We are now in what Western Christians call “Holy Week”. It began on Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem on His way to the cross. Friday is the day that He was crucified. What is so good about that?
Christianity and Judaism are grounded in history and have the same roots. The Bible talks about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and whether you accept it as literal or think of it as some kind of allegory, the fact is that sin became a reality. Before sin entered the world, God used to come and fellowship with Adam and Eve. We can infer that from this verse.
(Genesis 3:8 KJV) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.Sin came between man and God and condemned human beings to hell. Forgiveness was necessary. This was done by the sacrificial system because
(Romans 6:23 KJV) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.Historically the sacrificial system put animals in the place of the sinner. Because the blood of animals was not sufficient, sacrifice was an ongoing event.
Than comes Jesus who was called the Perfect Lamb of God. When He gave up His life on the cross, His death and shedding of blood was enough to pay the price of sin. Thus, on what was a bad day for Jesus, we had offered to us the hope of forgiveness of sin and restoration in our relationship with God. It was the ultimate good day for us, thus “Good Friday”.
Good Friday represents the possibility to escape hell and spend eternity in the presence of God. The second great hope is realized on the resurrection, what has come to be called Easter. That takes the fear of death away.
homo unius libri
Well said.
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