What is Good Friday? Why do Christians celebrate Good Friday?
Here's the answer:
Christians celebrate Good Friday to remember the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Although we don’t know the exact date Jesus died on the cross, we remember Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday, which is always the Friday before Easter Sunday. Many churches have a service on Good Friday, and some people also remember Good Friday as a family at home.
It seems strange to call Good Friday "good," since that was the day Jesus died a painful death. There certainly doesn’t seem to be anything good about it! Here’s why we can call it "good": "But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). We didn’t deserve Jesus’ death as payment for our sins, but He did it anyway because He loves us so much! If Jesus hadn’t died for us, we wouldn’t be able to be in heaven with Him one day. But because of His death, everyone who believes in Him can be forgiven of their sin and go to heaven when they die (John 3:16). To read more about the path to heaven, click here.
The great news is that Jesus didn’t stay dead! Three days later, He rose from the dead. That’s how we know we can trust Jesus—because He beat both sin and death and is alive in heaven. We celebrate Jesus’ resurrection the Sunday after Good Friday—Easter Sunday.
Bible Truth
"Christ died for sins once and for all time. The One who did what is right died for those who don’t do right. He died to bring you to God. His body was put to death. But the Holy Spirit brought him back to life" (1 Peter 3:18).
"What I received I passed on to you. And it is the most important of all. Here is what it is. Christ died for our sins, just as Scripture said he would. He was buried. He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as Scripture said he would be" (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).
