GOOD FRIDAY

“GOOD FRIDAY” commemorates the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ.

The question I would like to dwell on is “WHY IS THIS DAY CALLED GOOD?”

From a human viewpoint the event commemorated on this day is a very horrible crime – crucifying and putting to death an innocent man. All the four Gospels in the New Testament tell us that JESUS CHRIST, did nothing wrong, and yet he was sentenced to death, simply because he claimed to be the SON OF GOD.

For the Jews, this claim of Jesus Christ was considered a blasphemy. They actually challenged him to prove his divinity by some miraculous power. Since, Jesus did not respond according to their expectations, they simply ignored his statement and thus, had him condemned to death by Pilate, the procurator of Judea.

Our Christian Faith tells us that Jesus Christ, indeed, proved his divinity by rising glorious on the third day of his death. This was also narrated in the four Gospels. For forty days after his resurrection he appeared to several people, particularly to the twelve apostles, in His glorious body. For many of the Jews, however, up to this day, this resurrection event is still unacceptable.

That the day of Christ’s crucifixion is called GOOD is based on what Christians consider to be the Mystery of Man’s Salvation. This is a mystery which men can never fully understand.. It is a mystery of God’s unconditional love for men. In John 3:16 it we read: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that all those who believe in Him shall not perish but shall have life everlasting”.

This Salvation mystery is based on some basic assumptions, namely: that mankind as a whole has separated himself from God due to disobedience to His commandment of love. To bring about a reconciliation between God and man, there is a need for a Redeemer, to represent mankind and gain for him the grace of forgiveness and thus be accepted again into a friendly relationship with God. This Representative of man has to be of equal dignity as God Himself, because God, an infinite being, can only be assuaged by another infinite being. Hence, it can only be Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, who could be man’s Redeemer.

The mystery further involves the mystery of Incarnation, whereby the Son of God becomes Man, in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus has assumed the humanity of men and thru this humanity brought about the necessary sacrifice to reconcile men to God – that is the sacrifice of dying on a Cross out of love for men. The crucifixion and death of Christ on the Cross was then actually the event that brought about men’s salvation – his reconciliation with God. This must be the reason for considering the Friday on which Christ died as “Good Friday”.

by: Salvador 'Buddy' Cagurangan

March 14, 2010