Week 15 - What's So Good About Good Friday?
“Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried… The third day he rose again from the dead…” (The Apostles’ Creed)
The headline in the NZ Herald reads: Did Jesus really die on the cross?
The article under this headline reported that the Kiwi author at the centre of a copyright lawsuit against the publisher of The Da Vinci Code was stirring fresh controversy with claims that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was an elaborate fraud. Michael Baigent argues in his new book, The Jesus Papers, that Jesus conspired with the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to fake his own death on the cross.
The Jesus Papers finds that Jesus, a mortal of royal bloodline traced back to Kind David, had split with the zealot disciples who wanted Him to lead a rebellion against the Romans and take the throne. When Jesus told His followers that they should pay their taxes to Rome — “render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s” — they were astonished (
In an exclusive interview with the Herald on Sunday the author said, “I was raised in the Christian tradition. I’ve found it incredibly hard trying to get rid of the Christian baggage. I don’t think I’ve succeeded. I don’t think it’s possible.” Tried as he might, he would never be able to get rid of something that is true. Such a controversial new claim about the crucifixion is not new. Many others in the past have attempted to discredit it but to no avail. If you were to study their works seriously, you will find that they will not stand up to robust scrutiny.
Frank Morison was a lawyer by profession. At first, he set out to write a book that would disprove the resurrection of Jesus Christ. After much research and diligent “discovery of facts” (to use a legal term), he ended up writing a book that was completely the opposite of what he had originally set out to do. Instead of disproving the resurrection, he wrote that having seen the facts, one is left with only one conclusion – yes, it happened! First published in 1930, the book Who Moved The Stone? has helped many people come to faith in Christ.
You see, the core of the Christian faith rests on the fact that Jesus died on the cross and He rose again from the dead on the third day. Anyone who wishes to disprove Christianity would question the authenticity of the account of the death and the resurrection of Christ. No wonder Michael Baigent set out to prove that Jesus did not die on the cross. And no wonder Frank Morison tried to do likewise for the resurrection of Christ.
Listen to the testimony of the Apostle Paul: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve” (1 Cor. 15:3-5).
Christ died, was buried and was raised. That is good news! And good news must be shared, don’t you agree?
Perhaps as Good Friday approaches, you may wish to consider asking your non-Christian friends the question, “What’s so good about Good Friday?” It could open up an opportunity for you to share why Jesus had to die on the cross in order to save us from our sins and to reconcile us to God.
Better still, you can invite them to the services that our church plans for the Easter weekend. The Saturday Evening Service (SES) usually holds an evangelistic concert on Good Friday. You have great opportunities to invite your non-Christian family members, neighbours, friends, colleagues and school mates to listen to the good news of Jesus Christ.
So, what’s so good about Good Friday, besides the long weekend? Make it a good Good Friday. Tell someone the good news!