Good Friday is a religious holiday observed by Christians to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary, a hill located just outside the walls of Jerusalem.
According to the New Testament, Jesus was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by the Roman authorities, and he was crucified on a Friday, which is now known as Good Friday.
The term “Good” in Good Friday is believed to have come from the older English term “God’s Friday,” which some believe was later corrupted to “Good Friday.” Others also suggest that “good” may have been used in the sense of “holy,” as in “Good Night” or “Good News.” The exact origin of the term is not known for sure but contemporary Christians have embraced the “good” in Good Friday as it became a day of atonement for the sins of humanity.
For Christians, Good Friday is a solemn day of mourning and reflection on the sacrifice that Jesus made for the sins of humanity. It is also a day of fasting, prayer, and repentance. Many churches hold special services on Good Friday, where the story of the crucifixion is recounted, and hymns and prayers are offered.
What is the meaning of Good Friday?
The Christian doctrine of salvation teaches that because of sin, humanity was separated from God and unable to achieve salvation or eternal life on their own. Jesus’ death on the cross is believed to have reconciled humanity with God, making it possible for people to be forgiven of their sins and have eternal life through faith in Jesus.
The idea of Jesus’ death as a sacrifice is rooted in Jewish tradition, in which animals were often sacrificed to atone for sins. Christians believe that Jesus’ death was the ultimate sacrifice, offered once and for all to atone for the sins of humanity. His resurrection on Easter Sunday is seen as a symbol of his victory over death and sin, and a sign of hope and new life for all who believe in him.
How old was Jesus when he died?
According to the Christian tradition, Jesus was likely in his early thirties when he was crucified. The exact age is not known for sure, but it is believed that he was born around 4 BC and was crucified around 30-33 AD.
What evidence exists that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday?
Biblical Evidence for Good Friday
There are numerous accounts of the crucifixion in scripture, but here are a few passages that support the crucifixion of Jesus on Good Friday:
Jesus is crucified and died on Good Friday – Mark 15:21-41
“And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:21-41 ESV
It was during the time of Passover – Matthew 26:1-5
“When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ‘You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.’ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. But they said, ‘Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.’” Matthew 26:1-5 ESV
Historical Evidence for the Existence and Eventual Crucifixion of Jesus
Citing sources outside of the Bible is also helpful in understanding and interpreting the Bible and adds further credibility to claims of the life and crucifixion of Jesus. A few early examples are as follows:
98 – 138 AD: Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals – Book 15, Chapter 44
Tacitus was a Roman senator who wrote Annals between AD 98-138, across the reigns of Emperors Trajan and Hadrian. In Annals, he writes about Nero and Christians and then mentions the crucificion of Jesus, the Christ
“Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular.“
93 AD: Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews – Book 18, Section 63
Flavius Josephus (c. 37-100 AD) was a Jewish historian, scholar, and military leader who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century AD. Josephus was born in Jerusalem, but spent much of his life in Rome and other Roman cities, where he became a close friend and advisor to the Roman emperor Titus Flavius. Josephus wrote “Antiquities of the Jews,” a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from their earliest origins to the end of the First Jewish-Roman War.
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
145 – 160 AD: The Works of Lucian of Samosata – Section 11 – 13
Lucian of Samosata was a Greek satirist and rhetorician who lived during the 2nd century AD and wrote about Christians in Palestine and who “worship a man” who they believed was “a God” who was “crucified” on the account of introducing “their novel rites.”
“It was now that he came across the priests and scribes of the Christians, in Palestine, and picked up their queer creed. I can tell you, he pretty soon convinced them of his superiority; prophet, elder, ruler of the Synagogue–he was everything at once; expounded their books, commented on them, wrote books himself. They took him for a God, accepted his laws, and declared him their president. The Christians, you know, worship a man to this day,–the distinguished personage who introduced their novel rites, and was crucified on that account. Well, the end of it was that Proteus was arrested and thrown into prison.”
