Turned over to the authorities, he was mocked, cursed and beaten.

This man faced trial, and although they had no charge against him, he was found guilty and sentenced to the most shameful of deaths, death on a cross by crucifixion.

Made to carry the very vehicle of his own death, this man, broken and bleeding, dragged the heavy wooden beam, to which his body would later be nailed, through the dusty streets of the very city that had been covered in coats and palm branches welcoming his arrival.

Above him the guards had placed a sign: “This is Jesus, King of the Jews”.

He cried out again. And he gave up his spirit and died.

And the curtain in the temple that had kept God from His people all these years was torn in two.

(from Matthew 26 & 27)

For Christians, today commemorates the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. A paradox of mourning and hopeful expectation, Good Friday is “good” because we know the end of the story: Christ is victorious over death.

This is why today, this somber, very sad day, is considered so very good.

Today is when hope began. It is where, at the intersection of the cross, wrath met mercy. Through the blood of Christ, the sins of the world met forgiveness.

Without Christ’s death, the resurrection would not be possible. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; [as] you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17