What's so "good" about Good Friday?

Today is Good Friday, a day that Christians for two millennia have come together to commemorate the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. It is a day when our hearts are drawn to Golgotha, to Calvary, to the place called the Skull, the epicenter of events that shook not just the world but creation itself. On that hill outside the ancient city of Jerusalem, the Lamb of God, our sinless Savior, hung on a cross. Condemned by an illegal trial, He was beaten, tortured, and mocked, then nailed to a cross, a gruesome agonizing Roman method of execution reserved for the worst of criminals.

But as His blood flowed down that cruel instrument of death and torment, our sins were washed away. The cumulative penalty for every impure thought and every evil deed ever committed by man was paid for on that cross. The weight of the world’s sin rested upon the shoulders of our Beloved Savior. But while the Roman soldiers mocked, and the Jewish politicians sneered, and the ignorant bystanders scoffed, creation itself could not hold its distress as its maker was about to bow His head in death. From noon to 3 pm, creation grieved in darkness the impending death of our Savior.

That moment of death of the Lord Jesus on the cross was the climax of existence. It was the definitive moment of creation. It was the intersection of redemption and suffering, life and death, justice and forgiveness, and righteousness and sin. It was the intersection where love and sacrifice converged. Commemorating Good Friday is bleak. It must be done with reverence, reflection, and mourning. Mourning for our sin that put our Savior on that cross!

As we mourn and remember that it was our sin that put the Lord Jesus on the cross, every fiber of our being ought to move in unison to thank the Lord for His great sacrifice.
As we mourn and remember that it was our sin that put the Lord Jesus on the cross, we also remember that the veil in the temple was torn, removing the enmity between God and man.
As we mourn and remember that it was our sin that put the Lord Jesus on the cross, we also remember that on Good Friday the Lord Jesus atoned for our sin, the most difficult thing ever accomplished whether in time or in eternity.

But the story does not end there. Good Friday is a solemn preparation for the joys of Resurrection Sunday. It is in the shadow of the cross that we not only remember the agony endured by our Savior, but His triumphant joy three days later. Good Friday is the launching pad for the glorious victory of Resurrection Sunday. That's because only when we truly mourn our sin on Friday can we find comfort in the arms of the risen Savior on Sunday.

Are you mourning your sin today?
Mourn for your sin!
Grieve your transgression!
Lament your iniquity that you may find joy in the morning.