Why Good Friday?

Why Good Friday is Called Good?

Dear children,


The Friday that falls on 10 April 2009 is not the usual “Friday” we reckon with. There is an extra word added to it or an adjective to describe that Friday. That word is good. All over the world, people acknowledge that Friday shall be called “Good Friday”?

Why is that so?

Let us examine the origin of the words “Good Friday”. In German, Good Friday is called Karfreitag. The Kar is no more in use but it refers to the meaning of mourning. Freitag essentially means Friday. So in German, Good Friday is actually called Mourning Friday.

In English, “good” sometimes meant God. For example, when we say good bye, it means God be with you. So we can say that Good Friday basically means God’s Friday.

Whether Mourning Friday or Good Friday, they serve to remind us of the indescribable great love of God for you and me.

Mourning Friday
The Germans has rightly called Mourning Friday because we are in a sad state of our sins. The first Adam in the Garden of Eden disobeyed God and since then, all mankind fell in sin with him. He is our representative. Because of his sin of disobedience to God, we all have sinned. This we called the Original Sin. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we are all sinners. None of us are righteous as God said in Romans 3:10. Death is a vivid reminder to us that we are all sinners because the wages of sin is death.

But God in His compassion took pity upon us. He send Jesus as the second Adam to save us. Jesus was the Son of God, who is without sin. He lived a sinless and righteous life for us and willingly obeyed God to die on the cross as a sacrifice for us. John the Baptist identified Him as the “Lamb of God” that takes away our sin.

On that Friday 2000 years ago, those who waved the palm leaves 5 days before that Friday were crying out, Hosanna! (which means save now) were now clenching their fists, punching them into the air crying out, Crucify Him! Crucify Him!
Jesus was indeed sorrowful as He agonized with His Father in the garden of Gethsemane. But He surrendered willingly to God’s will that He must suffer that we may have salvation and victory over death.

He was betrayed, wrongly arrested, falsely accused, scorned at, spat at, whipped mercilessly, jeered at and was sentenced to be nailed on the cruel cross meant for the worst criminals in the Roman Empire.

It was a mournful Friday indeed. The disciples mourned that their Master who walked with them now walked with them no more.

Good Friday
Sorrow and mourning shall flee for our Lord Jesus Christ kept true to His prophetic words to the unbelieving teachers of the Law, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). No tomb could keep the Lord from rising up from the dead. The tomb was empty on Sunday. God has raised Jesus up. Jesus is risen! He resurrected bodily, He is alive.

Hence, that Friday is called God’s Friday or good Friday. The Lord went to the cross as a suffering Saviour in order that He will be our victorious Saviour. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Cor 15:55-57

Our faith in Jesus is not a dead faith. Good Friday and Easter Sunday give us the hope. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 1 Corinthians 15:12-14

Conclusion
Dear children, Good Friday is always called good because we have a living Saviour. Every Sunday we come to church is to celebrate and worship that Jesus is not dead but is rise again for us. One day, the same way he ascended back to heaven, he will come again in the clouds for us again.