Good Friday is an important day for Christians, but Good Friday should actually be an important day for all people. Why is it called Good Friday? What happened on Good Friday that is so important for humanity?
What is remembered on Good Friday?
What is remembered on Good Friday? On Good Friday the suffering and death of Jesus Christ on the cross is remembered. But what is the significance of the death of Jesus Christ?
UYESU khristu, uNyana kaThixo, came to the earth with a mission, namely to restore what was broken in the Garden of Eden.
To understand, why Jesus Christ had to be crucified, we must go back to the moment when man made a wrong choice and disobeyed God, and fell from his position, and the relationship between God and man was broken.
What happened in the Garden of Eden?
God created man perfect and placed man in the Garden of Eden and gave man dominion over the earth. God had a relationship with man and walked with man. There was no lack, God had given everything man needed.
Nangona kunjalo, God had given one commandment to man. Man could eat from every tree in the garden, except for the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Man walked with God and obeyed God until the serpent approached man and tempted man with his words.
The words of the serpent made man doubt the words of God.
Instead of believing the words of God and keeping the commandment of God, man believed the words of the serpent and acted upon his words, whereby the mission of the serpent succeeded (Funda kwakhona: Is the mission of the devil successful?).
Through the disobedience of man, because man ate from the forbidden fruit despite the warning and commandment of God, the earth was cursed and the relationship between God and man was broken and the spirit of man died and came under the authority of death.
The devil had taken dominion over the earth and became the father of fallen man
Through a lie, the devil had taken the place of man and illegally had taken dominion over the earth, which God originally had given to man. Ukususela kuloo mzuzu, the devil became the ruler of the world and had dominion over the earth, and became the father of fallen man.
Wonke umntu, owayeza kuzalwa embewini yomntu, would be born under the authority of the devil and death and live in darkness, and after life on earth would enter hell; ubukumkani bokufa (IHadesi).
There was (and still is) no one excluded, everyone would be born as a sinner and live in darkness and when he dies, he will return to his father and master, to whom he belonged and whom he served and obeyed during his life on earth.
The promise of God to restore what was broken in the garden
And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (IGenesis 3:13-15)
But God in His greatness and sovereignty had already a plan to restore (heal) what was broken.
Since man was tempted by the woman and the woman was tempted by the serpent, the Seed of the woman would bruise the head of the devil (Funda kwakhona: ‘Kuthetha ukuthini ukuba intloko kasathana ityunyuzwe kuba yatyunyuzwa isithende sikaYesu?)
The coming of Jesus the Christ
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. Njengoko uMoses wayiphakamisayo inyoka entlango, kwangokunjalo umelwe kukuthi aphakanyiswe uNyana woMntu: Ukuze bonke abakholwayo kuye bangatshabalali, kodwa abe nobomi obungunaphakade. Kuba wenjenje uThixo ukulithanda kwakhe ihlabathi, ukuba wanikela ngoNyana wakhe okuphela kwamzeleyo, ukuze bonke abakholwayo kuye bangatshabalali, kodwa abe nobomi obungunaphakade. Kuba uThixo akamthumanga uNyana wakhe ehlabathini, ukuze aligwebe ihlabathi; ukuze ihlabathi lisindiswe ngaye. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, ngokuba engakholwanga kwigana loNyana okuphela kwamzeleyo uThixo (UYohane 3:13-18)
Although God had given this promise immediately after the fall, it took many years before the promise of God came to pass and the Messiah came to the earth to redeem man from the power of the devil.
Jesus Christ came to the earth and was born of the virgin Maria, owayephuma kwisizukulwana sowa. Maria was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and became pregnant and gave birth to Jesus, who was fully Human. Because Jesus could only take the place of fallen man and become their Substitute if Jesus was fully Human (UMateyu 1, ULuka 1 (Funda kwakhona: Ukulindela idinga likaMesiya kwaye UYesu wayengumntu ngokupheleleyo?)).
Jesus grew up as a Son of a carpenter and when Jesus was approximately 30 years old He began His mission.
Although Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day, Jesus was baptized in water by John the Baptism and received the Holy Spirit, Who led Jesus to the wilderness, where Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 iintsuku (Funda kwakhona: ‘ndiya kukunika ubutyebi behlabathi')
Although the devil succeeded in tempting Adam, the son of God, to sin, the devil didn’t succeed in tempting Jesus Christ, uNyana kaThixo, to sin
And after Jesus overcame the devil with ilizwi, Jesus went to preach the Kingdom of God to the people, who were born of the seed of Israel, and called them to repentance.
Jesus walked as Son of God after the Spirit on earth and preached the Kingdom of God, called the people to repentance, healed the sick, cast out demons, prophesied, and spoke words of knowledge and wisdom.
Everywhere Jesus went He caused a commotion that often resulted in persecution, especially of the (ngokomoya) leaders of God’s people.
Until the moment came, for which Jesus had come to earth and that was to fulfill the redemptive work of God for fallen man.
The redemptive work of Jesus Christ would reconcile man back to God and restore the position of man on earth and give back the dominion, which the devil had stolen from man, to the (entsha) indoda.
The sufferings of Jesus began in the Garden of Gethsemane
Khangela, Umkhonzi wam uya kwenza ngengqiqo, Uya kuphakanyiswa, azukiswe;, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; Ubuso bakhe bonakele ngaphezu kwakhe nawuphi na umntu, nokumila kwakhe kunoonyana babantu: ngokunjalo yena uya kubetha zithi makatha iintlanga ezininzi;; ookumkani baya kuthi khamnqa kuye: kuba baya kukubona abangazanga bakubaliselwe; bakugqale abangazanga bakuve (uIsaya 52:13-15)
okholiweyo ludaba lwethu;? nengalo yeNkosi yatyhilelwa kuye? Ngokuba uya kuhluma phambi kwakhe njengohlaza;, nanjengengcambu kumhlaba owomileyo: akanasimo nabungangamsha; naxa siya kuMbona, akukho nzwakazi ukuba simnqwenele. Udeliwe, ushiyiwe ngabantu; umntu wosizi, kwaye uqhelene nentlungu: kwaye sabusithelisa ubuso bethu kuye; Wayedeliwe, besingamxabisanga (uIsaya 53:1-3)
The suffering of Jesus Christ began in the Garden of Gethsemane, since the garden was the place where it all went wrong with Adam, and through his disobedience to God man was separated from God and fell from his position.
After the spiritual battle and the victory through umthandazo, Jesus was betrayed and taken captive in the garden and led to the high priest and then to Pilate.
Although Jesus Christ was innocent and didn’t do anything wrong, Jesus went through all the accusations, mockery, ukwaliwa, condemnation, and the sentence to death, without defending Himself. Jesus stayed faithful and obedient to His Father until His death.
What happened on Good Friday?
Inene, uzithwele umvandedwa wethu, wazithwala iintsizi zethu: yet we did esteem him stricken, obethwa nguThixo, nabaxhwalekileyo. But He was wounded for our transgressions, Watyunyuzwa ngenxa yezenzo zethu ezigwenxa: ubetho lokuba sibe noxolo thina lube phezu kwakhe; kwaye ngemivumbo yaKhe siphilisiwe. Thina sonke silahlekile njengeegusha; siye sajika saya elowo endleleni yakhe; ke uYehova wamwela phezu kwakhe ubugwenxa bethu sonke. Wacinezelwa, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: Njengemvana esiwa ekuxhelweni, nanjengegusha esisidenge phambi kwabachebi bayo, so He openeth not His mouth. Wakhutshwa entolongweni nasekugwetyweni: and who shall declare His generation? ngokuba wanqunyulwa ezweni labaphilileyo: for the transgression of my people was He stricken. And He made His grave with the wicked, nabazizityebi ekufeni kwakhe; ngokuba engenzanga lugonyamelo, neither was any deceit in His mouth (uIsaya 53:4-9).
Jesus was scourged, whereby the word of the prophet Isaiah was fulfilled, that by His stripes we are healed.
After the scourging, Jesus continued His way to Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified and sacrificed as a spotless Lamb and shed His blood for the whole of humanity.
Jesus took all the sins and iniquities of the generation of fallen man and bore them in His flesh on the cross.
Jesus finished the redemptive work for fallen man
Noko ke kwakholeka kuYehova ukumtyumza; Umenze buhlungu: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, Uya kuyibona imbewu yakhe, Uya kuyolula imihla yakhe, kwaye ukuthanda kukaYehova kuya kuphumelela esandleni sakhe. He shall see of the travail of His soul, kwaye siya kwaneliswa: by His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; Uya kubuthwala ubugwenxa babo. ngoko ke ndiya kumabela isahlulo nabakhulu, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; ngokuba ewuthulule umphefumlo wakhe ekufeni: Wabalwa kunye nabakreqi; Yena wasithwala isono sabaninzi, kwaye wabathethelela abakreqi (uIsaya 53:10-12).
And so Jesus became the Substitute for fallen man and carried the sins and iniquities of fallen man and was made sin and a curse on the cross, which caused a spiritual separation between Jesus Christ, uNyana kaThixo, and God the Father.
For a short period of time, Jesus was put below the angels and the devil and the principalities and powers of darkness reigned over Jesus, which became visible in the natural realm by the darkness that came over the earth for three hours.
Jesus was made sin by God and had accomplished His work at the cross and shed His blood and died and entered Hades.
This all happened on Good Friday and was part of the complete redemptive work for humanity, which consists of the scourging, ukufa, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
If you would like to know more about the passion of Jesus Christ and the meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross and salvation for humanity, you can read the following articles:
- Someone has to pay the price!
- The lot fell on Jesus Christ, uNyana kaThixo ophilileyo
- The crucifixion of the soul
- The crucifixion of the flesh
- The sufferings and mockery of Jesus Christ
- The battle in the Garden
- Kwakutheni ukuze uYesu abethelelwe emnqamlezweni?
- Ithini intsingiselo yokwenyani yomnqamlezo?
- What is the difference between the sacrifice of animals and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
‘Yibani yityuwa yehlabathi’
