Good Friday - Significance and History
Good Friday is the day on which Lord Jesus was crucified. Good Friday is also known as Holy Friday. Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday which is the day on which Lord Jesus came back after his crucifixion. Read on to know more about the significance of Good Friday. Good Friday is the Friday that comes just before the Easter Sunday and Christians all over the world believe that Jesus Christ died that day after being hanged on the cross. The entire week is considered holy and auspicious as they live in the hope of life after death just like Jesus rose on first Easter.
Significance of Good Friday
Christians believe that Jesus sacrificed his life for the sins of the world. Some people stay fasting and meditating throughout the day to show the agony and pain that they feel because Jesus was hanged on cross and nailed and left to die there. But most of the Christians believe that the 'good' about Good Friday is the hope of resurrection and new life that was showered on Jesus from God.
Good Friday is one of the crucial moments in Christians' lives and has great traditional significance too. Jesus sacrificed his life to help human beings get rid of the sins that separate them from God. This was the time when people lost hope. But very soon, when Jesus rose from death, it created hope and anticipation in people's mind and heart.
Rituals followed on the Occasion of Good Friday
People cover all crosses, images and statuettes in violet or purple colour and mourn for Christ's death by extinguishing the candles as well. Attend Good Friday Service that is held in churches. Some churches enact the entire scene and spread the words of Jesus among people. Some churches keep it sober and solemn and have prayers and readings from bible. Traditions do vary from country to country but the message and the intention remains the same. The way of expressing their love for Jesus is different from people of different locations. No matter how people celebrate, there is a somber tone of remembrance along with regret but there is always hope.
Message of Good Friday
Good Friday's message is that goodness can never be won by evil. This means goodness, non violence and love should be the weapons of people and with that they can conquer evil, violence and hatred.
Jesus Christ taught people to have complete trust in God and love their enemies too. No one should judge others and always do only that to others that you would like them do to you.
On Good Friday we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins (1 John 1:10). It is followed by Easter, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, heralding his victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to a future resurrection for all who are united to him by faith (Romans 6:5).
Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions do take this approach: in German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, in fact, the origin of the term “Good” is debated: some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.
In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter. The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, in order for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and shed blood at the cross, God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the deathblow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.
The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. Psalms 85:10 sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other.” The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, the result of God’s righteousness against sin. “For the joy set before him” (Hebrews 12:2) Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace.
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