Why Is It Called "Good" Friday?

Why is it called "Good" Friday anyway?

I never experienced a more joyous Easter morning than the one that followed a heartbreaking Good Friday. You see, we can’t really comprehend or appreciate the joy of the resurrection until we’ve sat in the weight of the cross. We live in a time where people want to skip straight to Sunday. They want the victory without the suffering. They want the empty tomb without the bloody, uncomfortable cross. But if you don’t walk through Friday, you can never fully understand the euphoric joy that comes on Sunday.

So here’s the question you need to sit with: why is it called “Good” Friday? What was good about that day? A man was betrayed, falsely accused, mocked, beaten, and spit on. A crown of thorns was pressed into His head. Nails were driven through His hands and feet. He was lifted up on a cross and left to die. What about that is good?

And here’s an even more personal question: why did He have to die?

He had to die because we were filled with sin. He had to die because we could not make ourselves right with God. He had to die because justice demanded a payment, and we could never pay it.

So He did.

It was your sin and my sin that put Him on that cross. That’s not just a theological statement, that’s a personal reality. Every lie, every proud thought, every act of rebellion, every moment we chose our way over God’s way, He paid for it.

The cross wasn’t just painful, it was substitution. He stood in our place. He took our penalty. He bore the wrath that we deserved. That was rightfully our cross. And if you’ll slow down long enough to really think about that, it should break your heart.

It should.

Don’t rush past it. Don’t try to clean it up. Don’t try to soften it. Let yourself feel it. Let yourself sit in the weight of what happened that day, because until your heart is broken by the cross, it won’t truly rejoice at the resurrection.

But here’s why it’s called “Good.” It’s called good because that was the day your debt was paid. It’s called good because that was the day justice was satisfied. It’s called good because that was the day mercy was made available. It’s called good because through His death, we can be made right with God. That’s why it’s called Good Friday.

So take time to reflect. Take time to feel the weight of it. Allow yourself to experience, even in a small way, the sorrow of that day. But don’t forget this:

Sunday morning is coming, and while there is weeping in the night, joy comes in the morning!

- Pastor Charley Munro
Living Grace Church, Tyler, Texas