I remember the days when I was in Siliguri, West Bengal. One evening I was taking a chapel when one of my friends from Arunachal Pradesh asked me ‘Why the death of Jesus is called as good Friday’. He was a student at ‘Leadership training center’ a person who would get ordained in few months, go to his home town and plant/start and lead a church.
Even some Christians fast 40 days (call it lent days). I don’t want to say whether it is right or wrong. I don’t want to take a judgment seat to decide but I want to share what I personally think about it. In fact even Jesus did not fast for 40 days before He was crucified and I don’t understand why some Christians do so? I really don’t know from where they have picked this from.
I was once invited to a church to preach and as I went there I noticed that people were very sorry for Jesus. They were wearing old clothes and I heard that they don’t eat good food these days because of Jesus.
Reasons why Good Friday is GOOD:
1. Jesus took our sins and gave us His righteousness:
Rom 3: 23, 11; Isa 53:6; Rom 6:18, Rom 6:23:
John 3:16, Rom 5:8,
2 Cor 5:21: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. Jesus took our curse on the cross:
God cursed man, woman and the serpent in Gen 3:15, from there on all mankind were cursed.
Gal 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Gal 4:5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
3. Jesus took all our sickness:
Isa 53:5, 1 Pet 2:24: By His stripes we are healed
Ps 107:20: He sent His word and Healed
Jesus loves to heal the sick.
4. Jesus took our poverty:
2 Cor 8:9: For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
5. We are reconciled to God through Jesus:
Eph 2:16; col 1:20, 22;
Once we were separated from God because of our sin but because of Jesus atoning sacrifice we are brought back to God. Now we have direct access to God we can call Him ‘Abba Father’.
Good Friday is good because we are forgiven from all our sins, and made righteous. Jesus took our entire curse, He took all our sickness, our poverty and above all He has brought us back to God.
Let’s thank God for His love and His Son Jesus Christ for taking all our punishment and blessing us. Let us also thank God for the Holy Spirit who has convicted our hearts to believe it and receive it by faith.
Blessed Good Friday.
