There is only one day in the calendar which is called good – The Good Friday. No other day is called good. Why is it called Good Friday? It was on this day Lord Jesus Christ died. How can the death of someone become good for the world? His death was so life-giving that the world calls it the highest good. Why did he die? Who killed him? Who is Jesus Christ anyway?
Jesus was born in this world 2017 years ago. He was born in a small village called, Bethlehem in Palestine. There was no place in the inn and so he was born in a stable where cattle would stay. His parents were poor. He grew up in another village called Nazareth in Palestine. People called him Nazarene. His foster father, Joseph, was a carpenter and the Mother of Jesus was Mary, a simple Jewish woman of Nazareth. The early life of Jesus was ordinary except for incidents like the angels coming down and singing at his birth, the visit of three wise-men from the East bringing for him the three different gifts – frankincense, gold and myrrh. These wise-men came to visit the child because they saw a bright star announcing the birth of a king who would rule the world.
Jesus must have had his regular education probably under a religious teacher. He studied the Scripture and Jewish religious books. He was obedient to his parents. Till the age of thirty he was with his parents. When he was twelve, one day Jesus went with his parents to Jerusalem city, the city of Israel. It was the religious centre for all the Jews. It was the custom for them to celebrate their important feasts in the temple. Jerusalem temple represented the religious centre for the Jews. Jesus stayed in the temple while his parents left thinking that Jesus would be with the relatives. On finding that Jesus was missing, his parents returned to Jerusalem temple and found him there. Jesus went with them and he was obedient to them.
We do not have details about the life of Jesus between age 12 and 30. His foster father must have died during that period. Jesus took over the profession of his father and helped his mother till he reached the age 30. Jesus’ life became dramatically radical after that. Though Jesus was living an ordinary life, he became full time preacher after his baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, a preacher who lived in the desert.
Jesus gathered 12 men as his disciples and went about preaching good tidings – love of God, love of neighbor, forgiveness, human dignity and human and divine values. His teachings were filled with parables, stories and powerful messages. He was referring to God as his Father and invited all people to call God as their Father. He also went about healing the sick people. He taught people with great authority and power. Thousands of people used to gather in order to listen to him. His extraordinary power for healing and driving out demons left people spell-bound. He went about doing good to everyone. Simple people, the sick, the poor – used to gather around him. In the beginnings, he used to teach in the synagogues, prayer houses meant for the Jews. Later he changed his platform. He started preaching along the sea shore, on small mountains, for example Sermon on the Mount and the places wherever people gathered. He preached in the houses of people. That is how he made every sphere of human movement as the place of his preaching. There was another shift which landed him into a big trouble.
He started attacking the Jewish religious leaders who were more worried about rules and regulations, but not about human values. He condemned the religious leaders for their hypocrisy, ritualistic attitude and double life. Jesus presented a merciful God and liberated people from religious bondages. He said the humans are not made for Sabbath day ( a day meant for the Lord, on that day no work should be done) but that day is made for human race. Jesus healed the sick on that day. He freed the woman who was caught in adultery. Jesus’ words and actions turned the Jewish religious leaders into his enemies. The Jews wanted to kill Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God, who did not bother about rules and rubrics of religion but rather preached about the love and mercy of God. Jewish priests and religious leaders gathered and plotted against Jesus.
So they caught him one day with the help of Judas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus. (Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss). The leaders of Israel condemned Jesus for what he did and they brought him before Pilate, a Roman governor. Many accusations were made against Jesus and Jesus was condemned to death, a death of shame and great pain – a death by crucifixion. It was the greatest punished invented by the Romans for criminals, and for those who rise against Roman rule. This was the punishment given to Jesus.
Pilate tried his best to protect Jesus but the Jewish leaders were bent on crucifying Jesus. Their demand was granted finally. Jesus was scourged, spat upon, crowned with thorns, and he was made to carry the cross upto Calvary, a small mountain on which he was to be crucified. Jesus, who has not done any harm to anyone but only good, was crucified along with two criminals and he died.
Now you’ll understand that his death has become the source and symbol of unconditional love of God. It’s a sacrifice of oneself for the world and so a victory over sin and evil. It may look like a failure but by his death he has shown that God loves the world. Jesus did not give in to the pressures of the world. Jesus did not make any compromises but rather he stood for his cause. Even on the cross, he was praying for the forgiveness of God on those who crucified him. Jesus’ death shows that goodness will triumph even though goodness may suffer. Good Friday, the day when Jesus died on the cross, was not the end of his life … but the story continues with his Resurrection.
Jesus died on a Friday which has become Good Friday. It was on this day the highest goodness was shown by God to the world. At his death some have understood that Jesus was not a criminal but the Son of God. His teaching is about love of God and love of neighbor. The world today needs more the teachings of Jesus. We find today people are not tolerant of each other. Jesus teaches us to love everyone, even the enemies. Jesus exhorts us to show the other cheek to the one who strikes one cheek.
Gandhiji once said that he likes Christ but not Christians. That is because many Christians do not live like Jesus Christ. May we love one another; serve each other as per the teaching of Jesus. Let Good Friday – the day when Jesus sacrificed himself for the world, be a day of enlightenment that we become men and women of fraternal love and justice so that all people may find peaceful living on earth.