For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
When I was a kid, my parents had a wall calendar hanging on the back of the pantry door.
As all calendars do, it had the months organized by days and weeks. My parents had written several notations on many of the days. Being the youngest of five kids, most notes had to do with who was being driven to what location and at what time.
One day, while looking at the calendar, I noticed certain days had additional words printed in a small, italicized font.
New Year’s Day.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Valentine’s Day.
Presidents’ Day.
First Day of Spring.
Easter.
Clearly, the calendar makers had thought to point out any holidays or days of significance. I looked at the row above Easter and saw another italicized entry.
Good Friday.
I knew the Friday before Easter was when Jesus died on the cross, and I’m sure I’d heard it referred to as “Good Friday” before, but something about seeing it in print, categorized in the same way as other celebratory days, made me pause.
Why do we call that day good?
In isolation, a day that someone died would hardly be considered good. But in the context of Easter, everything changes.
- Good Friday is a good day because of who Jesus is.
- Good Friday is a good day because of what was accomplished.
- Good Friday is a good day because Jesus didn’t stay dead.
- Good Friday is a good day because the cross wasn’t the end of the story.
- Good Friday is a good day because the cross led to a tomb.
Though Jesus was carried into the tomb dead, He walked out alive.
What an amazing twist to the story.
With God, things are seldom as they seem.
Everyone looked at Jesus’ death as the end. Jesus’ disciples saw it as the end of their teacher and rabbi’s life. Many in the crowds who followed Jesus saw it as the end of their hope to be free from Roman oppression. The religious leaders saw it as the end of a seemingly heretical movement. The Roman authorities saw it as the end of another possible rebellion.
In God’s hands, this end was anything but an end; it was the start of something new.
And that’s what God does. He makes things new.
In Christ, our past no longer defines us.
2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
That’s certainly some good news.
In Christ, we have hope no matter what our present circumstances are.
Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Nowhere in Scripture are we promised that life will always feel good or appear good to us. We are, however, promised that God is good, and He can and will bring good even from the worst situations. The cross is proof of this.
In Christ, we have an eternal hope.
Because of God’s love, He sent His Son Jesus. Jesus died on Friday, rose again on Sunday, and offers us hope of a future resurrection as well. All it takes is to “believe in Him.”
As we approach Good Friday, we have the benefit of knowing that Easter Sunday is just a few days away. The cross was not the end. Jesus didn’t stay dead, and in fact, He is alive right now.
Good Friday is indeed good. It was the day that our Savior died, but it is through Jesus’ death and resurrection that we are saved from our sins and can now live with the hope and the certainty of eternal life.
1 Corinthians 15:4–5, For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
This is the Gospel.
This is good news.
Good Friday is a good day.
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