Remembering the Good in Good Friday - Good Friday Timeline

Church Family:  We can feel conflicted about calling the day of Christ’s crucifixion, “good.”  The fact that there had to be a day when Jesus Christ would take the judgment for our sin is not good at all.  But the wonderful reality that our Lord Jesus Christ would freely, fully, and gladly give Himself for us on the cross, is never-to-be-surpassed in goodness. It is exemplary, unparalleled “good.”  While on the Cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”  Church, there is nothing more to be done, concerning our salvation. Once and for all, perfectly and fully, we have been reconciled to God – That is really good!  That is amazingly good!  That is so good that “good” does not seem like a good enough word.  Let’s strive today to keep the Good in Good Friday!
 
Scripture has been given to us to reveal our loving, redeeming, caring and sacrificial God!  Look over this timeline and look at the Scriptures to understand how things unfolded on that first Good Friday.  Spend time worshipping our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who was crushed and put to grief for our sins (Isaiah 53:12) so that we may become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). 
 
Times are approximate.
 
4:00 to 6:00 a.m. - Jesus’s trial before Annas and Caiaphas.
(Matthew 26:57–68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66–70; John 18:12–28)
 
6:00 to 8:00 a.m. - Jesus’s trial before Pontius Pilate and Herod. Jesus appears before Pilate, is sent over to Herod, and then back to Pilate where he is sentenced to be crucified.
(Matthew 27:1–26; Mark 15:1–15; Luke 23:1–25; John 18:28–19:16)
 
8:00 to 8:30 a.m. - Jesus carries his cross, with Simon of Cyrene’s help, to Golgotha.
(Matthew 27:27–32; Mark 15:16–22; Luke 23:26–33; John 19:16–17)
 
9:00 a.m. (Crucifixion) - Jesus is crucified: “It was the third hour” (Mark 15:25). For the Jewish people, the first hour of the day was 6:00 a.m.
(Matthew 27:35; Luke 23:33; John 19:18–22)
 
9:00 to 9:30 a.m. - The soldiers divide Jesus’s clothing. He prays for them.
(Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24; Luke 23:34; John 19:23–24)
 
9:30 to 11:00 a.m. - The soldiers watch over the crucifixion and mock Jesus: “He can’t save himself. Come down from there, Son of God.”
(Matthew 27:36–43; Mark 15:29–32; Luke 23:35–38)
 
11:00 a.m. to Noon - Jesus speaks from the cross to the thieves on either side. The repentant thief asks Jesus to remember him, and Jesus promises, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” And to his mother, Mary, and to John, Jesus says, “Woman, here is your son. . . . John, here is your mother.’”
(Matthew 27:38–44; Luke 23:39–43; John 19:25–27)
 
Noon - A three-hour darkness descends upon the land: “When the sixth hour had come, there was a darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.”
(Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33)
 
Noon to 3:00 p.m. - The earth quakes, the temple curtain is torn, and Jesus thirsts.
(Matthew 27:51–54; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45; Matthew 27:46–50; Mark 15:33–37; Luke 23:35–38; John 19:29)
 
3:00 p.m. - Jesus dies: “At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?’” “Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ and he gave up his spirit.”
(Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34–39; Luke 23:46; John 19:30)
 
After all of this and before night set in, the soldiers lunged a spear into Jesus side to make sure he was dead. They then permitted Joseph of Arimathea to take down Jesus’s body and bury him in a nearby grave.  They sealed the grave with a large round stone built to roll like a giant wheel into place, covering the mouth of the tomb.
 
Everyone expected that Jesus would remain in that tomb, because that is what happens with those who are dead and buried. They stay dead and they stay buried – Jesus did not!  He is risen!  Christ is risen!
 
Dwell on all that makes Good Friday really Great, Worship Jesus this Good Friday.
 
Joyfully, Steve