What’s so Good about Good Friday? Did Jesus Christ die for the sins of the whole World?

Today is Good Friday, which is being observed as the anniversary of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary.  

Good Friday is Good because Christ's death was a sacrifice so that we could receive the gift of eternal life.

Jesus bore our sins, shame, and burden on the cross. The results changed the course of humanity and what man meant for evil through killing Jesus, God meant for good!

Apostle Paul says “ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.”  

Along the way to Calvary*, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.  And they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”).  The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall, but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it.

After they had nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Then they sat around and kept guard as he hung there.  A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” Two revolutionaries were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left.

The people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery.  “Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”

The leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders also mocked Jesus.  “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him!  He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Even the revolutionaries who were crucified with him ridiculed him in the same way.

At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,  lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah.  One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a reed stick so he could drink. But the rest said, “Wait! Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”

Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit.  At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

The Roman officer and the other soldiers at the crucifixion were terrified by the earthquake and all that had happened. They said, “This man truly was the Son of God!”

And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James and Joseph), and the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee.

  * Added for Clarity

~ Bible Text Reference: 1 Corinthians 15:3 ; Matthew 27:32-56 [Holy Bible -NLT] taken from https://www.biblegateway.com

~ Web Resource References:

1.       http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/bible-verses-about-good-friday/

 2.       http://heavy.com/news/2016/03/good-friday-best-most-inspirational-bible-verses-passages-quotes-memes/
 3.      https://bible.org/seriespage/6-good-friday