What’s So Good About Good Friday Series

The significance of a person’s death depends largely on two things: who they are and what caused them to die. Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. Jesús willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Mourning Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions take this approach: in Malayalam, for example, the day is called “Thukkavelliyacha”, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, the origin of the term “Good” is debated: some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.

Jesus’ death was and continues to be significant first because, although a real man, He was not a mere man but God “revealed in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). D.A. Carson wrote, "It was not nails that held Jesus to that wretched cross; it was his unqualified resolution, out of love for his Father, to do his Father’s will—and it was his love for sinners like me." It is a good day because he traded places for you and for me. It is a good day because it was the day he conquered sin and death so that we will never be apart from God on this side of heaven or the other.

Beyond etymology, Good Friday can be called “good” because of the results of Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice was a demonstration of God’s love for us (Romans 5:8). Through Jesus’ death, we can have peace with God: “While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10). As 1 Peter 3:18 says, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.”

We call Good Friday good for several reasons. First, we remember that Good Friday did not end on that Friday. We had Resurrection Sunday a few days later to look forward to. It is good in the sense that we anticipate what will come to pass days later. Secondly, we call Good Friday good because we cannot have the Good News of the Gospel without the bad news of sin first. Good Friday helps us to realize the gravity of our sinful nature and how much we need a Savior. People do not need good news unless they have endured something bad before. Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. Paul considered it “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, following what God had promised in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3).

The Bible tells us that it was a failure on the part of humanity to keep God’s perfect standard that brought in death: “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). It also tells us that Jesus, the Son of God, “committed no sin” (1 Peter 2:22); more than that, “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Death, therefore, had no claim on Him. When the right moment came, He surrendered His own life: “No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily” (John 10:18).The Jewish leaders condemned Jesus to death under the charge of blasphemy, because He was claiming to be God: “he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God” (John 19:7). However, the charge was false, because He was the Son of God, equal with God the Father (John 10:30), and His resurrection on the third day proved it: “declared to be the Son of God . . . by his resurrection” (Romans 1:4).

On Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10). Easter follows it, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, heralding his victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to a future resurrection for all who are united to him by faith (Romans 6:5).

For the gospel's good news to have meaning for us, we first must understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we were enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is essential to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then, the gospel of Jesus’ grace brings us relief and salvation. In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because, as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter.