Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, the day when the Christian world remembers the death of Jesus Christ. I remember as a small child watching the news one Good Friday and seeing throngs of people pushing their way thru the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.  There were even people who had lashed themselves to crosses and who were hanging as a sign of devotion to their faith.  Understandably, it left me feeling very confused.   I asked my mother why did we call it “Good Friday” if Jesus was killed this day.  She said simply, “Because of all the “good” Jesus did for us today.”  As I’ve grown older I’ve been able to learn for myself of the “Good Jesus did for us today.”

Two words I came across this week in my Come Follow Me study that helped me think of the “Good” Jesus has done were ransom and remission.  In Matthew 26, we read about the Last Supper — it’s during this last night together, that Christ finished teaching the disciples about his work on the earth — that he is the Messiah. Christ institutes the ordinance of the sacrament.

In verse 26 it says, “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it,and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.”  My thoughts turned to our Sacrament hymn, “Reverently and Meekly Now”“With my body on the tree I have ransomed even thee.”  What is a ransom?  Is it a sum of money or a payment made to release a prisoner.  The resurrection paid the price for us to have our bodies back — so that they are not prisoner to the earth and elements, and so that we are not prisoner to the devil himself.  But we don’t just get our bodies back, we get a perfectly whole, complete body, free from sickness and death.  Alma teaches, “The soul shall be restored to the body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame.” (Alma 40: 23).

Christ completes the sacrament by teaching the disciples about his blood, “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26: 27-28).  The word remission or the verb ‘to remit’ is a cancellation of  a debt or penalty, or the payment of the debt.  There are many places in the scriptures that teach us that the penalty for sin is too great to bear, and that if we do not repent, we’ll be stuck “drinking the bitter cup” ourselves.  We don’t have to do that.  Christ did that for us.  All he asks is for our broken hearts and contrite spirits, that we repent and keep his commandments.  That’s a pretty good deal.

Christ suffered this ransom and remittance in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then again on the cross.  He endured beatings, verbal abuse, mockery,  false trials, the conspiracy of his enemies, the betrayal of one of his disciples, the denial of another, and the humiliation of hanging on the cross — to ransom and remit us from death and sin.

So it is a Good Friday indeed.  We have a Savior who loves us, we have the promise of the resurrection and the hope of eternal life with him and our Heavenly Father as we repent, keep our covenants and obey and live and love the commandments.

We’d also like to remind you of the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square Easter concert, “He Is Risen:A Sacred Easter Presentation”, Saturday, April 20 at 7:30pm MDT.  Click the link for all of the viewing options.

This entry was posted in General and tagged , , , , , by Joyce Anderson. Bookmark the permalink.

About Joyce Anderson

Her family and friends call her the Queen of the United States...and Mom -- Joyce Anderson has been involved in LDS apologetics for over 20 years and with the Millennial Star since 2010. Since the beginning of the Covid19 pandemic she has added homeschooler to her list things she does in addition to being the butcher, baker & candlestick maker. When not schooling the children, she reads, paints, declutters, teaches primary, and is happy to share a bowl of chips & salsa with anyone who stops by.

One thought on “Good Friday

  1. And for years I pondered WHY Jesus had to suffer and be crucified. If he is God (and he is), then why not just save us without such pain. It made me wonder why Paul and Alma both taught that Jesus had to suffer, so he would know how to succor us (Alma 7).

    He was able to heal the sick, lame, leprous. But there were some things he had to learn before he would be able to fully heal the souls of men.

    I now realize that God is in a process of growing and learning, just like us. He could have saved us without the suffering, but he could not have succored us, nor healed us. Only in descending below all things, could he spiritually and mentally heal us. With his sufferings, he is now able to lift us above all things.

    Imagine those people scarred by war, illness, abuse. There are millions of children worldwide in the sex trade right now. Christ fully understands their pain, and in understanding it, he is able to gently restore them to peace, joy, and hope, just as he did for the Nephites in 3 Nephi.

    Good Friday is good, because it is when Jesus finishes his work of learning compassion through suffering. And as his flesh was torn, and his life blood shed, we are healed by the stripes he bore.

Comments are closed.