Why do Christ Followers observe Good Friday? To remember everything Jesus did for us on the cross at Calvary.
As we go into the Easter weekend and celebrate Jesus’ death and resurrection, we should reflect on the sacrifice that God made sending His only Son down to earth, where Jesus was both God and man, living a pure and sinless life, then being punished and crucified on a cross for all of humanity’s sins past, present and future.
Through Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, we have the opportunity to be reconciled back to the Father! “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Romans 5:10
But the story doesn’t end with his death! Sunday is coming…
If Jesus didn’t raise from the dead, then there would be no Christian faith and Jesus wouldn’t be who said He was – God! After Jesus died on the cross, he was buried in a tomb with a large stone in front of the entrance and a Roman guard securing the tomb to make sure no one stole the body.
But on the third day, a violent earthquake happened and an angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and told Mary Magdalen and the other Mary, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” Matthew 28:1-6
Jesus took all of our sins and nailed them to him to the cross. He then defeated death once and for all so that we might have eternal life. “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9