It’s a strange name, isn’t it? Good Friday.
The day we remember the brutal beating, humiliation, and public execution of the only perfect man to ever walk the earth, and we call it good? On the surface, it sounds twisted. A crown of thorns. Stripped bare. Spit on by the very people He came to save. Nails in His hands and feet. Blood running down a splintered cross. Where is the good in that?
But the goodness isn’t in the suffering itself. The goodness is in what the suffering accomplished.
Good Friday is good because it was the day the debt was paid in full. The day mercy triumphed over judgment. The day sin was sentenced, not you. The day death lost its grip. The day the veil tore from top to bottom. God no longer distant, but now accessible.
It’s good because the wrath that should’ve fallen on us was poured out on Him instead. And He took it willingly.
It’s the day Heaven looked down and saw the greatest injustice the world has ever known. The day an innocent man condemned, and yet, it was the greatest display of love history will ever witness. With His arms stretched out wide, he showed how much he loves you.
Good Friday is good because it was never about nails holding Him there. Love did that.
He could’ve called down angels. He could’ve ended it with a word. But He stayed. For you.
He stayed because He saw past the cross. Past the tomb. Past the pain. He saw the rescue. He saw your face.
It’s good because while the world was mocking Him, He was forgiving them.
While they were jeering, He was redeeming.
While they were killing Him, He was saving them. And make no mistake, this wasn’t the tragic end of a good man’s life. This was the victory march of a King. He wasn’t taken. He offered Himself. He wasn’t defeated. He conquered. He wasn’t destroyed. He fulfilled.
Good Friday is good because Sunday is coming. The cross wasn’t the end. It was the bridge. And now, because of that bloody, beautiful Friday, we walk across it, redeemed.
So yes, it’s good. It’s heart-wrenching. It’s sobering. It’s holy, and it’s good.
Because on that dark day, light broke through, and the Son of God, broken and poured out, gave birth to the only hope this world has ever known.
That’s why Good Friday is good.
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