preceding Easter Sunday. It is celebrated traditionally as the day on
which Jesus was crucified. Assuming that Jesus was crucified and died
on a Friday, should Christians remember Jesus' death by celebrating
Good Friday?
The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ's death by
honoring a certain day. The Bible does give us freedom in these
matters, however. Romans 14:5 tells us, "One man considers one day
more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each
one should be fully convinced in his own mind." Rather than
remembering Christ's death on a certain day, once a year, the Bible
instructs us to remember Christ's death by observing the Lord's
Supper. First Corinthians 11:24-26 declares, "...do this in
remembrance of me...for whenever you eat this bread and drink this
cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."
Why is Good Friday referred to as "good"? What the Jewish authorities
and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters
26-27). However, the results of Christ's death are very good! Romans
5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were
still sinners, Christ died for us." First Peter 3:18 tells us, "For
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by
the Spirit."
Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service,
usually in the evening, in which Christ's death is remembered with
solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ's
suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord's Supper. Whether
or not Christians choose to "celebrate" Good Friday, the events of
that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on
the cross—along with His bodily resurrection—is the paramount event of
the Christian faith.
Good Friday Calendar:
2016 – March 25
2017 – April 14
2018 – March 30
2019 – April 19
2020 – April 10
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