Why is this Friday so Good?
At first glance behind the story of Good Friday, there doesn't seem to much that is good about it. One this Friday before Passover over 2000 years ago, a man was put do death by hanging on a cross. It would be an even that would change the world forever.
Whether you believe that Jesus died on that cross to save the world from death and take the penalty for our sins, lived a good life and taught nice things, or didn't even exist at all, there is no doubt that He impacted the world in a way that no other man in history has. 2000 years after His death, peoples lives are still changed and affected daily by this man. While some people feel hate and disgust when they here Jesus mentioned, most people's lives are changed for the better.
Fourteen years ago, my brother asked me while sitting on a park bench whether I wanted to accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior. I didn't truly know what that meant at the time but I had always believed in Jesus, gone to church, and knew that there was something special about Him. Since then, I have witnessed the power that this man has in my life.
Thankfully, the death of Jesus on the day before Passover was not the end. In a perfect fulfillment of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, Jesus became that sacrifice and washed us clean from our sins. They buried Him in defeat with lost hope not realizing that He would was born to do this. He was also born to return to life on the Feast of First Fruits. Jesus can be called the Father's first born son because He was the first for resurrect from the dead. He overcame death doing what He promised us that He would. Many other religious figures have promised miraculous things only to fail in the fulfillment of their promises.
We can call this Friday good because our Father in Heaven demonstrated His perfect love for us. John 3:16 sums it up perfectly when it tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that we may have eternal life. Jesus died so we could live forever with Him in Heaven. As a nation we are quickly forgetting this event. Most of my students probably have no idea why Good Friday is significant. The name Jesus is becoming one of the most offensive things we can talk about. As we move further from the Lord, our only joy is that we move closer to His return.
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