Good Friday

I have often wondered why it is called "Good" Friday if it is the day our Lord and Savior was flogged, tortured, humiliated, and Crucified on a Cross. The Bible is silent on the subject of "Good Friday". I checked on the Internet and found a few "possible" reasons why it is called "Good". The reason I say "possible" is because there are so many explanations that it is hard to know which one is the truth, if any of them. The explanation that I saw the most is that it has to do with the interpretation of the word "Good". Apparently, it is only here that we call it Good Friday. Most likely, the word "Good" meant "Holy". Most Christians around the world refer to the Friday of Jesus' death as Holy Friday. But there was one explanation that I came across that I liked the most.

It was all part of God's plan that Jesus would be born of a Virgin, be Crucified, and be Raised from the grave. The whole process is what separates Christians from all others in the world. We accept that Christ was the Messiah and that His sacrifice was sufficient to save us from the death of Sin. The fact that Jesus suffered and died on this day in His Story (history) was not a good thing in of itself. But we know that not all things in the world are good, however, God promises that all things will work together for good. Perhaps we can look at it like this: Had Jesus not been killed, He could not have been Resurrected. And if He had not been resurrected, we could not have been Saved. So in the grand scheme of things, His death was a good thing, that is, a good thing for us! It is hard to think about just how much Jesus had to endure for us. But He did it all for just one thing: To save me and to save you. And that makes for a GREAT Friday!

Isaiah 25:8 says, "He will swallow up death in victory..."

Father, thank-you for this Good Friday. Please help us to never forget the incredible Sacrifice You made on our behalf. Remind us that You didn't just die for Americans, but You died for every single person in the entire world! In Jesus name, Amen.