By Bob Barney
Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday, as followed by most mainstream Christian churches. It is celebrated traditionally as the day on which Jesus was crucified, yet the Bible never mentions the day “Friday” as the actual day Christ died, it was inferred by early Catholic church leaders almost 300 years after Christ’s death on the stake. If you are interested in a study of the issue, please see our article that discusses the various views on which day Jesus was crucified, here. Assuming that Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday, modern churches follow this day (TODAY) as the day Jesus died.
The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Good Friday or Easter for that matter, the holiday that the early church followed was Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Why is Good Friday referred to as “good”? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27). However, as church theolgians say today is that the results of Christ’s death “are very good!” Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”
Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, in which Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord’s Supper. Whether or not Christians choose to “celebrate” Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross is the paramount event of the Christian faith.
If you follow today as Good Friday, be aware of the Biblical account but most importantly remember that on a day in history, GOD DIED FOR YOUR SINS! That knowledge and a humble and contrite heart will bring you a long way on the path to your salvation…….
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