Why is Good Friday 'Good?'

Today is one of the most significant days during the whole year, and it is today that we traditionally call "Good Friday," the day that our Savior died. Understanding what day the death of our Lord took place is not something that requires commentaries or scholars, for Mark states that Jesus was buried "the day before the Sabbath" (Mark 15:42), and the other gospel accounts agree. But understanding why we refer to this day as good, isn't as easy to understand. Just ponder this for a moment - what is good about the death of the Son of God? If murder of an innocent person would be considered a culpable crime, then wouldn't the murder of the sinless Son of God be so too? What is good about the scheming of the chief priests, elders, and Pharisees who conspired to have Jesus killed and succeeded? What is good about crucifixion - the worst and most brutal form of punishment in ancient days?

If you do not understand why this day is good, then you do not understand why Jesus came into the world - because why this day is called good is found in the fulfillment of God's standard of righteousness through Jesus' life on the earth and death on the cross.

Here's why Good Friday is good:

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

Jesus died on that cross, and was buried so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin, but so that we could be free to serve God - His death brought our healing. Because let's face it: we are depraved human beings. We are all sinners (Rom. 3:23), and deserving of death because all of our sins are as crimes in God's sight (Rom. 6:23). We need to be free from sin - the debt of sin and its influence in our lives. And Peter says that's why Jesus came to die.

Good Friday is good because Jesus died in our place, bore our sin debt on the cross, so that we can be free from sin and serve Him both now and forever.

Seeking Christ,
Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor of Youth and
Children at Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His sermons,
podcasts, book reviews, and other free ministry
resources can be found on Brandon's Desk