Good Friday - Jesus Christ's unfair trial & crucifixion
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 20
Good Friday is the Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is the climax of the Easter timeline and would go down in history as one of the most well-known events... But what did it mean?
Hint: At the very end of this article is a free worksheet for you to personally and prayerfully engage deeper
This series of articles will cover the key events of Easter in the order that they're celebrated in in the Christian tradition.
Click the following titles to read about the true meaning of Easter and each day of Holy Week:
What happened on Easter Friday
In the broader story of the Easter timeline, this is right after the Last Supper and Jesus' arrest and before the resurrection.
On Thursday night, Jesus was questioned and His trial continued into Friday morning. Officials passed Him from one to the next, because they could find no wrong to condemn Him with. Jesus stayed quiet and let them speak between themselves.
The crowd was upset, they wanted Him dead, trading a real criminal for the innocent One. They beat Jesus up, tore off His clothes, and taunted Him. Eventually, Jesus was forced to carry His own cross up to Skull Mountain; a man called Simon carried it some of the way.
Even the criminals crucified next to Jesus taunted Him, but one of them showed compassion and Jesus invited him into the Kingdom.
Jerusalem's daylight disappeared from noon to three as darkness fell over the land. Jesus Christ prayed for the forgiveness of those who were killing Him and then He breathed His last breath.
When He did so, an earthquake rattled over Jerusalem, holy people rose from the dead, AND the curtain in the Temple tore from the top to the bottom. Jesus paid the ultimate price, stepping into mankind's place, taking on our sin as His own, and He died a sinner's death.
He did this to save us, so that people could live close to God again, just like we did at the Beginning (Genesis).
Journaling Prompts about Good Friday
What makes this day 'good'?
Write a poem-prayer about the events in Jerusalem on that day.
Draw a doodle about the cross and write your favorite Bible verse underneath.
Thank God for sending Jesus, the ultimate act of love.
Make a collage of John 3:16.
This day in the Gospels
Matthew 27:11-12 (NIV)
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.
(Read the full record of what happened on Friday in Matthew 27:1-61)
Mark 15:17-20 (NIV)
17 They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18 And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
(Read the full record of what happened on Friday in Mark 15:1-47)
Luke 23:44-46 (NIV)
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
(Read the full record of what happened on Friday in Luke 22:66 - 23:56)
John 19:41 (NIV)
41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
(Read the full record of what happened on Friday in John 18:28-19:42)
Understanding this Easter day in the Old Testament
The Bible tells one beautiful story: God's big story. It is explained well by the following quote:
"My favorite book is this really old one where the author falls so deeply inlove with the reader that He dies for them."
The events of Good Friday were not random, coincidental, or an accident. This was the way it was supposed to happen. It was all written that it would happen this way...
If Jesus hadn't proved Himself to be the Messiah yet through countless fulfilled prophecies over the course of His short life, His final actions proved it so. Consider the Old Testament passages below and see how they relate to the events of Good Friday:
Old Testament Passages about Jesus' crucifixion -
Psalm 22:2
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 22:16-18
Dogs surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
Zechariah 12:10
They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
If you've been wanting to dive deeper into the Bible yourself, I want to invite you to consider the following encounter tool:
A Prayer on Good Friday
Oh Lord, what pain You endured on this day. I pray that You would open my eyes to see how this cross carries significance for my everyday life. Let it be transformed and viewed through the lens of the price that You paid for us, for me, for everybody... Amen.
Next up: The following day in Holy Week
I imagine silence must have fallen over Jerusalem as hushes whispered sounded the thought on everyone's mind: "What just happened? What if He really was the Messiah..." Stay tuned for Saturday's Easter blog post where we'll contemplate what came next.
Explore other events in the Easter story:
Below is a free printable worksheet PDF to go deeper with today's topic on the Easter timeline:
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