Today is Good Friday. This is the day we remember the day Jesus was sent hither and thither as the religious leaders tried with all their might to have him executed. However everywhere Jesus was sent, the authorities couldn't find a reason to execute him. In order to keep his job and placate the crowds, Pilate, who was the Roman Governor, finally sent Jesus to be crucified.
You might wonder why it is called 'Good' Friday when so many bad things happened on that day. Many reasons have been put forward regarding the day being called "Good..." but regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God's plan to save his people from their sins.
I have looked up the Internet for paintings and scenes from films regarding Good Friday to highlight some of the events that happend on that day.
The day began when Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Following his arrest, he was taken to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphas.
There Jesus was interrogated with little result. He was then bound up and sent to Caiaphas the High Priest where the Sanhedrin had assembled.
The Sanhedrin was a Jewish court made up of seventy men and the High Priest and it was there that Jesus was taken for a more formal interrogation.
Conflicting testimony against Jesus was brought forth by many witnesses to which Jesus answered nothing. Finally the High Priest asked Jesus to respond under solemn oath, saying "I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us, are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" When Jesus answered that indeed he was, the High Priest condemned him to death for blasphemy.
Blasphemy here means speaking about God without respect. Something that you say or do that indicates you do not respect God. And this is what the Sanhedrin thought Jesus was doing.
Because the Sanhedrin couldn't carry out an execution, the whole assembly took Jesus to Pontius Pilate the Roman Governor who could carry out the death penalty.
"What has this man done?" asked Pilate.
The charges that were brought before Pilate regarding Jesus were:
1. Jesus was trying to overthrow the nation.
2. Jesus opposed paying taxes to Caesar.
3. Jesus was making himself a King.
After questioning Jesus, Pilate told the assembly he could find no reason for sentencing Jesus. After further discussion, Pilate discovered that Jesus was from Galilee and referred the case to the ruler of Galilee, King Herod who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast.
Herod questioned Jesus about the many accusations that had been made against him but received no answer.
At this point Jesus was sent back to Pilate.
Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor King Herod could find a reason for sentencing Jesus. But to calm the assembly, Pilate decided to have Jesus whipped and released.
The assembly weren't happy and under the guidance of the chief priests, the crowd shouted for Barabbas who had been imprisoned for committing murder during a riot.
As you can see, it was a very difficult day for Pilate. To top it all off, Pilate's wife came to him and told him she had a dream about Jesus and that Pilate was to "Have nothing to do with this good man."
At this point the chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge. They demanded Jesus be sentenced to death because he claimed to be God's son.
The possibility that Jesus might be God's son filled Pilate with fear and he brought Jesus back inside the palace and demanded to know where he came from. But Jesus stayed silent.
Pilate tried and tried to have Jesus released but when the crowd started saying "You are not Caesar's friend if you release him. Jesus says he is a King and whoever says he is a King is speaking against Caesar."
At this point Pilate came out of the palace and sat down on the judgement seat. He had Jesus brought out and tried once more to release him. "Behold your King!" he said to the crowd. But the crowd cried out, "Crucify him! Crucify him! We have no King but Caesar."
"But why?" asked Pilate. "What has he done wrong?" When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd.
"I am innocent of this man's blood." he said.
And so Jesus was taken away.
And bearing his cross with the help of Simon of Cyrene, Jesus carried his cross to the site of execution and was crucified along with two criminals.
Following Jesus' crucifixion, a Roman guard on duty said "Surely this was God's Son!"
After the death of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
Another secret follower of Jesus and a member of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus, brought a hundred-pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the body of Jesus.
The body was then placed in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea and a large stone was placed in front of the tomb.
Everything that occured from the arrest of Jesus to his many interrogations and final crucifixion was less than a day.
As we come to the end of Good Friday we must always remember what my friend Julian used to say.
"It was Friday! But Sunday's a'comin!"
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