By Anthonia Soyingbe – Snr Reporter, Lagos
Jesus paying the debt He did not owe
Good Friday is perhaps the most solemn date in the Christian calendar. A day set aside to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.
On Good Friday, Christians are affixed to the Cross at Calvary; trying to understand and appreciate the sacrifices Christ paid for our Redemption. In the solemn ceremonies of Good Friday, in the Adoration of the Cross, in the chanting of psalms, in the reading of the Passion of Jesus Christ, and in observing other activities, Christians unite themselves to the savior of mankind.
Generally, the day is observed as a day of fasting and penance in the memory of Christ. Today, followers of Jesus Christ will solemnly remember the pains and humiliations He suffered for their sake.
According to history, the Church in the first century set aside every Friday as a special day of prayer and fasting. It was not until the fourth century, that the Church began observing the Friday before Easter as the day associated with the crucifixion of Christ. First called Holy or Great Friday by the Greek Church, the name “Good Friday” was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church around the sixth or seventh century.
According to the Bible, Jesus is believed to have died around 3 p.m. Jesus was crucified for the sake of humanity in 33 A.D. It was termed as the victory of good over evil. The need of sacrifice for human sins is acknowledged in most of the world’s oldest religions. It is believed that Jesus was the medium between human and God. He was God’s perfect sinless substitute, who bore the punishment on behalf of the sinful human race. Through his sacrifice, Jesus became the bridge between humans and God. He is believed to be the Son of God by His followers.
Though most Christians celebrate the day in different forms, there are some who think it is another pagan ritual lifted by the Catholic Church, centuries ago.
Rev. Fr. Nicholas Adebija, a catholic priest said, “I don’t know why people choose to pick issues with celebrations like this? Except critics of Good Friday and other Christian celebrations come out to tell me that remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is wrong, then and there will I accept their criticism. Even if some of these celebrations are coined from some pagan celebrations, the fact remains that Christ Jesus is now the center of our celebrations. In other words, Christ reigns over all other gods. Every Christian celebration is all about love, I want to enjoin us all to dwell on Christ’s love and emulate him by loving our neighbors.”
Good Friday is all about selfless sacrifice of a guiltless God who left his Throne in Heaven to identify with sinful men and went further to die for them having taught them how to love.
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