Faith Over Fear: Good Friday or Bad Friday?

Dear Customers and Friends,

I have often pondered the meaning of Good Friday, the Friday that precedes Easter Sunday. How could it be a “good Friday” when it was the day that Jesus Christ died so horribly on the cross?

I decided to throw this question to my pastor, Rev. Whit Martin of Asbury Chapel in Gainesville, Ga. Not only did I get an answer, but he was good enough to write this month’s Faith Over Fear message in celebration of Easter. Thank you, Whit!

Blessed to be a Blessing,
Greg Syfan
President, Syfan Logistics

Why Good Friday is a Good Day for Christians

Sundays are pivotal moments in the lives of Christians. We gather together to praise Jesus as the Lord of life, the One who defeated sin and death.

Sundays are the day of worship for us because it was on Sunday morning — the first day of the week, the Bible says — that Jesus rose from the dead. After leaving the tomb behind, He would appear to many, meet with His disciples for encouragement, and charge them to go into all the world witnessing. He then ascended to the authoritative right hand of God.

All of this happens, though, because He first died. Jesus was executed as a criminal by the Jewish leaders of His day through the Roman system for punishment on the Friday before He would resurrect. They saw Him as “bad” for His teachings that challenged their self-serving systems, and they wanted Him eliminated for His claims that He was God come to save them.

But that is exactly who He is, and that is exactly what He came to do. Based off that, you can easily say that He is “good”, not bad.

His death disturbed many, causing many to believe that their hopes of salvation were lost. This was a very bad thing – and a Friday that would be bad in their minds for years to come. Or so they thought.

Jesus had to die because He was the only one who could cover the debt that our sinfulness had racked up with our Righteous and Holy God.

Without His sacrifice that brings restoration with God, we would be in a bad — no, awful — situation. We would be dead in our sins, separated from God, and with no hope of eternity. But because of His sacrifice, we are alive in Jesus, brought close to God, and filled with abundant life for eternity. That’s GOOD!