In our survey of the events of Holy Week we have come to the day called Good Friday. The name is ironic. Friday was a terrible day because on it the Son of God was executed. But it was a good day too, because God used Jesus’ experiences on that day as raw material and from them made the salvation of the world. It is a paradox. “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor. 1:25).
Friday
The day began with Jesus’ arrest in the garden where He had been praying. Peter attempted to defend Him with a sword, but Jesus reprimanded him (Luke 22:51). Shortly thereafter Peter’s courage failed him. In front of a teenage girl he denied that he knew Jesus. When the enormity of his betrayal dawned on Peter, he wept bitterly (Luke 2:54–62).
Luke records four trials of Jesus: by the council, by Pilate, by Herod and then by Pilate again (Luke 22:66–23:25). The principal charge against Jesus was that He claimed to be the Messianic King. To the Jews this sounded like blasphemy. To Pilate it sounded like insurrection. But Pilate knew it was untrue so he tried repeatedly to release Jesus. Finally he bowed to pressure from the crowd and sentenced Jesus to death. Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one of whom believed Jesus was the Messiah. On Jesus’ cross a sign was posted that said, “This is the king of the Jews” (Luke 23:38).
It is conventional to refer to the things Jesus said while He was on the cross as “the seven last words.” Luke records three of these sayings, none of which appears in the other Gospels. Jesus prayed for His executioners, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). He told the criminal who believed in Him as Messiah, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). As He was dying Jesus prayed, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46).
Matthew and Mark record a fourth saying of Jesus from the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46, Mark 15:34). Only John records the three other sayings. To His mother Mary and to the beloved disciple, presumably John, He said respectively, “Woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother” (John 19:26–27). Then He said, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). As He died He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Luke records that after Jesus had died “a good and righteous man named Joseph” received permission from Pilate to bury Jesus’ body. Because the Sabbath was about to begin, the preparation of Jesus’ body had to be postponed until the Sabbath ended (Luke 23:50–56).
That is how the first Good Friday ended. What did it all mean?
In terms of justice, its meaning is clear enough. Jesus was falsely accused and wrongly condemned by the council and wrongly executed on Pilate’s orders. Good Friday was a gross miscarriage of justice.
In terms of individuals’ personal relationships with Jesus, Good Friday included an appalling betrayal by Judas and a pathetic denial by Peter. It also included a loyal family member, Jesus’ mother Mary, and a loyal disciple, presumably John. It included a criminal who believed Jesus was the Messiah and asked to be remembered by Him in His Messianic kingdom. It included faithful women who stood ready to prepare Jesus’ body for burial, and an honorable man who provided a tomb for the burial.
To Jesus, Good Friday was an act of obedience to His Father. He experienced horrific physical pain, and His emotional and spiritual agony may have been even worse. Despite the intensity of His suffering He asked God to forgive His tormenters. This morally luminous prayer points to a way of life that is more generous than justice in that it shows grace and kindness toward those who hurt us. Years later Peter wrote that Jesus left you an example, so that you should follow in His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” When He was abused, He did not return abuse; when He suffered, He did not threaten; but He entrusted Himself to the One Who judges justly.
But Peter saw more in Jesus’ death than an example, for he then added: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 1:21–24).
The idea that Jesus died to free the world from sin originated not with Peter but with Jesus who said that His dying was a way of serving others. During His public ministry He had taught His followers that the right way to exercise leadership and to achieve greatness is not by dominating other people but by serving them. He said that this was what He Himself did (see Luke 22:24–27). And on at least one occasion He gratuitously added: “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a means of liberation; Jesus said that He could free others by dying for them.
This brings us to the theological meaning of Good Friday. What did Jesus achieve by His sacrifice? The writers of the New Testament interpreted the meaning of Jesus’ obedience, suffering, body, blood, cross, death and resurrection in more than a dozen different ways. Today the most popular interpretation is that Jesus experienced the divine punishment for human sins and therefore human beings will not be punished for their sins. This interpretation appears in passages such as the one from 1 Peter quoted above.
Here are 10 other interpretations found in the New Testament. By His resurrection Jesus inaugurated a new era in the relations between God and human beings (Acts 2:16–21, 24, 31–33). He paid a price to liberate human beings (1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23). He destroyed evil (Col. 2:14, Heb. 2:14–15). He is the Good Shepherd who died protecting His flock (John 10:11–18). He was a gift offering pleasing to God (Eph. 5:2). His death was a Passover sacrifice that frees human beings from bondage to sin (1 Cor. 5:7). It was a guilt offering that cleanses from sin (1 John 1:7, 2:1–2). It was a Yom Kippur sacrifice that atones (Heb. 9:1–14, 22). His suffering was an example that can transform one’s moral life (Phil. 2:5–11, 1 John 4:10–11). In life and in death, Jesus providing a life-giving revelation of the boundless love of God (1 John 4:9–10).
Why did the writers of the New Testament provide so many interpretations of Jesus’ sacrifice? Presumably it was because multiple interpretations are needed in order to portray the perfect salvation that Jesus achieved on the first Good Friday and Easter Sunday. When God has given us so many interpretations, it probably isn’t a good idea to settle for just one or two.
Share with others: