Many non-religious people wouldn't bother to ask the question, but anybody with an inkling as to what happened on the first Good Friday might just wonder why the hideous crucifixion of an innocent man should ever have the word, "good" attached to it. "Bloody Sunday" in Northern Ireland is understandable bearing in mind the events of that day, but why not "Bloody Friday"?
Of all the forms of execution devised by the fiendish human mind, crucifixion as widely used by ancient Rome was as painfully and agonisingly drawn out as any. Hanging, shooting, beheading, lethal injections, even the electric chair could be regarded as relatively mild compared to crucifixion. Often as in Christ's case the execution was preceded by prolonged and brutal scourging and torture.
There is nothing soft or mild about the event that lies at the centre of the Christian Faith. It encapsulates all the brutalities of our late 20th century world. If there is any historical credence in the Biblical accounts, all would agree that Jesus of Nazareth was a good and kind man as well as being a wise and courageous teacher. He didn't deserve his fate of crucifixion. It was an act of cruel torture and an outrageous injustice.
But it wasn't the first act of human barbarism nor would it be the last - millions have died such undeserved deaths, with varying degrees of brutality in our own so-called civilised and enlightened 20th century. But what was it and is it that makes Christ's cross the foundation of one of the world's largest religions and in itself an event which has the power to change the lives of even some of the wickedest people this world has known?
The answer lies in a combination of theological belief and basic human experience. Theologically we are taught through the Bible that Jesus Christ, as his title implies was not only the son of Mary, a Jewish carpenter's wife, but also the Son of God, which means he was sent by God into this world to bring about the deliverance of human beings from the earthly powers of evil and ultimately of death. Being described as the Son of God meant that he was, in fact, God Himself. As the Bible puts it, "God was in Christ to bring the world (all created creatures) back to himself." (2 Corinthians 5 v.19) This mission of rescue meant for Christ an ultimate confrontation with all the moral weakness and evil in man and to which he submitted, though not surrendered, by his death upon the cross. But what makes Christ's death totally unique and absolutely unrepeatable is the historical fact that as Jesus himself had predicted, he was raised from the dead verifying that his death had in reality, not been a defeat but a victory for God. And what makes Christ's death not only unique, but completely essential for human destiny is that this tremendous victory was won for us, you and me, all who will accept it by faith in God.
Here human experience corroborates the theology because from the first followers of Christ right to this present moment of time, there has formed a vast army of Christians from every clime and culture of earth, who have borne witness in a myriad of languages and accents to the fact that Christ and his cross have formed the catalyst in their lives to supplant evil with that goodness and love which humanity, at its best, longs to become the order of the day in this confused and often benighted world. And so what might have been described as "Bloody Friday" has become known as GOOD FRIDAY, where contrary to all human perception the redeeming goodness of God, our Creator has triumphed over all evil - victory which the future, asteroids or not, the whole creation will not be able to overlook.
Douglas Graham