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Over 2000 years ago, this day (Good Friday) is supposed to signify the beginning of Jesus Christ’s death. The cross had served its purpose, an instrument of death. Past the six hours it took for His agonizingly painful death on that cross, Jesus was ready for His burial. Another Joseph (one of the priests) offered the use of his tomb, and this to tomb was made out of rock instead of being taken down off the cross and thrown into a pile of criminal bodies that had just suffered the painful agonies of the cross (“Risen”-the movie, 2017). Still, it has perplexed me why they call this Friday, Good Friday? Don’t they realize that Jesus Christ died? What’s so “Good” about that? For me, I have always been an introspective thinker.

Now it has been over 2000 years since Jesus Christ had been punished for all of the humans’ sin. I believe that. Not just those people at the current time when He was living on the earth, but a sacrifice good enough to cover all time to replace the innocent death of a lamb which you had to go to the high priest in the Old Testament. However, that changed in the beginning of the New Testament with the arrival of Jesus Christ. Now, knowing that my sin is covered over with Christ’s blood some 33 years later, I still feel bad every time I sin. Can you identify with me?

Let me try to figure this out. Martin Luther (1483-1546 *his life span) who put his body through such extreme torment as well as going through life as a professor of Theology, a priest, a friar, a monk, and wrote the 95 points of contention with the Roman Catholic church that was headed by Pope Leo X. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the Pope eventually excommunicated Martin Luther from Roman Catholicism (excommunication means you are forbidden to enter the physical church and destitute from God, Himself). Martin Luther, instead, taught that entrance into heaven to experience the presence of God comes by the free grace of God given to all. Which is accurate. (Wikipedia, 2019).

Then there is this question of who should I follow from the Bible. The names like Abraham, Moses, or King David. After all, King David had a heart after God (Acts 13:22). Yes, there are many people that you could follow after. Yet, the Apostle Paul has something to say about this in writing to the Corinthian church:

One of you says, “I belong to Paul, ” and another one says, “I belong to Apollos.” When you say things like this, you are acting like people of the world. Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do. (1 Corinthians 3:4-5 NCV)

Anyone that suffer’s for the name of Jesus Christ, I suppose the Apostle Paul would be the primary example in the New Testament. Yet accepting Jesus Christ’s bloodshed on that horrible cross and His resurrection from the tomb carved out of stone three days later is what rescues you from hell. Jesus Christ said this:

Then the master said, “Throw that useless servant outside, into darkness where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain. (Matthew 25:30 NCV)

To catch the whole saying, you will need to read, listen to, and understand with wisdom Matthew 25:14-30.

Humanity has to have faith in Jesus Christ that He came down to earth from heaven, lived with His physical parents, then at the age of 30 turned His carpentry profession into 3 years of going out among Israel teaching a radically different way and only way to get to God the Father. Since the message that Jesus taught for 3 years did put Him at odds with the religious elite, the religious elite wanted to put Him to death and eventually succeeded. Remember that nothing happens without God’s approval, and the result was God’s Son Jesus Christ bloody death on the cross.

However, several times Jesus declared that He would rise from the dead, not to be a zombie with no feelings, but Jesus Christ’s actual physical life would exist after being dead for three days. Roman guards could not stop Him. The religious elite of His day could not stop Him. The pragmatist or the busybodies of His day could not stop Him wondering how this was possible. His borrowed tomb that was that of a garden tomb; and that garden tomb was a rock-cut tomb located in Jerusalem, Israel (Wikipedia, 2019).

For it was after Christ Jesus said it so many times during His 3 years of going out and telling people that you would not think had a chance at heaven, that He would rise again from the tomb of stone. It is strategic that when Jesus Christ was born the innkeepers had a feeding trough that was made from stone and is a foreshadowing to that to which He was buried (A conversation I had with my older daughter who is attending Liberty University * a Christian University, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA).

Yet I have not addressed why the world calls it, Good Friday? Yes, I know that Christians have a reason to celebrate because through the death of One man Jesus Christ provided salvation (a sparing if you will) from ever having to go to hell in which He took the sin of the whole wide world and paid the cost that you and I deserve by accepting Jesus Christ into your soul not letting anything distract you for too long since it says in Philippians 2:12-13 :

My friends, you have obeyed God while I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am away from you. Keep on working to complete your salvation with fear and trembling, because God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases Him. (NCV)

The One and only Holy Man named Jesus Christ had to die to provide us with Good Friday! Don’t you feel a twinge guilty that the whole world sin, both past, present, and future was placed upon Him? Do you take comfort in the fact that Jesus Christ willingly came for you and me so that could spend eternity with Him! In a world of fairness, His death was not fair. Yet, already knowing this, He came anyway! Now that is love! That astounds me! Are you beginning to see why people call this Friday, Good Friday? Really, Jesus Christ Had To Die To Make Good Friday Possible!!! to provide all of humanity with free access to heaven to see God the Father.

This day, right here, right now, is your opportunity to rededicate your life to something much bigger than you. If you are ” dancing with the devil” never accepting God’s free grace, then I ask you, what is stopping you? You don’t need anyone except Jesus Christ to help you. Go on! WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?

There are a few songs that I would like you to hear and visualize, so please click on the links provided below:

“Red Letters”-David Crowder

“Red Letters”-DC Talk

“The Cross”-Kevin Max ft. DC Talk