What is Good Friday?
From the name to its events, this is a disturbing day
Good Friday is the day marking the death of Christ on the cross.
Good Friday is a day off school in the U.S.
Good Friday is called "good" either as a reference to what is pious and holy, or as a linguistic corruption of the word "God."
Good Friday has historically been a bank holiday.
Good Friday is a fast day for Roman Catholics, and no masses are said between Maundy Thursday (yesterday) and Easter Sunday.
Good Friday is sometimes called "Holy Friday," "Great Friday," or "Black Friday."
Good Friday in the Philippines is marked by processions where some people beat themselves with whips (self-flagellation).
Good Friday is holiday without too many sales attached to it.
What is Good Friday? All the statements above are true, and yet they don't really tell us what Good Friday is.
The first Good Friday began literally at midnight, as Jesus, arrested in the Garden, was driven by his captors along a major road along the eastern and southern walls of Jerusalem. First, he was taken to the house of Annas, the leader of the high priestly family who controlled the office. Then, it was on to his son-in-law, Caiphas, who held the priesthood for the moment. There, he faced the mocking throng that cursed, beat, and spit upon him. Visiting the house of Caiphas today (it is a stop on our Israel tours), you go from th e main level down into a dungeon where prisoners were kept, and can still see the place where a prisoner, and quite possibly Jesus, would have been tied, hands extended above the head (see picture at right). Here he spent the night, and remembering that we read Psalm 88 there—the only psalm that is bleak all the way through. Since the psalms were Jesus’ songbook, perhaps he sang this lament, with verses like:
My soul is full of trouble
and my life draws near the grave….
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths….
I am confined and cannot escape….
You have taken my companions and loved ones from me;
the darkness is my closest friend. (vv 2, 6, 7, 18)
Before dawn he was escorted out of the dungeon, up and into the courtyard on the way, very early, to be officially tried and condemned by the Sanhedrin. Passing through, he may have heard the denial of Peter just before the rooster crowed. His eye fell on his chief disciple, just as that man’s denials crushed his heart as he ran away weeping.
Found guilty by the Sanhedrin, he was taken to Pilate, and then to Herod, and then back to Pilate. Mocked at every stage of his ordeal, his one meaningful conversation was with Pilate, but that man’s heart was so hard when told about the truth, he simply said, “What is truth” and walked away to his everlasting condemnation.
Politics triumphed that day, as the chief priests maneuvered Pilate into giving them what they wanted—power to execute Jesus. So he was led through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha/Calvary—"the place of the skull”—where his crucifixion took place.
At 9:00 a.m., the cross with Jesus was raised.
At noon, the sun went dark.
At 3:00 p.m., he breathed his last. The temple curtain tore in two from top to bottom. Earthquakes shook the city. Graves were opened and saints were raised. The centurion marveled at the way Jesus died. Pilate wondered that he had died so quickly. Sometime later that afternoon, Jesus’ body, wrapped hurriedly for burial, was laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. Jesus friends from Galilee probably retreated to the upper room where the Passover had been eaten just one night earlier. Local friends probably went home. Disciples may well have feared that they would be hunted down and crucified next. The events of the day were done well before sundown.
That is what happened on Good Friday. But that isn’t the whole story.
So, what is Good Friday? Let me tell you.
It is Salvation Day. It is redemption accomplished. It is wrath borne for sinners. It is propitiation for sins. It is the day, without which, nothing else would matter.
Jesus died.
Jesus died to save sinners.
Jesus died for you, bearing God's wrath as He took your sin upon Himself.
Jesus died the death we deserve.
Jesus died in fulfillment of the Father's plan.
Jesus died, but He would not stay dead.
Jesus died, but on Sunday he rose, and death has never held the same power since then.
Sin’s penalty was paid. Sinners’ unrighteousness had been replaced by the righteousness of Christ. God’s judgment was satisfied and for all who believe, it is replaced by the powerful, never-ending love of the Father.
This is Good Friday.
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dren were sponsored by you, the Grace Family. This will mean that 31 families will receive food for another month. 31 children and their siblings will be personally ministered to by the team of believers from the Irbil Baptist Church and Pastor Sabre. And it means even more people will hear the gospel. Most of those in the church have come to Christ through this program--what a blessing!l Just this week these children helped in the church's food distribution to families. Keep praying, and if you would like to join in, you still can. Simply go to 
