Good Friday? What’s so good about it?

 

Growing up, I always remember the Friday before Easter being called “Good Friday.” All I really knew about it was it was a day off school and that Easter was a couple days later and people seemed to put fancy labels on the holiday weekend. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why they wanted to call it “good?”

I grew up in a Christian home. I was in church just about every time the doors were open. Easter wasn’t a foreign concept or just a tradition for us, it was a reality of celebrating Jesus death and resurrection. But still, this “Good Friday” thing I just never could understand. Jesus DIED – that’s not “good” is it?

Only in the last few years have I realized the depth of the “good” of “Good Friday.”  It wasn’t necessarily good for Jesus….but for us!  His death provided freedom from sin and death, a restored relationship, life eternal, the gift of the Holy Spirit, Joy and Peace! He knew something that we didn’t – He knew Sunday was coming! Sure it was prophesied and Jesus spoke of it, but it was still a mystery! The disciples couldn’t even understand!

God had a plan. Jesus was the main character in this plan; this story. After all, it’s “His-story!” We know how Jesus showed us His love by teaching, ministering, healing the sick, the lame, raising the dead, loving sinners, etc. But, maybe in order to really grab our attention, He knew he had to do the one thing we would never have expected. Lay down His life. That is an incredible “good” thing! (Actually it’s pretty heroic if I can use the term.) As a military family, we understand that very well. We may have experienced this in our lives or know close friends who have gone through the pain and suffering watching someone we know “lay down their lives.” Can you imagine how Mary and the disciples felt? To lay your life down for one person is great, but to agree to do this for the whole world, for salvation and to regain a right standing with God again, knowing many of them will reject you and not believe it even happened, takes a great man. A perfect man. Actually it could only be a perfect God who loves us with an everlasting love!

This is why Friday before Easter is good. If Jesus didn’t pay the penalty for my sin, I would be lost. We needed a Savior and God had a plan. Thank God for making a way through His son! The crushing weight of my sin and shame, my sickness and diseases were put on Him so I wouldn’t have to carry them any longer. He looked from eternity past to eternity future and saw me. He saw you. He willingly laid His life down because He saw the joy of our salvation before Him and he endured the cross for that. This is why it is GOOD!

A song that is a great reminder ends like this:

“Jesus paid it all! All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain and He washed it white as snow!”

I will also leave you with this great song from Downhere – How Many Kings