What's So Good About Good Friday?

"Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Have you ever wondered, what’s so good about Good Friday? As you know Christians around the world use this term Good Friday to remind them of the day that Jesus was crucified. It’s a very special day because without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection, and without the resurrection there would be no Christianity. You see without this day there would be no third day.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of our faith. To a Christian, the most significant day in history is the day that Jesus rose from the dead, having conquered death, hell and the grave. But without His death there could be no resurrection from the dead, which is why Good Friday is so important. Jesus talked quite a bit about his death and his resurrection throughout the gospels. Here are just three examples from Matthew’s Gospel:

From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day. Matthew 16:21

Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful. Matthew 17:22-23

Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day HE will rise again. Matthew 20:17-19

Did you notice that each time Jesus referred to His death He also, in the same breath, referred to His resurrection from the dead? Why is that? Well it’s simple; He knew His mission was not to be a martyr, but our Messiah, the One who would lead us back into our relationship with God as our LIVING Savior!

It reminds me of an old Bill Gaither song-

God sent His son, they called him Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive,
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there is to prove my Savior lives!

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living, just because He lives!

That my friends is the Gospel message—Jesus died but now He is alive! But He didn’t die alone. He took our sins, our sorrows, our pains to the cross and then to the grave and they all died with Him. And because all those things died with Him we can now live with Him—forgiven and free to live the life that God always intended for us.

That’s what makes Good Friday so good.

In Him-

Jeff