What Happened on Good Friday?

Biblical scholars have recreated a timeline for the day of Christ’s crucifixion. Although it’s not down to the minute, they can get it within the hour. In addition, there was a high value in Judaism for record-keeping to substantiate their claims. Because of the accuracy of the gospel accounts, we can recreate Jesus’ steps in those final hours, so I’m going to take you on a journey from the early morning hours until the end of the day. And as we walk through those hours, I will show you how Jesus’ experience in each of these hours parallels our own experience. What Jesus suffered and went through in each part of Good Friday was for us. Because He did it, we can, too.  

4:00-6:00 a.m. (Mark 14:53-65 ESV)

We start at 4:00–6:00 a.m. Jesus’ first trial began, and He was on trial among the High Priest and Chief Priest. You may have considered this, but there were two trials that Jesus faced. One was political (we will see that one later), but the first trial happened among His people. 

Shockingly, this trial happened very early in the morning. Why is that important? I believe it’s important because many of us wake up early and begin our own kind of trial immediately. The voice of the accuser asks us:

“Who do you think you are trying to be a good mom today?”  

“Who do you think you are trying to be a good husband and father?”  

“Who do you think you are trying to live this single life?”  

We wake up early every day to work our jobs and live our lives, and just like Jesus, we stand trial before the accuser. We hear the voice of condemnation from our own people and sometimes from our own conscience. Biblical scholars confirm that Jesus’ trial was first thing in the morning. Because he endured and survived that trial, we can survive the voice of condemnation that comes at us. And not only can we survive it, but we can also overcome it.

6:00-8:00 a.m. (Mark 15:1-15 ESV)

From there, Jesus was condemned a second time. After being charged by his own people, it escalated to a Roman judicial process. So between 6:00 and 8:00 in the morning, Jesus was put on trial before Pontius Pilate and Herod. Jesus appeared before Pilate, was sent to Herod, and then back to Pilate, where he was sentenced to be crucified. After being rejected by his own, the people of Israel, he was now rejected in the public square.  

Jesus Faced Public Scrutiny Just Like You Do

So, Jesus knows that we’re going to face criticism and the condemnation of our mind, and we’ve got to suffer that mental trial by jury every morning when we wake up. But then we enter into the public, just as He did. We go to school, to our jobs, to our community, and in those places, we suffer ridicule. We receive judgment. I believe that just as he was going through the Pontius Pilate-inherited judicial process from 6:00 to 8:00, He was saying, “I’m going to face this for you so that when you go into the public sphere, you know that your Savior, Master, and Leader has survived public scrutiny as well. Because I faced their opinion in public, you can too.” Jesus went first.  

8:00 – 8:30 am (Mark 15:21-23 ESV)

From 8:00 – 8:30 a.m., Jesus began to carry his cross to Golgotha with Simon of Cyrene’s help. Why was Simon of Cyrene’s name mentioned? Many of these people were still alive when the gospel accounts were written. So it was an invitation to talk to him yourself. Simon could substantiate Christ’s story. If you wanted to know, you could talk to Simon (and not just any Simon, Simon of Cyrene – ask him what it was like!).  

9:00-9:30 a.m. (Mark 15:25 ESV)

At 9:00 a.m., we begin the crucifixion. Mark 15:25 says it was the third hour for the Jewish people. At this time, Jesus began the process of dying on the cross. The soldiers divided Jesus’ clothing, and He prayed for them within the first half hour.  

At this point, He had been up since 4:00 a.m. He had been through two judicial processes. It had been a long day already by 9 a.m. Yet, in the midst of that personal anguish and pain, He prayed for the soldiers who divided his clothing.

9:30 – 11:00 a.m. (Matthew 15:29-32 ESV)

The soldiers began to mock him. Finally, they said, “Why don’t you come down from there, Son of God.”  

11:00 a.m. – noon (Luke 23:39-43 ESV)

Jesus spoke from the cross to the thieves on either side. Now mind you, an audience watched Him pray for those who divided his clothes. An audience watched as he was mocked and ridiculed. And then He turned to the repentant thief and said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.”

Good Works Don’t Earn You Anything

Suppose you have been raised in a tradition and religion that has convinced you that you will find redemption by earning it through your own good works and actions. In that case, I want to remind you that the man crucified next to Jesus on the cross could not come off that cross to be baptized, pay his tithes, or volunteer. There is nothing that he could have brought to Jesus. 

Jesus loves you the same at your darkest as after your 143rd service in a row of paying tithes and volunteering. You bring nothing to Him that changes the magnitude of the love that drove Him to the cross for you. So if you believe a lie that says because you haven’t done specific good works, you’re distant from God, wake up to the truth that all you need to do is respond to the inner working of the Holy Spirit as He reveals the reality of who Jesus is.   

When that man hanging on the cross next to Jesus said, “I acknowledge You as Savior, I know who you are, will you remember me?” Jesus said, “Surely today you will be with me in paradise.” Now that doesn’t mean we don’t serve, and it doesn’t mean that we don’t tithe, but the inner working of the Holy Spirit begins to provoke us to want to serve God and live for Him. We don’t do those things for relationship, we do those things from relationship.  

Jesus Cares About Our Family Connections

There is no more precise picture of this than what happened between 11 a.m. and noon. Jesus said to His mother, Mary, and to John, “Woman, here is your son; John, here is your mother.” Here is an acknowledgment of relationship and connection. Jesus was showing us the link that we have to family. Maybe you’ve been praying for your family to receive Jesus. Perhaps you’re a praying mother who feels powerful but helpless in carrying the cross. Jesus was speaking to the divinity and the humanity of that moment. He was saying that he was vulnerable, too. He loved His family, too.    

Noon – 3:00 p.m. (Mark 15:38, John 19:26-27, 34 ESV)

At noon, a 3-hour darkness descended upon the land. From noon to 3:00, we come now into the final threshold. The earth began to quake, and the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom. Jesus began to thirst.  

When I was in Israel recently, I had the opportunity to go into the catacombs underneath the Temple Mount. While in these dark, hollow spaces, we reached the point closest to where the Holy of Holies would have been. In modern days in this area of the catacombs, Jewish women have been praying for years and years because they want to get closest to where the glory of God would reside. I saw them with my own eyes and bumped into one. It was such a profound moment for me, knowing these women crawl down to these catacombs just to get close to where the presence of God used to dwell. These women pray there in an effort to get the last remnant of God’s presence.

The Veil Was Torn

The temple veil was torn, so how much does this grieve the Holy Spirit who is with us and actually in the earth, drawing us to the person of Jesus Christ? The barrier is completely removed. Instead of being afraid, thinking, “I’m not good enough; I haven’t done all the right things,” we can boldly go before the throne of grace because of the sacrifice of Jesus. I don’t have to wonder, “Am I close to God?” God is close to the brokenhearted. It’s my brokenness that gives Him an avenue by which to come into my life. The cracks and crevices of abuse, trauma, and pain give him an entry point into my heart. It’s easiest to see him through the cracks and the crevices of my pain. 

4:00 p.m. (John 19:30 ESV, John 15:43)

At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” and said, “It is finished.” So many times in our lives, we work to finish what Jesus already completed on the cross. We pursue education and clout. We seek earthly riches, position, fame, and followers. But Jesus said, “It is finished.” There is absolutely nothing you can do to finish what He has finished already. 

Jesus Is Placed In The Tomb

After this, the soldiers thrust a spear into Jesus’ side to ensure He was dead. Then they permitted Joseph of Arimathea to take down Jesus’ body and bury Him in a nearby grave. They sealed it with a large round stone built to roll like a giant wheel, covering the mouth of the tomb. Everyone expected that he would remain in that tomb because that’s what happens to dead people. They stay dead and buried. 

Jesus had told them repeatedly what was going to happen, yet they still experienced fear as it happened. Isn’t that just what it feels like to be a disciple of Christ? Even though He told us we would have troubles and hard times but, “Take heart, I have overcome the world,” when we go through trials and testing, it still feels hard to bear. We can be intimidated by sharing our faith with somebody on the job because we worry about what they will think about us.

We look at the disciple Peter and think, “He got it wrong! I wouldn’t have denied Jesus if I saw Him face to face!” But it’s not true, friend. If we have trouble getting it right in our daily lives, what makes us think we would be any different than Peter or even Judas?  

We are Judas

Judas is not the person who betrayed you! Judas isn’t your ex-husband or your ex-friend. He’s not a family member who turned his back on you or a business partner who robbed you. I’m Judas. You’re Judas. How do I know this? Because in the moment of our fear, we took the lesser destiny handed to us, just as Judas did. Good Friday is a reminder that we aren’t just any one disciple. We hold the faults and failures of all 12 of them simultaneously. Good Friday is a reminder that we play every part in this story. Our greatest hope is that we learn to carry our own cross like our Savior did, and that we step into this narrative. We hope that we stop being Judas and Peter before Pentecost.  

This Crucifixion Was Different

To the first-century apostles and preachers, the main message that they preached repeatedly was the message of the resurrection. When you read the New Testament scriptures, they obsessively talk about the resurrection of Jesus. The authors’ mission was to help people understand that even though they’d seen hundreds and hundreds of people die on the cross, this crucifixion fulfilled prophecies. Jesus resurrected! They obsessively talked about the resurrection because they needed to let people know that Jesus was not a heretic; He was not a scandalous prophet. He was crucified. He was God in flesh. In the beginning, was the Word and the Word was with God (John 1:1). He was the Word. By and through Him, all things were established.  

He Died For the Most Broken Part Of You

The Holy Spirit loves you just as you are. The world cannot love you the way He does. To the world, you’re never enough. You need to be physically attractive enough. You need to be educated more and rich enough. You’re never charming, funny, or engaging enough. In the world, there’s always a new algorithm to learn to get their attention. But as we look at the entire timeline of events on Good Friday, hear the Father say, I love you and died for the most broken part of you.  

Understand this – Jesus went to the cross for us while we were yet sinners. He put His love on the line. Without guaranteeing that you would accept Him, He died for you at your darkest. And when the stench of your sin reached the nostrils of a just and holy God, when Jesus was on the cross and uttered “My God, why have you forsaken me?” it was because God could not stand the stench of the sin that Jesus was carrying at that moment. At that moment, he took every sin you would ever commit. You are more depraved and sinful than you could ever imagine, but the gospel’s good news is that you are loved more than you could ever fathom. There’s nothing you can do that will add to your worth. If you have received the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, that means when God sees you, He sees the blood of His Son on your life. He sees the righteousness of Jesus. That’s why today we can come boldly. 

The message of Good Friday is that when you look at yourself now, you don’t see a failure. You were a failure, before Christ. We were all dead and going to hell for our sins, but because of the power of Jesus at work within you, you are now more than a conqueror! You are a co-heir with Christ. So His victory at calvary becomes your victory!