What Does Good Friday Have to Do with Anything?
- Richard Selke
- Jun 18, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 16, 2024
June 19, 2024
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I was talking with a friend one morning and he complained that an important meeting scheduled for the previous Friday had been postponed because it was Good Friday. And then he said, “What does Good Friday have to do with anything?”
I was startled! From my view of life, Good Friday has everything to do with everything!
Almost 2,000 years ago, the day we call Good Friday was a long and excruciating day. Jesus had been praying all night and, despite his pleas for them to pray and to keep watch, His disciples could not stay awake. Judas had betrayed Him and Jesus was arrested, brought first before the Sanhedrin, and then Pontius Pilate, who sentenced Him to death. The Roman soldiers beat Him as the Jewish leaders and crowds mocked Him. His captors clothed Him in a scarlet robe and placed a crown of thorns on His head. Jesus walked, bloody and stumbling, carrying His cross toward His death at Calvary. The soldiers nailed Him to the cross and placed Him between two rebels. His disciples were questioning and the Jewish authorities were celebrating. Jesus hung on the cross, dying. The earth shook, and the sky grew dark. Jesus took His last breath and yielded up His spirit. JESUS WAS DEAD. All hope seemed lost. Death appeared to have won. Sin seemed to have conquered. Satan was smiling. Jesus was buried. A soldier stood guard, and a rock was rolled into place at the entrance to His tomb.
No one knew that was not the end. It was Friday – but Sunday was coming. Jesus had to go through Good Friday to get to Easter Sunday. Jesus had to die in order to rise from the dead. That Christ conquered death and rose from the grave is the foundational belief of our Christian faith.
The Bible talks about events that happened after the burial of Jesus: “When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord…But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ But he said to them, ‘Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.’ A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ Then he said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.’ Thomas answered him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’” John 20:19-20, 24-29. NRSV
Thomas knew Christ had died, but he didn’t believe the disciples when they told him that the risen Christ had appeared to them. Thomas wasn’t there and he had to see Jesus in order to believe.
I wish I had been there when Jesus appeared to the ten disciples and then to Thomas. I wish I had seen Jesus with my own eyes and touched him with my hands. But I wasn’t there – and neither were you. In the Bible passage, Jesus is talking about us when he says: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:29, NRSV)
Jesus is the Son of God, the risen, ascended, reigning, and soon returning Lord of heaven and earth. Our only response to Christ must be the same as Thomas’: “My Lord and my God!”
REMEMBER & BELIEVE
Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
In the meantime, Jesus has everything to do with everything!
QUESTION
Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and your God?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help us to remember the significance of Good Friday and the triumph of Easter Sunday. Strengthen our faith, and help us to live in the light of Your resurrection.
Our Father Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil and the evil one. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.
Amen
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (NRSV)
God bless you!
Richard
Christ Worshipper | Disciple Maker | Hope Giver
Welcome to In the Meantime. I'm glad you're here! We are living in the time between Christ's ascension into heaven and His promised return to earth. In the Meantime is a collection of stories about God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and His presence, love, mercy and grace in my life. In the Meantime, Jesus is Lord! Hallelujah!
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