What Is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the day we remember Jesus and His death on a cross.

 

Crucifixion was a common way to execute people during the time of the Roman Empire.

It was a very slow and painful way to die, sometimes taking several days.

The person being executed typically died due to exhaustion and asphyxiation.

 

The night before Jesus died He’d been arrested and taken before the Jewish high priest and elders.

After questioning Him at length, they decided Jesus should die for the sin of blasphemy* because He said He was the Christ, the Son of God.

 

They took Him to the Roman Governor, Pilate, and asked that he execute Jesus for them – Jewish leaders were not permitted to execute anyone themselves.

Pilate questioned Jesus at length but couldn’t find Him guilty of anything.

 

When Pilate returned Him to the leaders and elders, stating there was no basis for execution, the leaders told Pilate that Jesus had claimed to be a king and was therefore an enemy of Caesar.

When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the king of the Jews, Jesus said yes.

Because He said He was their king, Pilate again tried to return Jesus to the Jewish leaders but they refused to take Him back, insisting instead that He was a criminal.

 

This happened during the week of Passover**.

It was common during this time for Pilate to release one criminal to the people.

Pilate tried to release Jesus since not only had he not found any fault in Him, but Pilate believed Jesus was the king of the Jews and he thought they would want their king restored.

Because the Pharisees had stirred up the crowd against Jesus, they said they didn’t want Him to be freed.

They wanted Barabbas the murderer instead.

They even went so far as to say Jesus was not their king, only Caesar was.

Several times Pilate tried to release Jesus but each time the crowd would scream, “crucify Him!”

 

After it became clear they weren’t going to change their minds, Pilate turned Jesus over to Roman soldiers to be crucified.

(It is important to note that Pilate never agreed Jesus should be crucified nor that He was guilty. He was simply doing what he had to do according to law and custom. See Matthew 27:24 NIV)

 

Before taking Him to be crucified, the soldiers spent time mocking and torturing Jesus.

They flogged Him.

The soldiers twisted together a vine with thorns on it. They placed it on Jesus’s head like a crown and then put a purple robe around His shoulders. They began laughing at and mocking Him.

They said things like, “Hail the King of the Jews!” but they weren’t saying it because they believed it or to show Jesus respect.

They did it because they were making fun of Him.

During this time they also beat Him on the head with a stick and spit on Him.

 

Then, the soldiers led Jesus to the place where He was to be crucified – a hill called Golgotha – also called the Hill of the Skull or Mt. Calvary.

There, He was put on a cross.

He was secured to the cross with large nails hammered through His hands and feet (We might think the nails looked like railroad spikes).

Then, He was hung up to die.

 

When He was hung there, they fastened a sign above His head that read, “King of the Jews”.

Some of the people didn’t like this and told Pilate the sign should say, “He said He was King of the Jews”.

Pilate refused to change it.

 

A crowd of people watched Jesus hang on that cross.

Many mocked Him and challenged Him with things like, “If you really are the Son of God, save Yourself!”

They didn’t understand He was willingly staying on that cross so He could pay for their sins.

He was choosing to experience all that pain and suffering so that they could be reconciled to God through this very act of crucifixion.

 

For about three hours darkness hung over the land because the sun stopped shining.

Then, Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”.

Many scholars believe it was at that moment that God was pouring out His wrath for all of mankind’s sin.

Others believe that God had to look away from Jesus as He became the sin offering for all of mankind’s sin.

Whichever it was, Jesus was definitely paying the price for the sins of every man, woman, and child who ever lived before, during, or after that moment.

 

When some of the people heard Him call out like this, they thought He was crying out to the prophet Elijah so they gave Jesus some wine vinegar on a sponge for Him to drink.

Then they left Him alone to see if Elijah would come to save Him.

 

Soon after that, Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, saying, “It is finished.”:, and died.

Immediately, there was a great earthquake and rocks split.

The veil to the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.***

 

When Jesus died, the centurion (soldier) assigned to watch Jesus, who saw how He cried out and died, praised God and said, “Surely this Man was the Son of God.”!

The centurion and many others present realized the truth – that Jesus really was Who He said He was.

Still, many others didn’t believe it.

 

Later that day, Joseph of Arimathea, a believer in Christ, who was a wealthy and well-respected member of society, came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

Pilate allowed him to have it, so Joseph and Nicodemus, a Pharisee who believed in Christ, took it, covered it in linen burial cloth and placed it in a tomb that had never been used.

They placed a large stone in front of the door.

 

Jesus was now dead and buried.

The Jewish leaders and elders had won – or so they thought.

 

When Jesus died on that cross the Jewish leaders thought the person who was threatening their way of life and who questioned their motives was gone for good.

 

Little did they know – this was not the end.

Sunday was coming and it would change the world and everything people knew about God and His will for mankind!

 

To learn what happened Sunday morning, please read my post, What Is Easter?

 

 

 

*Blasphemy – irreverent or profane talk about God or sacred things. Examples include denying God is God or claiming to be God when you are not.

**To learn more about what Passover is, please read this article: The Passover

***The tearing of the veil symbolized the open access to God now available as a result of Jesus’ death. Before this time, the veil symbolized the separation between God and man due to sin. God was behind the veil and man could not enter His presence.

When Jesus died, He created a bridge between God and man and made it possible for us to reach out to God at any time through Jesus.

God even encourages us to come boldly to His throne in prayer so that we can obtain His grace and mercy in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16 This new way of accessing and communing with God is only possible as a result of Jesus’ death on the cross.

 

To read the full story of Jesus’ crucifixion, please read Matthew 27:11-66, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 23:1-56, and John 18:28-19:42..

 

To learn more about Holy Week, read my post, What is Holy Week?

 

To learn more about the Easter Season, please visit my Easter page, a compilation of previous Easter and Lent posts.