
The beauty of Good Friday is that Jesus was obedient to the point of death! He did not deny His Father's will but walked in perfect obedience throughout His life, which makes it glorious because it was this final act of obedience that accomplished salvation for all those who believe in Him.
Atonement
As important as the obedience of Christ to the point of death was, it truly is what was accomplished through that obedience that makes the obedience noteworthy!
The Scriptures reveal that mankind has a sin problem. The unrighteous acts of man cause separation from God and put them under His righteous judgment. Romans 3:23 teaches that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Therefore, if all have sinned, all are under the judgment of God. This is a frightening reality if we consider the consequences of God’s judgment. The situation is hopeless without intervention from God Himself.
This is why Good Friday is so good. It is the death of Christ that satisfies the wrath and judgment of God against the sin of mankind, providing atonement for all past, present, and future sins for all those who believe. Isaiah 53:5-6 predicts Christ's atoning work: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
On the cross, Jesus was given the punishment that we should receive for our sins. He was crushed for our iniquities. A key attribute of the God of the Bible is that He is just, and because He is just, He cannot leave sin unpunished. Therefore, because there had to be a payment for the sins of mankind to restore us to a right relationship with God, He offered His Son as the once-for-all atonement for sins.
The cross was where that atonement happened, and it was on Good Friday when that hefty price for our sin was paid in full.
Hope
John 19:30 says, “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” It was at that moment that Jesus finished the work of atonement on Good Friday and finished the work that God the Father commanded Him to do.
In these last words from Jesus, we are once again reminded why Good Friday is so good. Jesus Christ, through His work on the cross, paid the price for sin. Romans 5:8-9 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”
These two verses teach us that Good Friday gives us hope. While we were still sinners, unable to achieve righteousness on our own, Christ did the work to pay the debt we owed God for our sins and impart His perfect righteousness onto us (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Furthermore, we have been justified and saved from God’s wrath through the work that Christ did on the cross. We are no longer bound to the punishments that our sins deserve and are subject to the wrath of God, but rather, we are saved from it and are justified as righteous in His sight!
Conclusion
Good Friday is a time to remember what Jesus had to endure to reconcile sinful people, like you and me, back to God. His death was brutal and unjust, but it was a part of God’s sovereign plan of salvation. Jesus was obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).
Through His obedience, we can deem Good Friday to be great because it is only through Good Friday that we can celebrate Easter Sunday. If Christ does not die, we are still in our sins and are of all people most to be pitied (1 Corinthians 15:19). So, as we reflect on this Good Friday on the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us not mourn but be grateful for the atonement that Christ provided for all those who believe.
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