New Delhi:
It was a dark day. Darkness fell on the land for three-long hours as Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross on the mount of Calvary or Golgotha as some call it, near Jerusalem.
At exactly three in the evening, as Jesus cried out his last words – Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?), turbulence descended upon the earth. A strong earthquake shook the earth and the temple veil was torn into two from top to bottom.
The day is, indeed, a day of mourning but Christians across the world call it Good Fridayand observed the day with a sense of renewed hope and peace. For, it is believed that Jesus died for the sins of the world and to save the entire human race.
Good Friday is, in fact, a day of redemption.
Jesus’ untold suffering and his death fulfilled God's plan to save humanity and proof his love to the people. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”—John 3: 16, The Bible.
God, the Father, sacrificed his only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world to a life of eternity in heaven even after the physical death of the sinful body. Which is why, Christians consider it a day of great blessings.
While some fast and pray with repentance and ask God for forgiveness for all the sins committed, others rejoice with a sense of freedom from sins and death. There's hope for the dying, hope of a new life - hope of living forever and ever. It is a victorious day for the Christians—victory over the sting of death.
Living forever may sound impossible but when the physical body die, almost all faiths believe that the atma or soul lives on in the spirit realm.
Despite the unbearable pain that Jesus had to suffer and die, Christians the world over believe he was raised from the death on the third day – Easter Sunday - symbolic of a new life after death promised to all who believe in Him.
Hence, Good Friday actually is not a day or mourning for the Christians, but a wonderful day that symbolises God’s greatest act of love which involves repentance of sins and forgiveness resulting in freedom from all sufferings in the world and a promise of a new life - eternal life.
