Good Friday

1. GoodFriday – 14th
April 2017
“Jesussaid,“Father, forgivethem. They don’t know whatthey are doing.” The soldiersdivideduphis
clothes bycasting lots.” (Luke23:34).
“The Kinghascome.But that’s notgood newsuntil we hearthatthe Kinghas come to die for his
rebellioussubjects.”JohnPiper- Gospel Depths.Quite oftenmanynon-Christianshave inquiredasto
whatis Good Friday.Whenwe tell themthatthatwas the day JesusChristoursaviourwas crucifiedthey
immediatelyrespond“Sowhyisitcalled ‘Good’Friday?Thatquestionpuzzlesnotonly non-Christians
but many childrenandsome Christians aswell.Afterall,itisn'tobviousthatwe shouldcall GoodFriday
good:since it isthe day on whichourLord JesusChristsuffered untildeathona cross for our sake…to
save humanity frometernal damnation!
Good Fridayisalsoknownas "HolyFriday”by some Christiandenominations.Itisthe Friday
immediately before EasterSunday.Itistraditionallyreferred tothe dayonwhichJesuswascrucified.
Good Fridayiscalledgoodbecause Christ,byHisDeath,"showedHisgreatlove forman, where Jesus
Christas the onlySon wasthe atoningsacrifice to ‘purchase usback’ to Him."Good,inthissense,means
"holy,"andindeedGoodFridayisknownas Holy and Great Friday among EasternChristians,both
CatholicandOrthodox. The fact that the word Holy is alsousedinEnglish,itwouldbe natural forGood
Fridayto be called Holy Friday as itis more acceptable inotherlanguages. We canalsolearnthat the
entire weekbefore Easterisknownas Holy Week,and we use the term Holy to refertothe daysbefore
and afterGood Friday:Holy Thursday – the day before andHoly Saturday –the day after.Froma
linguisticstandpoint,it'salsointerestingtonote that Good Fridayiscalled‘good’onlyinEnglish.
Anotherquestionthatcomes upiswhetherJesuswascrucifiedof thatday andassumingthat wasa
Friday,shouldChristians worldwiderememberJesus'death onthe “Good Friday?”Firstwe mustnote
that the Bible doesnotinstructChristianstorememberChrist’sdeathbyhonoringacertainday.The
Bible doesgive usfreedominthesematters,however we canread from Romans14:5, “Oneperson
considersone day to be more holy thananother. Another person thinksall days are the same. Each of
them shouldbe absolutelysure intheir ownmind.” Asfor Christians, ratherthanrememberingChrist's
deathon a certainday, once a year, we shouldrememberthatChrist lovesusandthathe diedtosave
us frometernal damnation.
The Bible doesnotexplicitlystate onwhichdayof the weekJesuswascrucified.The twomostwidely
heldviewsare FridayandWednesday. We canreadof an incidentasstated inMatthew 12:38-40,
“Someof the Pharisees andthe teachers of the law came to Jesus.They said,“Teacher, we want to see
a signfrom you.”39
Heanswered, “Evil andunfaithful peopleaskfor a sign!But none will be given
except the signof the prophet Jonah. 40
Jonahwasin the belly ofa huge fishfor three daysand three
nights.Somethinglike thatwill happento the Son of Man.He will spend three days andthree nights
in the grave.” One of the principal argumentsforFridayisfoundin Mark 15:42–43, “It was the day
before the Sabbath.That day was calledPreparationDay. As evening approached, 43
Josephwent
boldlyto Pilateand asked forJesus’ body.Joseph wasfrom the town of Arimathea.He was a leading
member of the Jewish Council.He was waitingforGod’skingdom.” Fromthis we can note that Jesus
was crucified “the daybefore the Sabbath.” If that was the weeklySabbath,i.e.Saturday,thenthatfact
leadstoa Fridaycrucifixion.Furthermore,saysthatJesuswill be raised“after”three days. Mark8:31,
“Jesusthen began to teach hisdisciples.He taughtthem that the Son of Manmust suffer manythings.
He taughtthem that the elders wouldnot accept him.The chiefpriests and the teachers of the law
wouldnot accept him either. He mustbe killedandafter three days rise again.”

2. Historical datatellsusthat the crucifixionof Jesus occurredin 1stcentury Judea,betweenthe years30
and 33 AD. Scholarshave providedestimatesforthe yearof crucifixioninthe range 30–33 AD,withthe
majorityof modernscholarsfavoringthe date April 7,30 AD. Anotherpopulardate isFriday,April 3,33
AD. Jesus'crucifixion isdescribedinthe fourcanonical gospels,referredtointhe New Testament
epistles,attestedtoby otherancientsources,andisestablishedasahistorical eventconfirmedbynon-
Christiansources.Butthere isnoconsensusonthe precise detailsof the exactdate andtime.
The Gospelsstate sevenstatementsthatJesusChristmade onthe cross.They are givenbelow - notin
any particularorder.
A. We can read from Matthew 27:46 “Aboutthree o’clock,Jesus cried out ina loudvoice. He said,“Eli,
Eli,lema sabachthani?” Thismeans“MyGod,my God,why have youdeserted me?” Biblical scholars
say that here JesuswasexpressingHisfeelingsof abandonmentasGodplacedthe sinsof the worldon.
As Jesuswasfeelingthatweightof sin,He wasexperiencing aseparationfromGodfor the onlytime in
all of eternity.Thiswasalsoafulfillmentof the propheticstatementin Psalm22:1, “My God, my God,
why haveyou deserted me? Why do you seem so faraway when Ineed you to saveme?Why do you
seem so far away thatyou can’thearmy groans?
B. We can readfrom Luke 23:34,“Jesus said,“Father,forgivethem. They don’tknow what they are
doing.” The soldiersdivideduphis clothesby castinglots.” JesusChrist’sprayerinthe midstof their
mockingHimis an expressionof the limitlesscompassionof divine grace.
C. We can learnfrom Luke 23:43, “Jesusanswered him, “WhatI’maboutto tell you is true. Today you
will be with me in paradise.” Evenat the hour of hisdeath,the criminal hadexpressedhisfaithinJesus,
recognizingHimforwhoHe was as statedin Luke 23:42.
D. We can learnfrom Luke 23:46, “Jesuscalledout ina loud voice,“Father,into your handsI commit
my life.” After he saidthis, he took hislast breath.” Here,JesusiswillinglygivingupHissoul intothe
Father’shands,indicatingthatHe wasabout to die – and that God hadacceptedHis sacrifice.He
“offeredupHimself unblemishedtoGod”
E. We can learnfrom John19:26-27, “Jesussaw his mother there. He alsosaw the disciplehe loved
standingnearby.Jesus saidto his mother, “Dear woman,here is your son.” 27
He saidto the disciple,
“Here isyour mother.” From that time on, the discipletook her into hishome.”
F. We can learnfrom John19:28, “Later, Jesus knew that everything hadnow been finished.He also
knew that what Scripture saidmust come true. So he said,“Iam thirsty.” Jesuswashere fulfillingthe
Messianicprophecyfrom Psalm69:21
G. We can learnfrom John 19:30, “AfterJesus drank he said,“It isfinished.” Thenhe bowedhis head
and died.” Jesus’lastwordsmeantthatHis sufferingwasoverandthe whole workHisFatherhad given
Him to do,whichwasto preach the Gospel,workmiracles,andobtaineternal salvationforHispeople,
was done,accomplished,fulfilled.The debtof sinwaspaid.
In the grand scheme of things,itisnot all that importanttoknow whatday of the weekChristwas
crucified.If itwere veryimportant,thenGod'sWordwouldhave clearlycommunicatedthe dayand
timeframe.WhatisimportantisthatHe diddie to save us because of Hislove forus. He took the
punishmentthatwe assinnersdeserve. We canlearn fromJohn 3:16, “Godsoloved the world that he
gave hisone and onlySon. Anyonewho believes inhim will not diebut will have eternal life” and again
fromJohn 3:36, “Anyonewho believesin the Son has eternal life.Anyone whodoes not believe inthe
Son will not havelife. God’sangerremains on them.” Both proclaimthatputtingyourtrust in Jesus
Christresultsineternal life!Thisisequallytrue whetherHe wascrucifiedona Wednesday,Thursday,or

3. Friday. AsChristians whatwe needtoknow is that Jesuslivedonthisearth justas anyof us, did many
miraclesandhealedthe sick, broughtusthe Good newsof salvation, wasthe atoningsacrifice tosave
humanity, hadto undergomuchsufferingandultimatelywasCrucifiedtodie ona cross, but was
resurrectedafterthree daysand He Ascended upintoheaven.“Whenhehadled them out to the
vicinityofBethany, he lifted uphis handsand blessedthem. 51
Whilehe wasblessingthem, he left
them and wastaken upinto heaven.”(Luke24:50-51).