GOOD FRIDAY

Good Friday

Friday for Jews of that time starts from 6.00 p.m. on Thursday. Good Friday is celebrated by the Christians to commemorate the Crucification and Death of Jesus in Calvary. After the arrest of Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane by the Temple Guards, Jesus was taken to the house of Anna, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the Chief Priest and then to the house of Caiaphas, where the Sanhedrin was convened. A few persons gave witness against Jesus like Jesus told that he would reconstruct the Temple within three days, if it is destroyed. But no two witnesses concur in respect of the charges against Jesus. Therefore the High Priest asked the question upon oath 'Are you the Messiah?' and 'Do you claim to be the Son of God?' If Jesus wanted to escape from death, he could have walked freely from the council if He gave the answer to both the questions as 'No'. But Jesus told the truth and accepted that He is the messiah and the Son of God by replying 'You have said it'. Jesus also admitted that 'in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven'. For this answer only, Jesus was condemned to death by the Council of Jews headed by the Chief Priest considering the reply as blasphemy. St. Peter, who cut one ear of a Temple guard by a sword for arresting Jesus, denied Jesus three times to the bystanders at the residence of the Chief Priest. No one was there to render any assistance to Jesus and to get justice for Him.

They brought Jesus to the house of the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate in the morning and charged Jesus with subverting the nation by His preaching and opposing payment of taxes to Caesar and also making Him the King of Jews. Even though Pilate wanted to release Jesus but due to the compulsion of the Jews and fearing that riots may happen if Jesus was released, Pilate washed his hands in front of the Jews telling that the sin of the blood of this Man was not on him, and handed over Jesus to the Jews for crucification. The Jews and the guards ill-treated Jesus and loaded the cross on His shoulders. Jesus carried His cross to the site of crucification called the place of the skull (Golgotha in Hebrew and Calvary in Latin). Jesus suffered on the cross for about six hours and gave-up His spirit at about 3.00 p.m. Some researchers say that the date of death of Jesus on the cross was April 3, 33 A.D. Jesus was buried in the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Council that first convicted Jesus to death by following the Jewish burial customs.

Good Friday is a day of fast for the Catholic Christians. On this day they are permitted to eat one full meal and two small repasts together do not equal to one full meal and should abstain from eating meat. Why the day of the death of Jesus the Son of God is called Good Friday? What is good in this day instead of sorrow? The reason is that Jesus died for the absolving the sins of all the human beings. The benefits for the humanity due to the death of Jesus are good. No celebration of Eucharist and ringing of bells in the churches on this day. Baptism can be given only to persons who are in danger of death.

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