importance of good friday essay

What’s So Good about Good Friday?

What is Good Friday, and why do we call the Friday of Holy Week “good”?

Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, is the Christian day to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and His death at Calvary. This Christian holiday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday, and Black Friday.

For Christians, Good Friday is an important day of the year because it celebrates what we believe to be the most momentous weekend in the history of the world. Ever since Jesus died and was raised, Christians have proclaimed the cross and resurrection of Jesus to be the decisive turning point for all creation. Paul considered it “of first importance” that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and was raised to life on the third day, following what God had promised in the Scriptures ( 1 Corinthians 15:3 ).

"For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" ( 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 )

On Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins ( 1 John 1:10 ). Easter follows it, the glorious celebration of the day Jesus was raised from the dead, heralding his victory over sin and death and pointing ahead to a future resurrection for all who are united to him by faith ( Romans 6:5 ).

Why is it called 'Good' Friday?

Still, why call the day of Jesus’ death “Good Friday” instead of “Bad Friday” or something similar? Some Christian traditions take this approach: in German, for example, the day is called Karfreitag, or “Sorrowful Friday.” In English, the origin of the term “Good” is debated : some believe it developed from an older name, “God’s Friday.” Regardless of the origin, the name Good Friday is entirely appropriate because the suffering and death of Jesus, as terrible as it was, marked the dramatic culmination of God’s plan to save his people from their sins.

For the gospel's good news to have meaning for us, we first must understand the bad news of our condition as sinful people under condemnation. The good news of deliverance only makes sense once we see how we were enslaved. Another way of saying this is that it is essential to understand and distinguish between law and gospel in Scripture. We need the law first to show us how hopeless our condition is; then, the gospel of Jesus’ grace brings us relief and salvation.

In the same way, Good Friday is “good” because as terrible as that day was, it had to happen for us to receive the joy of Easter . The wrath of God against sin had to be poured out on Jesus, the perfect sacrificial substitute, for forgiveness and salvation to be poured out to the nations. Without that awful day of suffering, sorrow, and blood at the cross , God could not be both “just and the justifier” of those who trust in Jesus ( Romans 3:26 ). Paradoxically, the day that seemed to be the greatest triumph of evil was actually the death blow in God’s gloriously good plan to redeem the world from bondage.

The cross is where we see the convergence of great suffering and God’s forgiveness. Psalms 85:10 sings of a day when “righteousness and peace” will “kiss each other.” The cross of Jesus is where that occurred, where God’s demands, his righteousness, coincided with his mercy. We receive divine forgiveness, mercy, and peace because Jesus willingly took our divine punishment, resulting from God’s righteousness against sin. “For the joy set before him” ( Hebrews 12:2 ). Jesus endured the cross on Good Friday, knowing it led to his resurrection, our salvation, and the beginning of God’s reign of righteousness and peace.

Good Friday marked the day when wrath and mercy met at the cross. That’s why Good Friday is so dark and so Good.

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When Is Good Friday?

In 2024, Good Friday will be on  Friday, March 29th.

Good Friday is always the Friday right before Easter. As part of Holy Week , Good Friday is five days after the Christian holiday of Palm Sunday , which commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem .

Read more about Good Friday's future dates and the Holy Week Timeline .

Good Friday in the Bible

Good Friday Prophecy:  "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed." ( Isaiah 53:5 )

The events of Good Friday are recounted in all four Gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospels, Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper with His disciples.  He was then put on trial before Pontius Pilate.

"Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people." ( John 18:12-14 )

He was then taken to trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, where he was falsely accused of blasphemy. He was then sent to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, who sentenced Him to crucifixion at the demand of the chief Jewish priests.

"I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” ( John 18:20-21 )

“What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising. ( John 18:38-40 )

The Crucifixion of Jesus:

As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.

Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God !”

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him. ( Matthew 27:32-44 )

From the Gospel of Luke:

Jesus was led to Calvary, where He was crucified between two thieves.

"Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on His right and one on His left" ( Luke 23:33-34 )

He hung on the cross for six hours, during which time He spoke seven last words . At about 3:00 pm, He gave up His spirit.

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"It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last." ( Luke 23:44-46 )

The Death of Jesus

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene , Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. ( Matthew 27:45-56 )

Good Friday Fulfilled : "He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." ( 1 Peter 2:24 )

The True Meaning of Good Friday

For Christians, Good Friday is a day of mourning and reflection. It is a time to remember the great sacrifice that Jesus made for all of humanity. It is also a time to remember the power of God's love and the promise of eternal life.

Good Friday is also a day of hope and new beginnings. It is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope. Jesus' death on the cross was not the end but rather the beginning of something new. Through his resurrection, Jesus conquered death and opened the way for eternal life for all who believe in him.

Bible Verses about Good Friday

Romans 5:6-10 - "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

1 Peter 2:24 - “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Isaiah 53:3-5 - "He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."

John 3:16-17 - "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Good Friday Observations

Here are some of the traditions Christians have observed on Good Friday when commemorating Jesus' death on the Cross.

Strict Fasting and Prayer

Many observe Good Friday as a day to fast and pray . The physical act of fasting is to abstain from food or activity to devote that time to prayer. Many Christians observe Good Friday as a day of fasting and prayer to focus on the suffering and sacrifice of the Lord but also as a day to refocus attention on the Father. Fasting and prayer remove distractions and open an opportunity to hear the heart of the Father. Fasting on Good Friday is a helpful way to unite one’s focus to Christ.

Church Services

Attending a church service is common on Good Friday. The Easter season begins with Lent six weeks prior with an Ash Wednesday service in many denominations and leads up to events during Easter week. Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper, Good Friday the sacrifice and suffering of Christ, and Easter Sunday celebrates the fulfilled promise of Christ raising just as He promised. Many denominations have weekly services, including Good Friday, to ponder such a somber day.

Solemn Hymns

The singing of hymns or songs to the Lord is a way to worship Him through song. Some churches make specific observations between 12 noon and 3 pm, or the hours in which Christ was on the cross to worship the Lord in song. You can sing with the people you live with or even get on a video call with your small group or family and sing together.

Burial Shroud

This Good Friday practice is more common among the Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches. According to OrthoChristian.com , 

"The Holy Shroud is taken out of the altar on Friday afternoon during the Vespers of Great Saturday, at the third hour of Holy Friday—that is, the hour of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross (the service usually begins at about two o’clock in the afternoon). The Holy Shroud is carried out of the altar and placed into the tomb in the middle of the church. This is a raised platform adorned with flowers and perfumed as a symbol of our sorrow at the death of Christ. The Gospel is laid in the center of the Shroud. As the Shroud is carried out, the hymn “Noble Joseph" is sung:"

"The noble Joseph, when he had taken down Thy most pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb."

Prayer for Good Friday

Justin Holcomb  is an Episcopal priest who teaches theology at Reformed and Knox Theological Seminary. Justin wrote  On the Grace of God  and co-authored with his wife Lindsey  Rid of My Disgrace  and  Save Me from Violence . He is also the editor of  Christian Theologies of Scripture . You can find him on  Facebook ,  Twitter , and  JustinHolcomb.com .  

Photo credit: ©Thinkstock/DesignPics

Learn more about the meaning and significance behind the Easter holiday and Holy Week celebrations:

What is Lent? and When Does Lent Start? What is Ash Wednesday? and When is Ash Wednesday? What is Palm Sunday? What is Maundy Thursday? What is Good Friday? and When is Good Friday? What is Holy Saturday?

What is Easter? and When is Easter Sunday? Easter Bible Verses The Resurrection of Jesus  Easter Prayers

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Good Friday: The Significance of the Day & How Christians Observe It

Good Friday is one of the most significant days on the Christian calendar. But what makes this day good?

Good Friday is a celebration that all Christian denominations have. It is a day of reflection on the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. As such, it recalls the most important event that paved the way for the salvation of believers.

There are different traditions for celebrating Good Friday, and all of them aim to engage with the reality and significance of the death of Jesus Christ. Some traditions stem from Old Testament types. Others have no root in Biblical tradition whatsoever but still hold significance to observers.

Good Friday in the Roman Catholic Tradition

In the Roman Catholic tradition, Good Friday is the first day of the Triduum, a three-day preparation for a great feast. It begins on Holy Thursday. Sometimes, a bishop of each diocese starts with a chrism mass, in which the oil used in baptisms, anointings, and confirmations will be blessed.

There is also a focus on the priesthood, with priests publicly renewing their promises to fulfill their ministerial duties. On the Thursday evening, the priest may wash the feet of some of the church members. In Catholicism, the belief is that Christ instituted the priesthood just before the Last Supper when he washed the feet of the disciples. Traditionally, the priest washes the feet of twelve men.

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On Good Friday, there is no mass. It is because mass is a representation of the death of Christ, but on Good Friday, the day the actual event took place, the representation takes a back seat while members reflect on the reality of the death of Jesus that occurred on that day. Around three in the afternoon, there is the liturgy of the Word, the veneration of the cross, and then communion. This time in the afternoon is when Jesus died on the cross. The communion on Good Friday is not a mass because there is no consecration. Members spend this day praying and fasting by abstaining from eating meat.

Good Friday evening is known for the Tenebrae service. During this service, the members listen to accounts of the Passion from the Gospels or reflect on the seven sayings of Christ on the cross.

Good Friday in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Good Friday, also known as Great or Holy Friday, sees members engage in activities that the Roman Catholic tradition holds dear. Members spend time in prayer and abstain from certain foods. Notably, they avoid eating animal products such as milk and cheese, not just meat.

They attend the Royal Hours, a series of four services that include readings from the Old Testament , the Psalms, and the Gospels. During the Vespers service, the priest brings out the epitaphios , a cloth embroidered with an image of the body of Christ, which symbolizes his burial. He then places it on a decorated bier or tomb in the center of the church, where the faithful venerate it.

The most prominent of the services on Great Friday is the Matins of Holy Saturday. It is a Lamentation service where members walk around the church in a procession carrying candles and icon replicas of the epitaphios. They engage in singing sorrowful hymns of lament but also of hope for the resurrection of Christ. Some Orthodox Churches hold an all-night vigil after the Matins of Holy Saturday.

Anglican/Episcopal Church

Anglican and Episcopal Churches tend to have services like those of the Roman Catholic tradition. Some services include a liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross, and the singing of hymns and communion. This tradition sometimes includes dramatic presentations and choral performances depicting the Passion of Christ.

Evangelical and Non-Denominational Churches

The Evangelical and non-denominational traditions have much more diverse approaches to celebrating Good Friday. Special services on a Friday evening are commonplace, and some denominations arrange camp meetings where members from the church come together for the whole weekend to celebrate Easter. These gatherings often start on Thursday evening and correlate with the Last Supper.

Communion is a common practice at these gatherings. Some churches even feature passion plays to portray the events of the crucifixion of Christ to the attendees. The sermons focus on the Passion of Christ and the significance of His death on behalf of believers. This time of contemplation is often a high point on the annual calendar for Christians.

The Significance of Good Friday

The significance of Good Friday lies in what it tells us about God. The crux of the matter is reflected in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Good Friday marks the culmination of the sacrifice Christ made for man.

The sacrifice Christ made on Good Friday did several things. First, it demonstrated His commitment to and love for man. Jesus exemplified what he had said during his ministry: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” ( John 15:13).

Secondly, it made atonement for the sins of man. Jesus reconciled God with those willing to repent and ask for forgiveness. It is one of the profound mysteries of Christianity that God became man to save humanity. Good Friday is significant because it commemorates the Day of Reconciliation with their Creator.

Thirdly, it established a way for the redemption and salvation of believers. No one other than Jesus could redeem and save man.

Fourth, it provided man with a path to victory over death. Because of sin, man was doomed to die eternal death; the Bible declares that the wage of sin is death. In Jesus paying the price even though he had no sin, believers have a path to victory over death.

Fifth, Good Friday is a call to discipleship by sharing the good news about what God did for humanity.

Lastly, Good Friday commemorates the fulfillment of prophecy. The Passover narrative of Exodus 12 prefigured the sacrifice Jesus would make on behalf of believers. The type established by the spotless lamb that the Israelites had to offer met its antitype in Jesus as the lamb that took away the sins of man.

What Is So Good About Good Friday?

In Old English, good meant holy. Good Friday, therefore, originally meant Holy Friday. The Spanish and French names for this day still carry that meaning, “Viernes Santo” and “Vendredi Saint” respectively. The intent of calling the day good was to indicate the sanctity of what God had done for humanity on that day. In terms of salvation, it is the most significant day for Christians.

It may seem contradictory to consider the day that the Savior died as good or holy, but we must view it in the light of the resurrection on the third day. Yes, Christ died, but he was also raised again and overcame death. The Crucifixion was not the end of the story, but it was necessary for the salvation of believers.

Though the “good” in Good Friday means holy, there is much good in the day. The day allows believers to reflect on the goodness of grace, the goodness of the plan of God, the goodness of victory over death, and the goodness of salvation.

Good Friday: Conclusion

How different denominations celebrate Good Friday varies significantly. Churches that celebrate Good Friday tend to do so with special services to commemorate the death of Christ on the cross. The readings and hymns used during these services narrate the Passion of Christ. In some traditions, there is a veneration of the cross or an epitaphios. Other Churches present passion plays or celebrate with choral performances. All these ways of celebrating Good Friday have one thing in common: a focus on the death of Christ as a substitutionary sacrifice for man.

Christians consider Good Friday holy because of what Jesus did on that day. The day is significant because it tells us about the commitment of God, his love for humanity, the atonement between God and man, and humanity’s way to redemption and salvation. It also shows that there is victory over death and hope of eternal life.

In short, Good Friday is holy because it commemorates the act of God who made the salvation of man possible through the selfless act of willing self-sacrifice. It celebrates the restoration of the relationship between the Creator and his creation.

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By Eben De Jager PhD New Testament, MTh Christian Spirituality Eben is a theologian, presenter, author, and public speaker with more than a decade of experience in Christian apologetics. His fields of interest are the gift of tongues and eschatology, especially the books of Daniel and Revelation. He holds a PhD from North-West University, a MTh (Christian Spirituality) from the University of South Africa, a BA(Hons) in Theology from the University of Johannesburg, and a BA in Theology from the Rand Afrikaans University.

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What Is Good Friday, and What Makes it so Good?

Have you ever wondered why we call Good Friday “Good”? After all, the date commemorates the brutal torture and execution of our Lord and Savior. Why would anyone call that good ?

As one of the most important—and difficult to stomach—holidays in the Christian calendar, Good Friday reminds us about our desperate need for a Savior, and the incredible outpouring of his love and obedience, to even death on a cross ( Philippians 2:8 ).

In this article, we’ll analyze the nature and history of Good Friday, talk about why we call this holiday good, and when Good Friday will take place this year.

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What Is Good Friday and What Is the Meaning of Good Friday?

For those not familiar with Good Friday, this day remembers when more than 2000 years ago Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. The events kicked off at the beginning of Holy Week when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Mid-week, Judas Iscariot, one of Jesus’ followers, agreed to betray him to the temple leaders. Jesus had been making, in the eyes of the religious leaders, uncomfortable claims about being God ( John 8:48-59 ). They saw this as blasphemy and wanted to put him to death for it.

After Jesus shared a Last Supper with his disciples, he prays in the Garden of Gethsemane ( Matthew 26:36-56 ). There, Judas leads a mob to arrest Jesus. Jesus stands trial late in the night—certainly not the proper legal practice. False witnesses can’t seem to get their story straight ( Luke 22 ). Nevertheless, Jesus is tortured and presented to the Jewish people. They call for his death ( Luke 23:21 ).

Jesus is sentenced to die via crucifixion, a Roman punishment reserved for criminals (most often, insurrectionists). He is nailed to the cross on Golgotha , where those who travel via the road nearby jeer at him ( Luke 23 ). Jesus cries out seven times , and then he gives up his spirit . He perishes.

After a stab wound from a Roman soldier ( John 19:32-34 ) confirms his death, Jesus is taken down from the cross. And Joseph of Arimathea has Jesus’ body prepared for a tomb ( Matthew 27:57 ).

The meaning of Good Friday marks the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he lived a perfect, unblemished life, he dies for the sins of mankind. So that, through his Resurrection on Easter Sunday, that we may have a way of salvation through him ( John 3:16 ).

What Does the Bible Say about Good Friday?

All four Gospel accounts contain entire chapters dedicated to Christ’s trial, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We don’t have enough time to dive into every verse and passage. However, I will include a portion of each Gospel account below.

Matthew 27:11-14 : “ Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied,   “You have said it.”  But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent.   “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded.   But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.”

Mark 15:6-15 : “ Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.   A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.   The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.   “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?”   asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.   But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas   instead.   “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.   “Crucify him!” they shouted.   “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.   But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”   Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged,   and handed him over to be crucified.”

Luke 23:32-38 : “ Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.  The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”   The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”   There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”

John 19:28-30 : “ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Why Is The Godo Friday Holiday Called “Good”?

These are incredibly difficult passages to read, let alone to have been alive to witness these events. So why would we call Good Friday “good” when Jesus experienced such horrible pain and agony?

According to Christianity.com, some Christians do call Good Friday “ Sorrowful Friday ” as a somber reminder of the events. But what about the rest of the church?

We call Good Friday good for a number of reasons. First, we remember that Good Friday did not end on that Friday. We had Resurrection Sunday a few days later to look forward to. It is good in the sense that we anticipate what would come to pass days later.

Secondly, we call Good Friday good because we cannot have the Good News of the Gospel without the bad news of sin first. Good Friday helps us to realize the gravity of our sinful nature and how much we need a Savior. People don’t need good news unless they’ve endured something bad before.

When Is Good Friday This Year?

Good Friday always occurs right before Easter Sunday, but the specific day of Good Friday shifts each year. For 2024, Good Friday occurs on March 29, 2024. We’ve included the upcoming dates for the next few years as well.

April 18, 2025

April 3, 2026

March 26, 2027

April 14, 2028

A Prayer for This Holiday

Jesus, I stand amazed at what you had done for me on that Good Friday. That you, Lord of all Creation, would live a perfect life and pay the ultimate penalty for my sins. I cannot thank you enough and want to submit myself to you and your will every day. Thank you that Good Friday didn’t end on that Friday, but that we had the glorious Good News of that Resurrection Sunday. Amen.

Good Friday can be a very somber event in the holy calendar. We learn just how great a cost our sin had indebted us. But thankfully, we have a wonderful Savior who paid the penalty for us and that sorrowful but Good Friday.

Further Reading

What’s So Good about Good Friday?

Why Is it Called 'Good Friday'?

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Hope Bolinger  is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com   for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.

What Is Good Friday?

Discover what Good Friday means to Christians

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Good Friday is observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. On this day Christians commemorate the passion, or suffering, and death on the cross of Jesus Christ. Many Christians spend Good Friday in fasting, prayer, repentance , and meditation on the agony and suffering of Christ.

Bible References to Good Friday

The biblical account of Jesus' death on the cross, or crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection, or raising from the dead, can be found in the following passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:27-28:8; Mark 15:16-16:19; Luke 23:26-24:35; and John 19:16-20:30.

What Happened on Good Friday?

On Good Friday, Christians focus on Jesus Christ's death. The night before he died, Jesus and his disciples took part in the Last Supper and then went to the Garden of Gethsemane. There, Jesus spent his last hours praying to the Father while his disciples slept nearby:

"Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" (Matthew 26:39, NIV)

"This cup" was death by crucifixion , one of the most dreaded and painful methods of execution in the ancient world. But "this cup" also represented something even worse than crucifixion. Christ knew in death he would take on the sins of the world—even the most heinous crimes ever committed—to set believers free from sin and death:

"He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood." (Luke 22:44, NLT)

Before morning dawned, Jesus was arrested. At daybreak, he was questioned by the Sanhedrin and condemned. But before they could put him to death, the religious leaders first needed Rome to approve of their death sentence. Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate , the Roman governor in Judea. Pilate found no reason to charge Jesus. When he discovered that Jesus was from Galilee, which was under Herod's jurisdiction, Pilate had Jesus sent to Herod who was in Jerusalem at the time.

Jesus refused to answer Herod's questions, so Herod sent him back to Pilate. Although Pilate found him innocent, he feared the crowds who wanted Jesus crucified, so he sentenced Jesus to death.

Jesus was brutally beaten, mocked, struck on the head with a staff and spit on. A crown of thorns was placed on his head and he was stripped naked. He was made to carry his own cross, but when he grew too weak, Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry it for him.

Jesus was led to Calvary where soldiers drove stake-like nails through his wrists and ankles, affixing him to the cross. An inscription that read "King of the Jews" was placed over his head. Jesus hung on the cross for approximately six hours until he took his final breath. While he was on the cross, soldiers cast lots for Jesus' clothing. Onlookers shouted insults and jeered.

Two criminals were crucified at the same time. One hung on Jesus' right and the other on his left (Luke 23:39-43). At one point, Jesus cried out to his father, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"

Then darkness blanketed the land. As Jesus gave up his spirit, an earthquake shook the ground and caused the temple curtain to rip in half from top to bottom:

"At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people." (Matthew 27:51-53, NLT)

It was customary for Roman soldiers to break the criminal's legs, causing death to come more quickly. But only the thieves had their legs broken. When the soldiers came to Jesus, he was already dead.

As evening fell, Joseph of Arimathea (with the help of Nicodemus ) took Jesus' body down from the cross and had him placed in his own new tomb. A great stone was rolled over the entrance, sealing the tomb. 

Why Is Good Friday Called "Good?"

In Christianity, God is holy and humans are sinful; holiness is incompatible with sin , so humanity's sin separates us from God. The punishment for sin is eternal death. But human death and animal sacrifices are insufficient to atone for sin. Atonement requires a perfect, spotless sacrifice, offered in just the right way.

Christians believe that Jesus Christ was the one and only perfect God-man, that his death provided the perfect atoning sacrifice for sin and that through Jesus, our own sins can be forgiven. Consequently, when we accept Jesus Christ's payment for sin, he washes away our sin and restores our right standing with God; God's mercy and grace make salvation possible and we receive the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. These beliefs explain why the date of Jesus' crucifixion is considered a "Good" Friday.

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Essay on Good Friday | History, Importance, & Celebrations

January 16, 2020 by Study Mentor Leave a Comment

Good Friday is the day which is remembered as the day when the Son of God, Jesus was crucified. This day Jesus died on the cross sacrificing himself for our sins.

Good Friday and Holy Saturday is the only two days of the Holy Week of Lent when no mass is celebrated.

But there is adoration service and mourning on the death of Jesus. On Good Friday, people fast and remember the death of Jesus Christ. Good Friday is considered as a public holiday all around the world.

Table of Contents

What is Lent?

Lent refers to the forty days of sacrifice and prayer to the Son of God. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday after which there is a celebration for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus did not eat anything during the period of forty days.

He was in the desert preparing for his ministry and fought against Satan. During the season of Lent of the Holy Catholic Church, Christians fast and sacrifice.

They spend their time praying to God and follow what Jesus had done in that forty days. During the season of Lent, the altar in the church is not decorated with flowers and no Alleluia songs are sung in the Holy Mass.

History of Good Friday

Jesus had twelve disciples but one of them named Judas betrayed him. Judas gave thirty pieces of silver to the guards of temple and got him arrested.

After this he was forced to go the house of the high priest’s father-in-law. He questioned Jesus but did not get proper answers.

Then, he was under the captive of the high priest, Caiaphas. Many people had gathered there. Some of them even gave testimonies against the Son of God.

All the high priests there ordered him to take a solemn oath. He agreed to the oath and said in front of them that yes he was the Son of God and soon they would see him seated at the right hand of the Almighty. His death sentence was made and even Peter denied to know him.

The next day Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. He was charged for refusing to pay the taxes to Caesar and calling himself a king.

The governor ordered the Jewish leaders to decide on this issue according to their laws. But the Jewish leaders were not ready to decide on the death sentence.

Later, Pilate came to know that Jesus belonged to Galilee. So, they shifted the case to King Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Jesus was questioned even by King Herod.

But there was no answer. Pilate then informed the crowd that neither he nor King Herod found Jesus guilty.

The crowded demanded to call Barabbas who was a prisoner. When the crowd was asked by the governor about their relation with Jesus, they demanded to crucify Jesus.

Pilate became afraid with the demand of the crowd. He called Jesus to his palace and asked him from where he is. After Pilate came to know the answer, he told the crowd that Jesus was not guilty.

He did not want any unrest to take place so handed Jesus to the crowd. Jesus was made to carry the cross till the place of execution, Golgotha.

He was helped by Simon to carry the cross. Jesus fell thrice till he reached Golgotha. He was hung on the cross, nailed and a crown of thorns was put on his head.

He was crucified there along with two criminals. Jesus was on the cross for six hours. After which Nicodemus, Jesus’ follower held his body and wrapped it. Then, he was put in the tomb.

This is what Good Friday is all about. Jesus rose on the third day which people celebrate as his resurrection day.

Why is it known as Good Friday?

From the history of Good Friday, it is seen that it was a sad moment for the Christians. Jesus was crucified on this day and he died for us. Then why is a sad day called Good Friday? The world is full of sins. Jesus sacrificed and died on the cross for us.

He was ready to bear all the wrong doings of his followers. He wanted his followers to celebrate his resurrection as a joyous day. He did not want his people to suffer anymore.

He won against the evil. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice that people are forgiven from their sins and they receive peace.

How is Good Friday celebrated?

The day of Good Friday begins with fasting. No holy mass is celebrated in the church. Instead, the followers perform the Way of the Cross.

The Way of the Cross refers to the fourteen stations which show the journey of Jesus till his death. It begins when Jesus was sentenced to death and ends with the body of Jesus put in the tomb.

The images of the fourteen stations are present in every church. After the Way of the Cross, people sing hymns which are about the mourning and death of Jesus. On this day, the altar is left empty.

Silence is maintained in the church. A cross similar to the one when Jesus was crucified is placed in front of the altar. The people pray in front of this cross and kiss the cross.

The Holy Communion is given to the people but the one which was sanctified on Holy Thursday by the priests. This day is spent by praying and remembering the death of Jesus.

Importance of Good Friday

Good Friday is an important day for every Christian or for anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. On this day, looking at the Cross people try to understand what did Jesus sacrifice for his people.

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Good Friday: A Day of Reflection, Redemption, and Resurrection

Introduction

Good Friday is a significant day in Christianity, marking the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It falls on the Friday before Easter Sunday and is a time of reflection and solemnity for Christians worldwide. This blog post will delve deeper into the symbolism behind Good Friday, exploring its profound meaning and importance in the Christian faith.

Brief overview of Good Friday

Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for the sins of humanity. It is a day of mourning and reflection, leading up to the celebration of Easter Sunday. The events of Good Friday are detailed in the Gospels of the Bible, with different perspectives and interpretations.

Importance of Good Friday in Christianity

Good Friday is a cornerstone of Christian belief, symbolizing redemption, sacrifice, and atonement. It represents the pinnacle of Jesus’ earthly livelihood and his final act of sacrifice. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are central to Christian theology, providing hope and salvation for believers.

This blog post aims to uncover the hidden symbolism behind Good Friday, shedding light on its spiritual and theological implications. By exploring the deeper meaning of Good Friday, readers can gain a deeper appreciation for the profound significance of this holy day. Prepare to be amazed as we uncover the layers of symbolism and meaning embedded in the events of Good Friday.

Historical Context

The events leading up to good friday, jesus’ entry into jerusalem.

The origins of Good Friday can be traced to Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where he was welcomed by multitudes who waved palm branches and exclaimed, “Hosanna! Whoever approaches in the name of the Lord is blessed!” This occasion, called Palm Sunday, signaled the start of the last week of Jesus’ earthly mission.

The Last Supper

The Last Supper, a poignant moment in Christian tradition, took place on the evening preceding Good Friday. During this Passover meal with his disciples, Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, symbolizing his body and blood given for the forgiveness of sins. He also washed the disciples’ feet, demonstrating humility and servanthood.

Jesus’ arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane

Following the Last Supper, Jesus withdrew to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray, where he experienced deep anguish and sorrow. It was here that Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples, betrayed him with a kiss, leading to Jesus’ arrest by Roman soldiers and temple guards.

Crucifixion in Roman times

Description of the events leading to jesus’ crucifixion.

Jesus’ arrest marked the beginning of a series of trials before Jewish and Roman authorities, including the Sanhedrin and Pontius Pilate. Despite finding no fault in Jesus, Pilate succumbed to pressure from the Jewish leaders and the crowd, ultimately sentencing Jesus to death by crucifixion. Jesus was scourged, mocked, and forced to carry his cross to Golgotha, where he was crucified alongside two criminals. He endured excruciating physical pain and humiliation, yet he spoke words of forgiveness and compassion even in his agony.

Symbolism of the crucifixion in Christianity

The crucifixion of Jesus holds profound symbolism in Christian theology. It is viewed as the ultimate act of love and sacrifice, with Jesus willingly laying down his life to atone for the sins of humanity. The cross, once a symbol of suffering and shame, becomes a symbol of hope, redemption, and victory over sin and death through Jesus’ resurrection.

The impact of Jesus’ sacrifice on believers

For Christians, Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross is central to their faith. It signifies God’s unfathomable love for humanity and the offer of salvation to all who believe in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior. Jesus’ sacrifice brings forgiveness, reconciliation, and the promise of eternal life to believers, transforming their lives and giving them hope amid the trials of the world.

Theological Significance

Sacrificial atonement, jesus’ death as atonement for humanity’s sins.

Good Friday holds immense theological significance as it represents Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross, believed by Christians to be the ultimate atonement for humanity’s sins. According to Christian doctrine, Jesus, being both fully divine and fully human, offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to reconcile humanity with God, bridging the gap created by sin and restoring the broken relationship between humanity and God.

The concept of substitutionary atonement

Central to Christian theology is the concept of substitutionary atonement, which posits that Jesus Christ willingly took upon himself the punishment that humanity deserved for its sins. Jesus, the innocent and sinless Lamb of God, bore the weight of humanity’s guilt and suffered the consequences of sin on behalf of all people, thereby satisfying divine justice and making reconciliation possible.

Redemption and Forgiveness

Jesus’ sacrifice as a means of redemption.

Good Friday signifies the redemptive act of Jesus Christ, who offered his life as a ransom for many, redeeming humanity from the power of sin and death. Through his sacrificial death, Jesus achieved victory over sin and secured salvation for all who believe in him, offering the gift of redemption and liberation from bondage to sin.

The forgiveness of sins through Jesus’ death

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the ultimate expression of God’s forgiveness and mercy toward humanity. Christians believe that through Jesus’ sacrificial death, sins are forgiven, and the barrier of separation between humanity and God is removed, allowing believers to experience reconciliation with God and the assurance of eternal life.

Love and Salvation

The demonstration of god’s love through jesus’ sacrifice.

Good Friday vividly demonstrates the depth of God’s love for humanity, as expressed through the selfless sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. The willingness of Jesus to endure suffering and death on the cross is seen as the ultimate manifestation of God’s love, surpassing all human understanding and transcending the boundaries of time and space.

The offer of salvation to humanity through belief in Jesus’ sacrifice

Good Friday signifies the culmination of God’s plan of salvation, wherein Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provides the means for humanity to be reconciled to God and receive the gift of eternal life. By believing in Jesus Christ and accepting his sacrificial death as payment for their sins, individuals can experience salvation and receive the assurance of forgiveness, redemption, and eternal communion with God.

Traditions and Customs of Good Friday

Fasting and abstinence, historical and spiritual significance.

Fasting and abstinence on Good Friday have been practiced by Christians for centuries as a way to honor the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and enter into a period of solemn reflection. By abstaining from certain foods or meals and limiting consumption, believers emulate Jesus’ deprivation and suffering during his crucifixion, demonstrating solidarity with his sacrifice.

Symbolism and Spiritual Discipline

Fasting and abstinence serve as a spiritual discipline, inviting believers to focus their minds and hearts on the significance of Good Friday and the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion. Through self-denial and sacrifice, Christians seek to deepen their understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ death and cultivate a spirit of humility and repentance.

Attending Church Services

Gathering for worship and commemoration.

Good Friday is marked by solemn church services held in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death. Believers gather in churches around the world to participate in special liturgies, readings, and prayers that recount the events of Jesus’ passion and reflect on the significance of his sacrifice.

Observing the Stations of the Cross

Many churches observe the Stations of the Cross, a devotional practice that retraces Jesus’ journey to Calvary, stopping at various stations or stations to reflect on different aspects of his suffering and death. Through this symbolic journey, worshippers meditate on the depth of Jesus’ love and the extent of his sacrifice for humanity.

Observing Moments of Silence and Prayer

Contemplation and reflection.

Good Friday is a day of quiet contemplation and prayerful reflection, during which believers pause to consider the significance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. Observing moments of silence allows individuals to enter into a sacred space of introspection, where they can ponder the profound mystery of God’s love revealed through the cross.

Prayer for Forgiveness and Renewal

Prayer is an essential aspect of Good Friday observance, as believers seek forgiveness for their sins and renewal of their commitment to following Christ. Through prayer, Christians express gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice, seek spiritual strength to endure trials, and intercede for the needs of others, embodying the compassion and mercy exemplified by Jesus on the cross.

The traditions and customs of Good Friday provide opportunities for believers to engage in acts of devotion, self-discipline, and spiritual contemplation as they commemorate the solemnity of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and death. These practices serve to deepen believers’ faith, foster a sense of unity within the Christian community, and draw individuals closer to the heart of God’s redeeming love.

Reflection and Personal Application

Encouraging introspection and meditation, reflecting on the significance of jesus’ sacrifice.

Good Friday invites believers to engage in deep reflection on the profound significance of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Through introspection, individuals contemplate the extent of Jesus’ love and the magnitude of his sacrifice, pondering the implications of his death for their own lives.

Examining One’s Own Faith and Beliefs

Good Friday serves as an opportune moment for believers to examine their own faith journey and beliefs in light of Jesus’ sacrifice. Individuals may reflect on their commitment to following Christ, their relationship with God, and their response to the call to discipleship, considering how they can live out their faith more authentically in their daily lives.

Embracing the Message of Hope and Renewal

Finding hope in the story of jesus’ resurrection.

While Good Friday is a day of solemn reflection on Jesus’ death, it is inseparably linked to the hope and joy of Easter Sunday, when Christians celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Believers find hope in the promise of new life and redemption through Jesus’ triumph over death, affirming their faith in the resurrection as the cornerstone of Christian hope.

Considering the Implications of Good Friday for One’s Own Life

Good Friday prompts individuals to consider the personal implications of Jesus’ sacrifice for their own lives. Believers are challenged to embrace the call to sacrificial love, forgiveness, and selflessness exemplified by Jesus on the cross, seeking to emulate his example in their relationships, actions, and attitudes.

Conclusion & FAQs

Good Friday holds profound importance and significance in the Christian faith, serving as a poignant reminder of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death for the forgiveness of sins and the reconciliation of humanity with God. As believers reflect on the events of Good Friday, they are encouraged to delve deeper into the Easter story and its implications for their lives. By exploring the themes of redemption, forgiveness, and hope, individuals can deepen their understanding of the transformative power of Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Good Friday continues to hold enduring relevance in the modern world, offering a message of love, redemption, and hope amidst the complexities and challenges of life. As believers commemorate Good Friday each year, they are reminded of the timeless truths and eternal significance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, which transcends cultural, geographical, and temporal boundaries.

In conclusion, Good Friday beckons believers to engage in profound reflection, personal introspection, and spiritual renewal as they contemplate the depth of Jesus’ love and the transformative power of his sacrifice on the cross. May this day serve as a sacred opportunity for individuals to draw closer to God and embrace the hope of new life found in Jesus Christ.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is good friday and why is it observed.

Good Friday is a Christian religious holiday that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It is one of the most solemn days in the Christian calendar and is observed on the Friday before Easter Sunday. Good Friday is observed to reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus, his suffering, and the redemption he provided through his death.

Why is it called “Good” Friday if it marks the day of Jesus’ crucifixion?

The term “Good Friday” is believed to have originated from the old English word “good” meaning holy or pious. Despite commemorating Jesus’ crucifixion, it is considered “good” because it represents the culmination of God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. Christians view Jesus’ death as a necessary sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and the offer of eternal life, thus considering the day “good” in the context of salvation history .

What are some traditional customs and observances of Good Friday?

Traditional customs and observances of Good Friday include attending church services that focus on Jesus’ passion and death, participating in the Stations of the Cross, fasting, abstaining from meat, and observing moments of silence and prayer. Some communities also hold processions or reenactments of Jesus’ journey to the cross.

Why do Christians fast and abstain from meat on Good Friday?

Fasting and abstaining from meat on Good Friday symbolize solidarity with Jesus’ suffering and sacrifice on the cross. By denying themselves certain foods, Christians enter into a period of solemn reflection and spiritual discipline, recognizing the significance of Jesus’ death for the forgiveness of sins.

How is Good Friday observed in different parts of the world?

Good Friday is observed in various ways across different cultures and Christian denominations. Some communities hold elaborate religious processions or reenactments of Jesus’ passion, while others participate in solemn church services and devotional practices such as the Stations of the Cross. In some regions, Good Friday is also marked by cultural traditions and customs unique to the local context.

Is Good Friday a public holiday?

In many countries with Christian-majority populations, Good Friday is recognized as a public holiday. However, its observance and status as a holiday may vary depending on the country’s religious composition and cultural traditions. In some places, Good Friday may be observed as a bank holiday or a day off from work, allowing individuals to participate in religious services and observances.

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Essay on Good Friday

Students are often asked to write an essay on Good Friday in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Good Friday

Introduction.

Good Friday is a significant day for Christians worldwide. It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary.

Significance

On this day, Christians remember the sacrifice Jesus made for humanity. It’s a day of mourning, prayer, and fasting.

Church services, processions, and passion plays mark the day. Some even fast or abstain from meat as a form of penance.

Good Friday is a solemn day that reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice. It’s a day to reflect on our actions and strive for goodness.

Also check:

• Paragraph on Good Friday
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250 Words Essay on Good Friday

Introduction to good friday.

Good Friday, observed during Holy Week preceding Easter Sunday, is a significant event in Christianity. It commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his subsequent death at Calvary, as described in the New Testament of the Bible.

Historical Context

The term ‘Good Friday’ is somewhat paradoxical, given the sorrowful events it represents. The ‘good’ in Good Friday likely originates from an older definition, meaning ‘holy.’ It is a day of solemn reflection, mourning, and penance, symbolizing the sacrifice and suffering that Jesus endured for humanity’s salvation.

Global Observance

Good Friday is observed worldwide, albeit with varying traditions. In some countries, it is marked by processions, re-enactments of the Crucifixion, or special church services. In others, it is a public holiday, allowing believers to participate in these events.

Significance in Modern Times

In modern times, Good Friday holds profound significance. It serves as a reminder of the human capacity for forgiveness and sacrifice. Jesus’s willingness to suffer for the sins of humanity is seen as an ultimate act of selflessness and love. In an era often characterized by self-interest, Good Friday invites a re-evaluation of personal values and actions.

In conclusion, Good Friday is more than a historical commemoration. It is a day of deep spiritual significance, prompting reflection on themes of sacrifice, forgiveness, and the transformative power of love. Despite the sorrow it represents, it ultimately leads to the joy of Easter Sunday, symbolizing hope and resurrection.

500 Words Essay on Good Friday

Good Friday, a solemn day in the Christian calendar, marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday. The etymology of ‘Good’ in Good Friday remains a subject of debate; some believe it evolved from ‘God’s Friday’, while others argue it denotes ‘good’ as in ‘holy’. This day is commemorated with fasting, penance, and meditation on Jesus’s suffering.

Historical Significance

The historical significance of Good Friday is rooted in Christian theology. It is believed that Jesus’s crucifixion symbolizes the ultimate sacrifice for mankind’s sins, embodying the themes of betrayal, sacrifice, suffering, and death. By surrendering his life, Jesus fulfilled prophecies and demonstrated his divine love for humanity, a narrative central to Christian belief.

Rituals and Observances

Good Friday is marked by various rituals and observances worldwide, reflecting cultural and regional differences. In the Roman Catholic tradition, the ‘Three Hours’ Agony’ is a common practice, where followers meditate on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from noon to 3 p.m. The Stations of the Cross, a 14-step devotion, is also performed to symbolize Jesus’s journey to Mount Calvary. Other denominations may hold passion plays, processions, or the reading of the Passion story from the Gospel.

Interpretation and Reflection

Good Friday is not only a day of mourning but also a day of introspection and reflection. It is a reminder of the human capacity for violence and betrayal, but also of the possibility of forgiveness and redemption. The narrative of Jesus’s crucifixion challenges us to reflect on our actions, encouraging empathy, compassion, and love.

Good Friday and Modern Society

In today’s modern society, Good Friday holds a significant place. It is a public holiday in many countries, allowing people to participate in religious services and community events. It serves as a reminder of our shared humanity and the universal themes of sacrifice and redemption. In an increasingly secular world, Good Friday offers an opportunity to engage in spiritual reflection, regardless of one’s religious beliefs.

In conclusion, Good Friday is a profound and significant day in the Christian calendar. Its commemoration goes beyond the remembrance of Jesus’s crucifixion to encompass introspection and reflection on themes of sacrifice, redemption, and divine love. Whether observed through religious rituals or as a cultural tradition, Good Friday continues to hold a deep resonance in our modern society, offering a timeless message of hope and forgiveness.

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Reflections for Good Friday: Pope Francis on Suffering and the Cross

‘By dying on the cross, he surrendered himself into the hands of the Father, taking upon himself and in himself, with self-sacrificing love, the physical, moral and spiritual wounds of all humanity.’

Editor’s Note: As we recall the love of Christ this Good Friday, we offer past reflections from Pope Francis on suffering and the cross.

Let Christ’s Love Shine Through Care of the Suffering

Pope Francis, on Nov. 5, 2021, encouraged Catholics to let the love of Jesus, as demonstrated by his most Sacred Heart, speak through their care for the sick and suffering. He celebrated Mass outside Gemelli University Hospital, where he spent 11 days that July following colon surgery. While recovering from the operation, he stayed in the same hospital room where Pope St. John Paul II was treated during his pontificate. He also went to Gemelli Hospital this March for three days, to be treated for bronchitis .

In his 2021 homily , Francis reflected on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “When we serve those who suffer, we console and gladden the Heart of Christ,” the Pope said, recalling a passage in the Gospel of John that recounts the moment a Roman soldier pierced Jesus’ side as he hung on the cross.

“The torn Heart of God is eloquent. It speaks without words, because it is mercy in its pure state, love that is wounded and gives life. It is God, with closeness, passion and tenderness.”

Pope Francis said that closeness, compassion and tenderness are all qualities Catholics could learn from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

“Let us encourage ourselves with this certainty, with God’s comfort,” he said. “And let us ask the Sacred Heart for the grace to be able to console in turn.”

“What does this suggest?” he later asked. “That, if we really want to love God, we must be passionate about mankind, about every man, especially the one who lives in the condition in which the Heart of Jesus was manifested: that is, pain, abandonment, rejection.”

“If we look at reality from the greatness of his heart,” the Pope encouraged, “the perspective changes, our knowledge of life changes, because, as St. Paul reminded us, we know ‘the love of Christ which surpasses all understanding’ (Ephesians 3:19).”

To Those Suffering ‘at the Foot of the Cross’: God Loves You

Pope Francis told those who are sick and suffering in November 2019 that the world needs their prayers.

“You, who are at the foot of the cross, perhaps alone …: Be aware that God loves you. God especially listens to your prayer,” Pope Francis said in a video message to pilgrims in Lourdes, France.

“The world suffers, and your prayer moves the Lord.”

Jesus Suffers With Those Who Suffer

The Way of the Cross shows Christ’s embrace of everyone who hungers, suffers and dies — and the imperative for Christians to do works of mercy, Francis reminded young people at World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016 .

“Jesus himself chose to identify with these, our brothers and sisters enduring pain and anguish, by agreeing to tread the ‘way of sorrows’ that led to Calvary,” the Pope said that July 29. “By dying on the cross, he surrendered himself into the hands of the Father, taking upon himself and in himself, with self-sacrificing love, the physical, moral and spiritual wounds of all humanity.”

He continued:

“By embracing the wood of the cross, Jesus embraced the nakedness, the hunger and thirst, the loneliness, pain and death of men and women of all times.”

He reflected on the question: “Where is God?”

“Where is God if evil is present in our world, if there are men and women who are hungry and thirsty, homeless, exiles and refugees?” he asked. “Where is God when innocent persons die as a result of violence, terrorism and war?”

He asked where God is in the face of cruel and deadly disease, in the exploitation and suffering of children and in “the anguish of those who doubt and are troubled in spirit.”

“These are questions that, humanly speaking, have no answer,” Pope Francis said.

“We can only look to Jesus and ask him. And Jesus’ answer is this: ‘God is in them.’ Jesus is in them; he suffers in them and deeply identifies with each of them. He is so closely united to them as to form with them, as it were, ‘one body.’”

The Pope told young people of the importance of the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, saying they open us to God’s mercy and help us appreciate that “without mercy, we can do nothing.”

These are the only answers to evil, he said.

“In the face of evil, suffering and sin, the only response possible for a disciple of Jesus is the gift of self, even of one’s own life, in imitation of Christ; it is the attitude of service,” the Pope declared.

The Pope stressed the importance of both the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

“We are called to serve the Crucified Jesus in all those who are marginalized, to touch his sacred flesh in those who are disadvantaged, in those who hunger and thirst, in the naked and imprisoned, the sick and unemployed, in those who are persecuted, refugees and migrants,” he said. “There we find our God; there we touch the Lord.”

He said the credibility of Christians is at stake in how they welcome both those who suffer physically and those who suffer spiritually.

“The Way of the Cross is the way of fidelity in following Jesus to the end, in the often dramatic situations of everyday life … because it fills ours hearts with the fullness of Jesus.”

“The Way of the Cross … is the way of hope, the way of the future,” the Pope said. “Those who take up this way with generosity and faith give hope and a future to humanity.

“And I would like you to be sowers of hope.”

Register and CNA staff added to this report.

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Good Friday essay: Passion plays and the ethics of spectacular violence

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, The University of Western Australia

Disclosure statement

Paul Megna receives funding from The Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions.

University of Western Australia provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation AU.

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In 1985 Filipino carpenter Ruben Enaje fell three storeys and remarkably, survived. To give thanks for this good fortune, he has, for the past 30 Good Fridays, dressed up as Jesus and allowed actors portraying Roman soldiers to nail his hands and feet to a cross in the climax of his small village’s Passion play .

Passion plays are dramatic renditions of Christ’s arrest, trial, lashing, and crucifixion (and often other elements of his life such as the Resurrection). They occur all over the world around Easter .

This year, a group in Manchester briefly offered “ the full crucifixion experience ” for £750 - until the fundraiser was cancelled for being dangerous and blasphemous. But most actors in Passion plays merely simulate the extreme pain of Jesus’ death, without actually suffering it. Still, cases such as Enaje’s illustrate the deep desire of some Christians to feel Christ’s pain – a desire palpable throughout the long history of Passion plays.

There are myriad such plays each year in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. In Australia, the Iona Passion Play (first performed in 1960), the Moogerah Passion Play (first performed in 1993), and the Melbourne Passion Play (first performed in 1997) all attest to Australia’s deep seated zeal for performing and witnessing Christ’s death.

I study medieval literature and its depictions of emotion, and I have become increasingly interested in these performances. I am currently spending my weekends watching Australian Passion plays and talking to their organisers, actors, and audience members wherever possible.

As a non-Christian, it is fascinating to see often diverse communities come together in compassion around these spectacular displays of violence. But there are troubling aspects, particularly the depiction of the Jewish villains in some of the plays.

The Medieval birth of Passion plays

Passion plays hearken back to medieval Europe where they originally grew out of church rituals in which divided choirs sang the various speaking roles in Latin scripts based on the Gospel.

As these performances became increasingly embellished, cranky church officials like Gerhoh of Reichersberg began to complain that they obscured the Church’s “true face”. The Church was designed, they felt, to connect Christians to God through sacramental rituals like the Eucharist, which were performed with a pageantry not unlike that of the newer Passion plays which they saw as treading on their turf.

Their complaints culminated in Pope Innocent III issuing a Papal Edict forbidding the clergy from acting publicly. But the popular desire for Passion plays flourished as the Middle Ages progressed and secular institutions such as craft guilds began putting on elaborate performances of Christ’s life and death throughout Europe.

In late medieval England (from the late-14th to the early-16th century), dramatic performances of Christ’s tormented death stood at the centre of ambitious “ cycle dramas ” that depicted the entirety of Christian history, from creation to doomsday. These cycles were typically performed in cities like York, Chester and Coventry, not at Easter, but in June during the Feast of Corpus Christi .

Unlike Shakespeare’s plays, they were not staged in a theatre. Instead, audience members stood at various points throughout their hometown as a parade of wagons rolled by presenting episodes of Biblical history. These included, of course, the scourging and crucifixion, which were typically performed in gory detail, replete with fake blood and graphic dialogue narrating the snapping of Christ’s sinews.

Although this violence and suffering was simulated (to a degree), playing Christ was decidedly no picnic. Urban legends from France describe the perils of performing Jesus’s death, including one actor who apparently nearly asphyxiated to death on his cross. Such anecdotes have led scholars to posit that medieval actors portraying the dying Christ subscribed to a theory of acting – a sort of medieval equivalent to “ method acting ” – according to which the actor must actually suffer pain comparable (if not tantamount) to Christ’s.

Gazing at the spectacle of pain

Medieval performances of Christ’s suffering and death catered to “ affective piety ”: an emotionally driven brand of Christian devotion popular in the high and late Middle Ages. This was centred on experiencing compassion – a word deriving from the Latin “cum patior” (to suffer with) - for Christ’s torment. Suffering with Christ, in this view, was a fundamental part of Christian worship.

One of the few lines uttered by the mostly silent Christ of the York Corpus Christi Cycle’s Crucifixion Pageant (which continues to be performed every few years by the citizens of York minster ) explicitly enjoins the audience to gaze at the spectacle of his pain:

Behold mine head, mine hands, my feet, And fully feel now ere ye fine [i.e. before you pass] If any mourning may be meet [i.e. equal] Or mischief measured unto mine.

Not all medieval Christians agreed that witnessing such extreme violence could accomplish important devotional work. Some, such as the author of the Tretise of Miraclis Pleyinge , argued that performances of Christ’s acts made their audience take them too lightly, dangerously reducing their essential dread of God.

Today, we heatedly debate whether fictional portrayals of violence contribute to real-life violence. After the release of Mel Gibson’s shockingly brutal film The Passion of the Christ in 2004, which owes much to medieval Passion plays, Christians debated the devotional value of witnessing the violence done to Christ.

In an interview , Gibson asserted that he wanted his film to be shocking to reveal “the enormity” of Christ’s sacrifice. In another context, Gibson argued: “ to those who complain about the violence of my film I have two words: Kill Bill .” Gibson seemed to imply that his film condemned violence, rather than glorifying it (as Tarantino’s films do).

Defenders of his film tend to agree with his assessment. Detractors call it “ Christian torture porn .” Like beauty, it seems, the devotional value of spectacular violence is in the eye of the beholder.

The uses and abuses of compassion

Passion plays such as the York Pageant do more than ask their audience to feel Christ’s pain. They also criticise humanity’s capacity to eschew compassion, as the Roman soldiers do who callously nail Christ to a cross, dislocating his limbs in the process. This lesson, I think, is particularly vital today, at a moment when compassion for those from other cultures appears to be at a low ebb.

Sadly, medieval Passion plays frequently contributed to the sorts of uncompassionate violence that the York Pageant criticises. By portraying Jewish priests like Annas and Caiaphas as hardhearted and vindictive murderers of Christ, some plays stirred antisemitic sentiment that occasionally fuelled violent attacks on Jewish communities . Consequently, Easter became a time of terror for medieval Europe’s Jews, leading many to go into hiding.

Cultural memory of such incidents remains with us to this day. Prior to the release of The Passion of the Christ, some people expressed anxieties that Gibson’s film would incite similar hatred. Thankfully, there have been no recorded instances of antisemitic violence fuelled by Gibson’s massively popular film. But students of religion continue to debate the extent to which medieval Passion plays and their modern descendants traffic in antisemitism.

Passion plays have been adapted and reworked to reflect the concerns of the day. For instance, each decade in Upper Bavaria thousands of inhabitants perform one of Europe’s longest-running Passion plays: the famous Oberammergau Passion Play . The script is based on manuscripts dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. Prior to World War II, the play featured prominent antisemitic elements. The Nazis capitalised on its performance in 1934 , which Hitler attended. Though the script has subsequently been revised to downplay these elements, its treatment of Jewish characters remains controversial .

In Colorado, a large-scale production called the The Thorn featuring displays of martial arts and aerial acrobatics has been described as “The Passion of the Christ meets Cirque du Soleil”. A 2014 performance of the Edinburgh Passion Play reflected the concerns about social breakdown during the public debate leading up to the vote on Scotland’s 2014 Independence Referendum.

Christ on stage down under

Several Passion plays are held throughout Australia, taking place during the weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. I recently attended the travelling Iona Passion Play in Wagga Wagga and felt quite conflicted about what I saw. On the one hand, I saw a diverse cast and audience come together in reverence of Christ’s doctrine of absolute forgiveness.

On the other hand, the play dwelt at some length (as does Gibson’s film) on the perfidy of the high priests Caiphas and Annas, who viciously utter lines such as “compassion towards this man is weakness!” True, the treachery of Caiphas and Annas is attested in the Gospels and the Iona play featured another Jewish priest, Joseph, who adamantly refuses to condemn Christ (suggesting, perhaps, that they were not all bad).

However, the actor playing Annas employed a heavy, faux-Hebrew accent as he plotted, ranted, raved, and demanded that Pilate crucify Christ (as in Luke 23.21 ). Why was Annas audibly coded as Jewish through his lisped lines, while other, more admirable characters who were historically no less Jewish, including Christ himself and his mother Mary, spoke with unadorned Australian accents?

The Moogerah Passion Play is a large, outdoor affair performed on Lake Moogerah in Queensland, attracting thousands of audience members to its most well attended performance on Good Friday. Both the Iona and the Moogerah productions are insistently nondenominational and their Mission Statements express a desire to unite Christians of every persuasion. The Moogerah Passion Play busses in Hindus and Muslims every year to watch the performance as well, inviting them to share their perceptions of the play with actors and other audience members after the show.

The Melbourne Passion Play takes place at Holy Cross Centre in Templestowe, depicting Christ’s life, from his Baptism through his resurrection. As well as these established plays, more ephemeral performances of Christ’s life and death crop up in Australia every year.

For example, on March 31 and April 1, Melbourne University’s Jane Davidson directed two performances called Passion, Lament, Glory at St. Paul’s Cathedral, which combined genres and placed women at the heart of the story of Christ’s death. Opera soprano Jacqueline Porter performed Handel ’s Salve Regina, John the Baptist delivered a sermon, a chorus implanted in the audience broke out surprisingly into song upon Christ’s appearance, modern dancers performed a feminine lament at Christ’s death, and for the grand finale the actor playing Christ performed an aerial dance up a rope, signifying the Ascension.

Despite its many uses of contemporary art forms, certain moments of Passion, Lament, Glory, such as its depiction of Christ’s scourging, owe much to the medieval tradition. Indeed, Davidson originally conceived of her production in the city of York.

Passion plays continue to be a way for Christians to express and experience their devotion to the suffering of Christ. Like any art form, they are necessarily subjective – one person’s snuff drama is another person’s devotional theatre.

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Essay on Good Friday for Students and Children in 1000 Words

In this article, read an essay on Good friday for students and children in 1000 words. This includes its history and observation, celebration, about Jesus, and important facts in lines.

Table of Contents

In the entire world, there are different kinds of people are living and following various cultural activities and religions. 

Distinct people follow different religions. For example, Christians follow Christianity , Muslim Follow Islam, and Hindu Follow Hindu Religion, etc. Most of the holidays and festivals relates to their religion and culture.

For example, if you see Good Friday, this is a significant day or festival which celebrated by the Christians in the entire world.

History and Observation of Good Friday

Good Friday is a famous Christian festival. It is usually celebrated on Friday between March 20 and April 23, before Easter Sunday, and is also called Good Friday or Great Friday. Further, this festival is celebrated as the Crucifixion Day of the Lord Jesus.

Great Friday begins mid 40 days. This year, India has a 40-day blessed walk starting March 9. It has been a decent Friday for as far back as 40 days. Christians purge spirits by performing distress and fasting for 40 days.

It is important that Christianity likewise gives a message that decontaminates one’s spirit, notwithstanding adoration and absolution to the adherents. They accept Jesus to have resurrected in the wake of being in the tomb from Friday to Saturday.

Importance of Good Friday

Good Friday, which is the significant and religious day, is remembered when the Son of God was crucified and buried. According to Christian details and belief, Jesus is the son of God. He entered there a world in the form of man and lived there with people.

They believe that he sacrificed himself for humankind on the big cross or crucifix. They observe this day as an essential feast of up to forty days. The last week of this period is called a holy week, and this is the day, or Good Friday comes in this week.

All the teachings and books of Christianity show that On Good Friday, Christians remember Jesus for his sacrifice. To this day, prayers and meditations are fixed in churches. In this celebration, Christians purify their souls by suppressing and fasting.

Celebration of Good Friday

On the day of Good Friday Day, the followers of Christianity go to the Church to remember Jesus Christ. They remember the pain and difficulties which Jesus was born for humanity. On this day, they ring no bell in the Church. People remember Jesus by kissing the cross sign. They do fasting and full-day prayers in Church.

They do also mourn on this day because this day is full of sorrow, solemn, and one of the holiest days in Christianity. This is not the of any party of celebration, but it is the day observing and remembering the pain and sorrow of Jesus. On this day, Christian wears the cloths of black color to show their grief and sad feelings.

If we study, then it is written in the book of the Bible that Jesus was crucified for six hours and was executed. During this time, each of the four sides clouded the day. After his passing, the fire consumed, and all the graves were opened. From that point forward, this day is commended each year as Good Friday. Supplication will be offered in the congregation at 3:00 on Good Friday.

Further, a conciliatory sentiment was made beforehand to the Lord Jesus for transgressing, which was actually a false statement. They view this week as heavenly. There is no congregation festivity this Christmas.

On this day of sorrow, the sacrifice of God Jesus marks the beginning of the end of sin. And they do this in their memory, but the ways sometimes change little in the Church. People go to Church wearing black clothes; today, the candles are not lit. Everyone remembers God according to his account. Some sow, some praise, some read the book of God. Also, people are sacrificing today by doing something.

Crucifixion of Jesus

We all know that they emerged Jesus Christ as the son of God and spread the light of knowledge and guidance. According to beliefs about 2000 years ago, Lord Jesus was teaching people about humanity, brotherhood, unity, non-violence, and peace. Seeing their increasing popularity among the people, the religious leaders declared Jesus an enemy of humanity. Even after this, his popularity continued to grow. 

After this, they issued the decree of issuing the death penalty, accusing Jesus of treason. After they issued the death penalty, they crucified Jesus. Crowning people inflicted many physical tortures. Eventually, they were hung on a cross with nails.

As showed by the Christian sacred text, the Bible has held tight a cross for six hours, with Jesus speared. Over the most recent three hours, there was obscurity throughout the state. After the demise of Jesus, the tempest came. The entryways of the considerable number of tombs tore open. They tore the drape of the blessed sanctuary.

After this, consistently, this day was commended as Good Friday. Christians accumulate and ask in the congregation at three toward the evening and apologize to God Jesus for his wrongdoings. Alongside this, tribute is likewise paid to Christ on this day. On Good Friday, the congregation doesn’t play any ringers. 

People of Christianity pay their sympathies by wearing black garments on Good Friday. This entire week shows extreme holy in Christianity. In this blessed week, no festival other than supplication is commended in the congregation.

10 Lines on Good Friday Event

• Good Friday is also called Great Friday, and Black Friday. 
• The celebration begins on Friday before Easter Sunday. 
• Around 2000 years back, on this day, Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross and held tight to the cross. 
• That is the reason people make it a day of grieving. 
• No Church chimes are rung on Good Friday. 
• The Christian people group cries in dark garments. 
• On this day, many Christians all around give respect to Jesus Christ. 
• On Good Friday at 3 pm, individuals go to the chapel and supplicate and apologize for their transgressions. 
• This week marks a holy day in Christianity. 
• There is no festival in the congregation.

We say that Great Friday is an exceptionally wonderful day for Christians. As per Christianity, they executed the Lord Jesus Christ on this day to benefit his supporters.

Great Friday is a day of adoration and absolution for Christians. Jesus made an impression on his devotees to excuse the individuals who carried out wrongdoings against him. Christians praise this day in their memory.

I hope you liked this Essay on Good Friday for Students and Children.

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Essay on Good Friday

When we say it is a Good Friday, people generally think that the day is about celebrating a cause of happiness . Unlike what the term implies, Good Friday is a day that Christians all over the world spend in sorrow. This essay on Good Friday in English will make children aware of the importance of the day for Christians. We can also see a glimpse of the life and history of Jesus to understand how people honour his sacrifices on this special day.

Good Friday is the day when people mourn the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. In this Good Friday essay in English, we will briefly discuss the events that led to his crucifixion. Since it is the most significant and holiest day for Christians, people spend this day praying for the forgiveness of their sins. This short essay on Good Friday from BYJU’S will be a useful guide for children to know about this holy feast for Christians.

Table of Contents

History of good friday, celebration of good friday.

According to the religion of Christianity, people believe that the Almighty God had sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to save people from their sins and guide them on the righteous path. The following essay on Good Friday explains how Jesus was born in this world as the son of Joseph and Mary and lived here as a man. Throughout his life, Jesus has been preaching about love and forgiveness and performed several miracles to make people believe in God and eternal life.

Though Jesus continued to teach, some people did not consider him to be sent by God and hence started protesting against him. He was imprisoned and subjected to cruel punishments, which included intense beating with sharp weapons and carrying the heavy cross for long miles. It was after all this thrashing that he was nailed to the cross and put up to be ridiculed by others. The Good Friday essay in English emphasises that Jesus sacrificed himself to pay for the sins of humankind. Since this act is considered a win of good against evil, this day is called Good Friday, even though people lament the death of Jesus.

Since we have seen the history of Good Friday, let us understand how Christians celebrate this day. The short essay on Good Friday in English details that Good Friday is observed two days before Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The date of Good Friday varies each year, but it usually falls between the months of March and April. Christians prepare themselves for 40 days by taking Lent before they enter the Holy Week, where they observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter.

Since Good Friday follows the passion of Christ, where he had to suffer harsh beatings and punishments, Christians spend this day in prayers and adoration. The Good Friday essay in English will now talk about how Christians participate in the activities that happen on this day. As people remember the sacrifices of Jesus and lament his death on this day, the proceedings at the church begin in the morning with the Way of the Cross instead of the holy mass. A cross sign with the crucified Jesus is placed in front of the altar, and people kiss it. They also keep a fast and spend the day in silent prayer and devotion.

The essay on Good Friday will thus be useful for kids to understand the importance of the day. Besides, it makes us believe that it was the sacrifice of Jesus that enabled people to lead a good and happy life. Apart from this essay on Good Friday in English, you can discover more such essays on significant days and festivals on BYJU’S website.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is good friday.

Good Friday is a holy day for Christians on which they observe the sacrifices of Jesus Christ and lament his crucifixion and death.

What is the significance of the Good Friday essay?

The Good Friday essay in English from BYJU’S will make children aware of the importance of the day. They will also understand how sacred the day is for Christians and learn how they observe the day in prayer and fasting.

Why is the day called Good Friday?

Though Jesus sacrificed his life to pay for our sins on this day, it is referred to as Good Friday because of the good intentions behind his sacrifice. Besides, people celebrate his resurrection as Easter two days later, and this denotes his victory over death and sin.

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Good Friday Reflection

Many people withdraw inside of themselves, shutting out the world around them during Good Friday services, when the gospel account of Christ’s passion is read.  Many of us who attend Good Friday services in the afternoon, watch the procession of people who venerate the cross in silence.  One by one, each person makes a profound statement of their love for Jesus in their own unique way.  Words are not needed.  Their emotions show on their faces and in their body language. Words may fail us when we contemplate Christ’s death, but our hearts do not.  The heart has a language all it’s own, but love is the most difficult of all emotions, to fully express.

Saint Peter had a hard time handling his emotions when the soldiers came for Jesus.  He immediately defended him with his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s slave.  Sometimes we act before we think too, when our emotions are out of hand.  But, Jesus calmed the situation down, by telling Peter to put away his sword, because he needed to do what his Father wanted.

We think we know the story about the passion and death of Jesus Christ on the cross really well, because we’ve heard it for many years.  However, what we notice about the passion of Jesus Christ is a little different every year.  For an example, after the soldiers arrested Jesus, Peter stood with the slaves and guards warming himself by a fire, because it was cold.  Have you ever thought about it being cold or a little cool during the day when Jesus was crucified?  All of the movies we’ve watched about the passion of Jesus show him sweating a lot, but it may not have been very warm.  The cold is something we may not have even considered, when Jesus laying dying on the cross, without wearing any clothes to keep him warm.  Criminals were also often crucified completely naked, in order to humiliate them further when they were dying.  Every single shred of human decency was taken away from Jesus in the last moments of his life.

And yet, the Jews that brought Jesus to Caiaphas would not even enter the praetorium, for fear of defiling themselves so they wouldn’t be able to eat the Passover meal.  What’s wrong with this picture?  If we think life isn’t fair for us sometimes, then we should remember it wasn’t fair for Jesus Christ either.

The Jews even had to find someone else to do their dirty work for them, because they could not execute Jesus themselves.  Pilate didn’t want to go along with it though.  We need to give him a little credit for that.  Pilate wasn’t even a Jew, but he recognized that Jesus was not an ordinary person.  Did you notice Pilate’s reaction after the Jews told him that Jesus was guilty because he made himself out to be the Son of God.  The scriptures said, “Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid .”

Jesus had compassion on Pilate’s plight.  He was caught in the middle of a very difficult situation that he didn’t want to be a part of.  Jesus understood this, and did not condemn the man, who would sentence him to be crucified.  Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.  For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”  Jesus even eased the guilt of his executioner.

When Jesus was crucified, Pilate had a sign made, written in three different languages stating that Jesus was the King of the Jews, and he would not remove it, even after the chief priests went to him and asked him to remove it.  He said, “What I have written, I have written.”  Even Pilate recognized Jesus was no ordinary man.  He didn’t want anything to do with his death, and he wanted everyone to know that the Jewish people were the ones who were guilty of killing him.

Thankfully, the gospel account of Jesus’s death on the cross today is not as detailed as the readings we had on Palm Sunday.  It is still very difficult to read them, but it is also very difficult just to think about Mary’s suffering as she stood beneath the cross, watching her son die.  The pain must have felt like a knife cutting into her heart, just like Simeon had predicted the day Mary and Joseph presented baby Jesus in the temple.  How could she have stood the pain, standing by helplessly, while her son suffered such a horrible death, watching his life slowly slipping away and there was nothing she could do?

There was nothing Jesus could do to ease her pain while she watched him die, but give her to John.  He gave his mother to John, to love her, and take care of her for him, after he was gone.  They needed each other.  They would need each other to get through the days ahead of them.  Mary needed John, but John also needed Mary.

We need Mary too, in our own moments of weakness.  When we suffer over our own families.  When life gets to be too much.  Too difficult.  Too hard to handle by ourselves.  We are not always as strong as her.  We are weaker than Mary.  When our own faith falters and we are not so sure about our own lives anymore, we should try to remember what Jesus said in the last moments of his life on earth, to “Behold, your mother”.

Mary is our mother now.  She guides us back to her son.

Everything we need to know about life, is found in the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

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Thank you Laura. This post brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing

Dear Laura, I am happy to hear about your personal journey of faith towards the Lord. It is amazing how the Lord works in his own and mysterious ways. Thank you for sharing your own experience and reflection on your Catholic faith. I find this website really amazing. Keep it up! I also wish and pray that your ministry for the Lord may bring great joy and deep satisfaction. May you and your volunteers continue to this good work despite of many hurdles and challenges that may come on your way. I wish you all happy and joyful Easter. The Lord is risen, rejoice and be glad, alleluia!

Thank you very much for this reflection. It is inspiring and moving. Thank you for sharing your faith. God bless you.

Thank you very much for this reflection

Thank you very much for this reflection. May God continue to bless u as u work in his vineyard

I want to know all the reading holy thursday ,good friday and easter sunday or holy saturday reflection in today’s life

Thank you this reflection. It has helped me pray also to see the part of Pilate that it was not uneasy one . Thank you God bless.

Thank you for this reflection, Laura! Blessings

I needed this reflection. Thank you Laura

Beautiful reflection Laura! I agree with you that the holiness of Mass can change a person’s life around!

Thank you Laura for the beautiful and heart-touching reflection. God bless you.

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Commentary: The Significance Of Good Friday

WRITTEN BY REV. FR. IGNATIUS OKOLI

Christians observe Good Friday as the day on which the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind is commemorated.  The name, “Good Friday” , no doubt, became ‘good’ on account of the immense significance of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ for our redemption. This day, therefore, becomes the Christian’s anniversary of redemption.

Good Friday constitutes an essential part of forty penitential period called Lent, which, for some Christians, begins with Ash Wednesday, and marked with the spreading of ash, reminding one of the nothingness of man before God as epitomized by these words; “you are ash and to ash you will return” . 

The last week of Lent is termed the “Holy Week’’ and begins with Palm Sunday, which commemorates Christ’s triumphant entry as king into Jerusalem to suffer and die at the completion of His earthly mission.  The last three days of the Holy Week are called the Triduum and are so important on account of the centrality of the events celebrated in them to our salvation.  They are Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday .

Good Friday has a very long history, being closely associated with Easter.  Thus, a common name, Paschal Mystery joins the whole mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.  Easter, as the principal feast of the Christian year, began to be celebrated as early as the second century AD.

 Before this time however, there was already a weekly celebration of the Lord’s resurrection.  The celebration of the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday, as a constitutive past of the paschal mystery, goes back to this period.  The cross is central to the theme of Good Friday.  No wonder then, the cross is exceptionally venerated on this day with genuflection.

Good Friday has immense significance for the Christians in particular and mankind in general, since Christ died for all men.  As a special day to commemorate the Lord’s crucifixion, Good Friday draws our minds to the events of Jewish Passover.  As the blood of the Lamb smeared on the Israelite’s door posts brought deliverance to them, Christ becomes the paschal lamb that takes away the sins of the world and by whose death; deliverance from the devil, is wrought. Friday is thus, a day to reflect on the power of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Good Friday also recalls the manner of Christ’s death.  After His crucifixion and as He hung on the cross, His pierced side brought forth water and blood.  While water symbolizes the sacrament of baptism, blood symbolizes the mystery of Eucharist and both constitute the very foundation of the church.  Writing to the Romans, Saint Paul acknowledged this fact when he said that those who are baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death. 

Furthermore, as a day to commemorate Christ’s heroic and sacrificial death for us all, Christians are thus challenged to exercise selfless service for their neighbours and the society at large.  At a time like this, when our country is plagued by so many economic, political and religious problems, orchestrated by selfishness and  greed, Good Friday offers us the opportunity to realize that there is more merit in giving than in receiving, following the footsteps of Christ, who gave all for our sake.   

As we join our Lord Jesus Christ in his passion experience today, the necessity of self denial in our day to day lives is reappraised against the backdrop of a world that craves for pleasure at the expense of rectitude and conscience.  The question is, if Jesus Christ, who is God, could suffer, why not I? 

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Why Is Friday Good? Helping Kids Understand Good Friday

The morning of February 18, 2020, started out like any other day for students at Christ the King Catholic School in Kansas City, Kansas. As they hurried to campus, they were greeted by their friendly, 88-year-old crossing guard, who stood watch over the crossing of Leavenworth Road just like he did every other morning and afternoon. The kids always knew they could expect to find Mr. Bob holding a big red stop sign in one hand and waving to them with the other.

Approximately five minutes before the first bell rang, the students’ humdrum morning routine screeched to a violent halt. As two brothers were preparing to step off the curb, Mr. Bob noticed a car speeding toward them. He signaled for the boys to step back while he maintained his position in the middle of the road with his big red sign still in hand. Moments later, the sign lay in the middle of the road near his broken body. Mr. Bob had made the ultimate sacrifice to protect two of the children he loved.

Jesus’ Death Was the Only Solution to Our Sin Problem

For all who witnessed the accident, that gruesome scene will remain with them for the rest of their lives. It was a terrible moment. And yet, it was also a beautiful reminder of Mr. Bob’s tremendous love for the children he greeted each day. Given a choice, there is little doubt that Bob Nill would have preferred to return home safely that morning, but he considered his life to be an acceptable sacrifice for the children’s sake. In the words of John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ made a similar decision. As the cross loomed before Him, He prayed, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). There was no other way. While kind people like Mr. Bob might succeed in protecting our physical bodies, Jesus was the only One who could stand between us and spiritual death. That is why God did not spare Him from suffering , and it is why Jesus willingly laid down His life for our sake on Good Friday.

Jesus Died for Guilty People—Like Us!

As we compare these two stories, there is a difference of responsibility to consider. The boys at the street curb were obeying safety protocols on their way to school. When Mr. Bob stood in front of a speeding car, he was protecting children who were innocent bystanders—they were not in any way responsible for the speeding car or for the impending accident. But Jesus died for the driver of that car and for the Romans soldiers who nailed Him to a cross and for every sin anyone has ever committed—He died for people who deserve to experience the consequences of their choices. The apostle Paul explains it this way:

Jesus’ Death Changed Everything

Mr. Bob’s legacy will live on in the hearts of his family and friends for years to come, but he never again will stand guard at Leavenworth Road or greet children on their way to school. What makes Jesus’ story so amazing—so good—is what happened after He died . According to the customs of His day, His body was wrapped tightly in cloths and placed in a sealed tomb. Then, three days later, some of His friends visited the tomb. As they approached, there was an earthquake, and an angel opened the tomb. He explained,

Jesus was alive again! And He lives to this day. He conquered death for Himself and for everyone who trusts Him as their Savior. Friday was good because it demonstrated Jesus' great love for us, and it offers us the hope of eternal life. Without Good Friday, there would be no Easter, and we would have no way to get to heaven. His death changed everything. Let’s praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for Good Friday!

As you teach the children you love about Good Friday, consider sharing Mr. Bob’s story with them or help them think of people they know who have given sacrificially for the good of others.  If your child has a copy of the Airship Genesis Kids Study Bible , the following study notes may help guide your conversations about Good Friday and Easter.

Grab your kids and listen to the "Final Days of Jesus" audio adventure by Airship Genesis ! [flowplayer src=https://d2vftoccbq8rr6.cloudfront.net/audio/radio/Airship_Genesis%20-%20Update%20for%20Steve%20Devlin/Episodes/AG_S3Ep07_Easter%20-%20repeat%20of%202018/AG_S3Ep07_Easter%20-%20repeat%20of%202018_128k.mp3?jobid=1552062156279-0zsyz7]

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About Dr. David Jeremiah

Dr. David Jeremiah is one of America’s most trusted Bible teachers. For more than 39 years he has helped millions deepen their understanding of the Bible through 4,552 daily Turning Point Radio releases and a daily Turning Point Television program that reaches millions of people globally. More »

Creation Care

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Genesis 1:28

Marine litter is a huge ecological problem. Many countries’ coastlines are littered with plastic and debris, and there is an “island” of plastic more than the twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean where currents have accumulated the debris. Fish become entangled in discarded fishing nets and lines, with bellies full of plastic debris they have swallowed.

Such images are in stark contrast to the pristine beauty and glory of Eden as presented in Genesis. Though mankind was given the mandate to “have dominion over” (that is, to care for) all of creation, we have not done a good job. When God’s mandates go unfulfilled on earth, God’s glory is diminished. And that mandate extends to our personal life as well. Paul writes that we belong to God and we are to glorify Him with our care and use of our body.

When you see opportunities to care for creation—nature or your own body—do so as a way of glorifying the Creator.

The creation is both a monument of God’s power, and a looking-glass in which we may see his wisdom. Thomas Watson

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Paul’s letter to the people at Corinth was an exhortation to remain steadfast. The church in Corinth was an undisciplined church, and he was letting them know that even though the culture around them was in flux, their faith in Jesus Christ needed to remain focused and sure. It is true for us today also. How can we remain steadfast in our faith and avoid the pressures of this ever-changing world? By devoting time each day to the study of God’s Word.

As we read the Bible and immerse ourselves in God’s truth and character, our lives are changed—we become more like Him. God’s Word is a powerful litmus test for our souls and actions. As our lives center on God, giving priority to hearing His voice and reading His Word, we become bolder in sharing our faith.

Joshua had the confidence and courage to lead God’s people into the Promised Land because He believed in God’s promise and presence. We serve the same God who said: “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

You can place your steadfast trust in Him.

When we find a man meditating on the words of God, my friends, that man is full of boldness and is successful. Dwight L. Moody

Ready and Willing

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

A leper approached Jesus and said, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Jesus touched the man, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed”—and he was healed (Mark 1:40-42).

That event is a beautiful example of the willingness of God. In fact, there are no instances of Jesus being asked to help or heal and Him answering, “I am not willing.” There is a place where the Bible says God is “not willing,” and that is 2 Peter 3:9. In writing about the timing of the Day of the Lord (the end of the age), Peter says God is waiting for all who will be saved to come to Him. He is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” Said another way, God is willing for any who want to be saved to come to Him (John 6:37; 7:37). The question is never whether God is willing but whether man is willing.

Have you responded to God’s willing invitation to come to Him?

God is far more willing to save sinners than sinners are to be saved. J. C. Ryle

I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure. Psalm 119:162

Earlier this year, a volunteer for a charity in Arizona was going through books donated for a sale. One was an old copy of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The volunteer decided the dilapidated volume wasn’t worth saving and was about to throw it away when she thumbed through it and found a hidden chamber. Someone had used a knife to cut a hole in the middle of the book. Inside was $4,000!

That’s nothing compared to the treasure you’ll find when opening the covers of the Bible. Perhaps it would help to think of it in those terms. Use your imagination to see every word of Scripture turning to gold as you read it. Think of every promise as a precious stone. See the words about Jesus in the Gospels as sparkling like diamonds. Visualize your daily Bible study time like a miser running his hands through a chest of gold.

The treasury of Scripture will enrich your mind, refocus your goals, replace your doubts, and redirect your path—but only if you read it and heed it. Start today!

To get the best use out of [the Bible] for daily life,...Give it the best and freshest, not the most tired and dull, hour of the day. M. S. Kimber in The Sunday School World , 1893

Hello Heaven!

I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside. 2 Peter 1:13-14, NIV

Peter wrote his final letter shortly before his execution. He wasn’t discouraged; he was looking forward to the future. He spoke of “looking forward to these things.” and “[looking] for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13-14).

Life is full of hardships and heaviness. We have the promises of God to help us in difficult days, and we have the Holy Spirit within us. We have a purpose for being here—to refresh the memory of others regarding the things of the Lord. But we’ll soon put aside the tent of our earthly body, and what a relief! Goodbye hardship and heaviness. Goodbye trials and troubles. Hello Jesus! Hello heaven! Hello golden streets, glorified bodies, endless days, and the fresh air of New Jerusalem!

During difficult times, the hope of eternity gives us strength. If you’re prone to worry yourself to sleep each night, turn your thoughts upward and close your eyes thinking of heaven and its eternal throne.

A tent or a cottage, why should I care? They’re building a palace for me over there. Harriet Buell, in her hymn “A Child of the King”

Overcoming Temptation

Temptation. Whether we realize it or not, it is part of our past, and it will be part of our future. The moment we resolve to stand strong and walk away is when temptation grows most intense. That is why Scripture is of paramount importance. God's Word contains the answer to resisting temptation before it's too late. Consider these verses:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full–grown, brings forth death (James 1:13–15).

Some people wonder about the value of the Old Testament in a Christian's life. The apostle Paul addressed that question in 1 Corinthians 10:11—"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition." To what things was Paul referring? He listed them in verses 7–10. They are idolatry, immorality, infidelity, and disloyalty.

Temptation is not sin; yielding to temptation is.

With that background, Paul exhorted believers not to make the same choices the Israelites made—not to provoke God's discipline by willfully sinning. None of us is above God's discipline if we engage in sin. We must look for and take "the way of escape" God provides in every situation where temptation is found (verse 13). To think our temptation is unique is to believe a lie. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man" (verse 13). There are no "new" temptations in life.

The apostle James argued that if temptation becomes serious, it is because we have allowed it to do so. Our own "desires" entice us away from God and desire "gives birth to sin" (James 1:13–15). God doesn't tempt us, but He may allow temptation to enter our lives in order to give us opportunities to make obedient and mature choices.

Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, and He took the same means of escape that is available to us—obedience to God's Word (Matthew 4:1–11; Hebrews 5:8). Temptation is not sin; yielding to temptation is. There is always a righteous choice to be made if we are willing to seek it.

Victory in Him

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57

To first-century leaders in the Roman world, the imagery was familiar: A victorious Roman general returning from battle leading his soldiers and their captives into the city. Citizens lined the streets applauding while the aroma of celebratory incense filled the air. Paul uses that image to say that Christ leads His followers in a victory procession through every difficulty in life (2 Corinthians 2:14-15).

The Christian’s victory is through Christ. The victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, and sin was won by the Cross and the empty tomb. He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have victory now and for eternity only because of the victory Christ won for us. Therefore, if we are to experience victory in this life, it will come only as we depend on Him. As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, the life we now live is the life of Christ in us as we keep our faith in Him.

If you need a victory in your life, begin every day by renewing your faith in Christ in whom all our victories are to be realized.

The spiritual battle, the loss of victory, is always in the thought-world. Francis Schaeffer

Faithful Fathers: Abraham

And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. James 2:23

We can imagine a child writing an appreciative and sentimental memoir about her “perfect father,” understanding that “perfect” was not intended to be taken literally. But how about a book titled  The Righteous Father ? The patriarch Isaac could have written that book about his father, Abraham.

Righteous doesn’t mean sinless, of course. We know that Abraham wasn’t perfect. But he did manifest some qualities that every father should emulate. First, he believed the promises of God about the future God had planned for him (Hebrews 11:8-12). And when he believed God, “[God] accounted it to [Abraham] for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). Again, not perfect or sinless, but in a right standing with God. Second, as a result of Abraham’s trust in God, he became a “friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8). Could any father set a more worthy example to his children or grandchildren than that of being friends with God? Living in right standing with God? That means communing with Him, walking with Him, living for Him, and above all, trusting Him and His promises.

Follow Abraham’s example as a faithful father by deepening your friendship with God.

Friendship is the marriage of affections. Thomas Watson

Modern Idolatry

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5

Colossians 3:1 tells us to “seek those things which are above, where Christ is.” In verse 5 we’re told to put to death the passions that come from below—"fornication, uncleanness, passion, and evil desire.” Then the Lord added the sin of greed or covetousness to the list, calling it idolatry.

That verse changes our view of idolatry. It’s not just bowing down to a small carved statue or a pagan worshiper offering incense at a shrine to Buddha. It’s the act of becoming too attached to the material things of the world—falling more in love with the things on earth than on things in heaven.

This has nothing to do with how much money you do or don’t have—a poverty-stricken person can covet just as much as a billionaire. It has everything to do with what’s at the center of our affections. Is it Christ? Is it things above? Or is it things below?

Make sure Christ is at the center of your life and that your love for Him eclipses everything else!

You don’t have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them…. Whatever you love more than God is your idol. D. L. Moody

New Beginnings: Ezekiel

In my thirtieth year, in the fourth month on the fifth day, while I was among the exiles by the Kebar River, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Ezekiel 1:1, NIV

We often need fresh starts after enduring bitter disappointments. As a young man, Ezekiel had dedicated himself to be a priest. He was from a priestly family, and he undoubtedly looked forward to serving God in Jerusalem’s temple. Priests began their temple duty at the age of thirty. But when he was about twenty-five, Ezekiel was seized and taken to Babylon, and he never saw the temple again. When his thirtieth birthday came, he must have struggled with questions of “why” and “if only.”

That’s just when God appeared to him as he was among the exiles by the Kebar River. Ezekiel looked up and saw remarkable visions of God—the throne of God surrounded by angelic beings. Amid the strange and apocalyptic vision described in Ezekiel 1, God called the thirty-year-old exile to be a powerful prophet.

Oh, to see the glory of the Lord while in the midst of the disappointments in life. When we think life has collapsed around us, the God of glory appears above us. God always has a plan, and our false starts become His fresh starts.

Ezekiel is the prophet of the glory of the Lord…. Ezekiel looked beyond the sufferings of Christ to the glory that should follow. J. Vernon McGee

The Conspicuous Hand

The Lord your God cares. Deuteronomy 11:12

In a letter to Brigadier General Thomas Nelson, George Washington marveled at how God’s hand had protected him and given success to the cause of liberty: “The hand of Providence has been so conspicuous in all this, that he must be worse than an infidel that lacks faith, and… has not gratitude enough to acknowledge his obligations.”

In the middle of life’s battles, we’re tempted to question God’s ordering of our circumstances, but every follower of Christ can look back and see the conspicuous hand of God’s Providence. He is committed to caring for us, watching over us, and giving us strength when we are within His will.

Moses reminded the Israelites that God was taking them into a land of hills and valleys, of water and streams, “a land for which the Lord your God cares; the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year” (Deuteronomy 11:11-12).

That’s the way He cares for us too—every day, all year long, always.

[The Lord] loves, and cares, and sympathizes, and understands, and seeks, and saves, and forgives, and helps, and encourages, and walks by our side… taking care of us in life when we can’t take care of ourselves. W. A. Criswell

God of Second Chances

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” Jonah 3:1-2

It was not uncommon in the Old Testament for “the word of the Lord” to come to God’s prophets again and again. It happened to Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah, and others. And it also happened to Jonah: The word of the Lord came to Jonah the first time (Jonah 1:1) and then the second time (Jonah 3:1). With the other prophets, the “second time” meant additional prophetic utterances they were to deliver. But with Jonah, the “second time” was because Jonah had failed to speak God’s word the first time. Jonah was a disobedient prophet.

God commissioned Jonah to go east to Assyria, to the capital of Nineveh and deliver a message of judgment. But Jonah fled west toward Spain because he feared the Assyrians. You know the story—Jonah ended up in the sea where he was swallowed by a great fish. Jonah repented and called on the Lord and was delivered. God gave him a second chance.

Don’t let your past keep you from trusting God for a second (or third, or fourth) chance. The God of grace loves to forgive.

Forgiveness is to be set loose from sins. G. Campbell Morgan

All You Need Is Love: Forgiveness

When Jesus saw [the friends’] faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” Mark 2:5

The hardest part of forgiving another person is  acting like the offense never occurred . But that is what forgiving someone means—restoring relationships to the status they enjoyed before the offense took place. It’s one thing to say, “I forgive you,” but it’s another to act like all the effects of an offense are completely erased. After all, according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, love is known by its actions more than its words.

Jesus faced this dilemma when He healed a paralytic man. When He told the man that his sins were forgiven (and by extension, he was healed), He was criticized. He was accused of blaspheming by saying He had the authority to forgive sins—something only God can do. So, Jesus proved He had the authority to say, “I forgive you,” by doing something harder. He healed the man’s paralysis. After all, as Jesus explained, actions speak louder than words (Mark 2:8-11).

We cannot go through life without being hurt by others, so we should learn to forgive. Even more, we should practice demonstrating our forgiveness by our acts of lovingkindness. Look for opportunities to do both.

A Whole Person

In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility. Titus 2:7

In mathematics two of the basic kinds of numbers are integers and fractions: 2, 100, and 56 are integers, while ½, ¼, and 2.5 are fractions. Integers , from a Latin root meaning “whole” or “entire.” The word integrity comes from the same root; a person with integrity cannot be divided in beliefs or morality based on varying circumstances.

When the apostle Paul wrote to his young pastoral protégé, Timothy, he told him to show “integrity” in doctrine, to be incorruptible in belief and in actions. Paul wanted Timothy to hold fast to the truth of God, not allowing himself to be divided. A person of integrity obeys the whole counsel of God every day, in every circumstance. Daniel’s three friends in Babylon demonstrated integrity when they were threatened with being burned alive (Daniel 3:16-18). They told the king they would not divide their allegiance, that they would maintain their faith in God and His promises. That is integrity.

Are you a whole person or a fractioned person today? If your beliefs, and therefore your actions, have become divided, gather them back together as you commit to God and His Word.

Integrity of heart is indispensable. John Calvin

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Revelation 21:1

A great misconception carried by many Christians has to do with the location of heaven. The word heaven itself implies that our eternal destiny is somewhere “up there” in the heavens. But the Bible says our eternal destiny is earthly, not heavenly. As Peter wrote, we look for a “new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

In his vision of the future, the apostle John saw that “new heaven and a new earth,” our new domain being pictured as the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:1-2). Somehow, at the end of the age, when Christ has returned to reign and inaugurate the eternal state, this earth will be renovated and a new earth will be the result—a new earth full of righteousness in which pain and sorrow will be absent. The beautiful imagery of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 lets us know that the new earth will be a place that reflects the glory of God throughout.

Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for you if you belong to Him (John 14:1-4). The New Jerusalem, on the new earth, is that place.

Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death. William Gurnall

The Need for Prayer

Now it came to pass in those days that [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

Officially, church historians recognize seven ecumenical church councils held between A.D. 325 and A.D. 787. The first, the First Council of Nicaea, met to agree on the nature of Jesus of Nazareth as both Son of God and Son of Man, as both fully divine and fully human.

The humanity of Christ, while at the same time divine, is hard to understand. But thankfully, Scripture gives us illustrations: Like us, Jesus suffered, experienced hunger, required sleep, ate food, and had limits on His knowledge (Mark 13:32). One of the most striking and helpful illustrations of Jesus’ humanity was His prayer life. We might think that, if Jesus was truly divine, He would have had no need to pray for knowledge, guidance, or help. Yet He did, following the example of godly men like Daniel in Babylon (Daniel 2:16-18). Jesus repeatedly said that He only did what the Father showed Him to do (John 5:19), and prayer was His means.

If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to go to His Father in prayer for strengthening and guidance, how much more do we (Psalm 32:6)?

Prayer and a holy life are one. E. M. Bounds

What Is Humility?

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5, NIV

What is humility? Is it the opposite of pride? If pride expands one’s importance, does humility deflate one’s importance? That’s the view given by most English dictionaries—a deemphasis on one’s own importance. But what is the biblical view of humility

If someone compliments you on a job well done, do you refuse to take credit or receive their compliment? Or do you graciously say, “Thank you,” in a spirit of genuine appreciation and humility? In Romans 12:3 Paul exhorts the believers not to think of themselves pridefully but rather to think of themselves “soberly”—that is, realistically or accurately. Paul’s topic is the grace given by God to each Christian to serve in the Body of Christ. We should neither overestimate the gift of God’s grace or underestimate it. Rather, we should think of it soberly and realistically—humbly—and minister accordingly. To think less of God’s gift would be to devalue it; to think realistically about it allows one to serve humbly.

How do you view yourself? With pride? With false humility? Or soberly and realistically according to the grace of God in your life?

A really humble man…will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all. C. S. Lewis

The Power of Confession

For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Psalm 32:4

California is a dry state that needs water to be transported over many miles to population and agricultural centers. Snowfall in the winter and melting snow in the spring are critical factors in replenishing shrinking reservoirs. In periods of modern droughts, aerial photographs document the receding water levels in reservoirs around the state—shorelines growing wider and drier as water levels fall.

Such is the picture David paints with his words in Psalm 32—a drought of spiritual vitality brought on by his own sin. When he failed to confess his sin to God, his “bones grew old” and he groaned “all the day long” (verse 3). It was like his soul was being evaporated by the heat of his own guilt and shame. But then the rains of grace came and David confessed his sin and God forgave him (verse 5). And he encouraged his readers not to make the same mistake he had made (verses 9-10).

Confession and repentance reveal the access to restoration. Hiding sin does not remove it from God’s sight; but when we seek God’s forgiveness, the refreshing living water from the Father is poured out on us and we are restored—that is the power of confession.

The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession. Richard Sibbes

Martin Luther’s a Good Friday Sermon on How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings Within the Christian Ideology Essay

The great reformer Martin Luther initiated a new way of Christianity. His sermons laid the foundation of the Protestant Reformation. The analysis of A Good Friday Sermon on How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings demonstrates the ideas of Martin Luther about the importance of personal comprehension and reflection over the visual form accepted by the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther begins his sermon with reflections about the sufferings of Christ. Luther says that it is better to think about it on Good Friday than to pray the whole year, to read the books, to behave like a good Christian but do not realize the true sense of the sufferings of Christ. Seeking selfish interests, people will not find understanding and bliss. An idea of the excessiveness of the pictures and decorations in Christianity is the foundation stone of Luther’s Reformation. According to the preacher, people lost the meaning of the suffering of Christ as well as they lost the value of personal appreciation. Decorations replaced the true meaning of religion and faith.

Attending the mass, people may think that they can get the blessing just because they come to church. However, Luther supposes that it is impossible without real comprehension. The mass is not an institution that can give the blessing. Moreover, the priest can’t be the mediator between God and man. The true meaning of the mass is the order to make us worthy, to make us reflect and repent. This idea is criticized by the Catholic Church which pays more attention to the visual form. For Luther, a soul can’t get salvation by the work of church or priests.

Martin Luther emphasizes the senselessness of the sobbing during the mass. People should weep for themselves and their children, not the suffering of Christ. It is one of the most important postulates of Christianity. Thinking about the suffering of Christ, people should repent and feel deeply about all that happened on Golgotha. If people don’t feel this, the sufferings don’t come for one’s good yet. According to the postulates of Christianity, reflections about the meaning of Good Friday are a very important part of the humility of mind and soul. Like Christ put the body to the suffering, people should feel torment in their minds.

Martin Luther warns people against false satisfaction by making rash and random acts. Especially, Luther disputes about popular among the Catholics practice of indulgence. The preacher expresses his disappointment about the false satisfaction and pilgrimages.

Luther’s thoughts about the suffering of Christ are the most important part of Christianity. From this point of view, Luther’s sermon completely reflects the ideas of the church. However, his arguments about the perishable nature of the ceremonies, icons, and even priests contradict the traditions of the Catholic Church.

The sermons of Luther tell us more about him than about the people who hear. His messages are full of uprightness and enthusiasm. However, many postulates of Luther run counter to the Catholic Church, therefore, many people don’t accept it. Nevertheless, Protestantism has a long history of success. Luther’s ideas influenced many doctrines of the Christian traditions. The sermons of Luther and particularly How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings emphasize the importance of personal comprehension and reflection over the visual form.

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1. IvyPanda . "Martin Luther’s a Good Friday Sermon on How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings Within the Christian Ideology." January 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luthers-a-good-friday-sermon-on-how-to-contemplate-christs-holy-sufferings-within-the-christian-ideology/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Martin Luther’s a Good Friday Sermon on How to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings Within the Christian Ideology." January 11, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/martin-luthers-a-good-friday-sermon-on-how-to-contemplate-christs-holy-sufferings-within-the-christian-ideology/.

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Paragraph on Good Friday

Jesus was the founder of Christianity, one of the major religions of the world. He was born in Bethlehem. However, the date of their birth is not clearly mentioned. He was a holy child born in the house of Joseph and Mary. He was considered as the “son of God”. He helped many people throughout his life. He sacrificed his life for the peccancy of the people.

Short and Long Paragraphs on Good Friday

Here, I’m providing some paragraphs on Good Friday under different word limits so that it could be useful for students of all age groups to understand this topic.

Paragraph 1 – 100 Words(Good Friday as “Black Friday”)

Good Friday is observed in order to remember the crucifixion death of Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus Christ was the son of God. It is the day on which Jesus was brutally exposed to death.

Some people consider this day as “Black Friday” or the mourning and sorrowful day. While some people consider it as “Holy Friday”, the day of joy.

Good Friday is observed annually, mostly in the month of April. However, the dates are not fixed. The Western Christianity uses the Gregorian calendar whereas the Eastern Christianity uses the Julian calendar to verify the dates of Easter and Good Friday. 

Paragraph 2 – 120 Words

Some people mention Good Friday as a happy day because they believe that Jesus saved them and freed them from their sins. He sacrificed his life which teaches us the lesson of humanity.

Good Friday is recognized by different names in different languages. In Latin it is referred as “Feria Sexta” (Friday of preparation), in Dutch this day is called “Goede Vrijdag”, in Germany, “Karfreitag” (Mourning Friday), in Arabic this day is known as “Great Friday”, the Bulgarian uses either “Crucified Friday” or “Great Friday” to mark this day. The people who spoke French and Spanish consider this day as “Holy Friday”.

Many Christian countries observe holidays on the occasion of Good Friday. However, some non-Christian countries also observe holidays on this day.

Paragraph 3 – 150 Words

Good Friday is a sorrowful day for the Christian people. It does not involve any celebration. Some people even perform fast to show their sorrow.

The day is considered as the mourning day by the Christian community. Therefore, no special feast and activities take place on this day.

On this day, people go to church and worship Jesus. They thank Jesus for everything. Reciting hymns, reading bibles, prayer ceremonies, etc are organized in the churches.

The evening before Friday is marked as Maundy Thursday. It is believed that Jesus had supper for the last time on this day. After three days of Good Friday, that is on Sunday, Easter is celebrated. According to the Christian mythologies, on this day Jesus again came to life.

Jesus was hanged and buried but after three days, he was found alive. And hence people celebrate Easter or the resurrection of Jesus on the Sunday after the Good Friday.

Paragraph 4 – 200 Words                                           

Here is the story associated with the observance of Good Friday and the celebration of Easter.

Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ betrayed him and informed the royal soldiers about his residing in the Gethsemane. He was rewarded with 30 silver coins. He pointed to Jesus by kissing him. Jesus was arrested by the soldiers.

The Jewish authorities claimed that Jesus wanted to become a religious leader by considering himself as the son of God. He was questioned many times. At first, he was silent but later he responded. At that time there was a Passover custom, which means the general public is asked to whom they release and what punishment should be given to the other prisoner. The crowd responded “crucify him” on the secret orders of the chief priest. And Jesus was sentenced to death.

A crown of thrones was placed on the head of Jesus. He was crucified along with two others at Jerusalem. He was alive for 6 hours. At the last hour, from noon to 3 the environment turned dark. His last words were “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus was buried in a tomb near the crucifixion site. On Sunday, Jesus was seen alive. On this day, Christians celebrate Easter.

Paragraph 5 – 250 Words

Good Friday is also observed as the end of “Lent”, 40 days of fast for Christians. The whole week is considered as the holy week. It starts from “Palm Sunday” to the Monday after Easter celebration which is known as “Bright Monday” or “Renewal Monday”.

The term Good Friday originated from God’s Friday. However, it is known by different names. In most Latin countries, people consider this day as “mourning day” whereas in some Eastern countries people celebrate this day as “Great and Holy Friday”.

On this day the Christian community observes fast. The father in the church recites the Bible (holy book of Christians). People pray and remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. No celebration takes place on this day. The days, Friday and Saturday are considered as the mourning day. However, on the next day that is on Sunday Easter is celebrated.

In Jerusalem, the place where Jesus died, people follow his footsteps. They walk to the site where crucifixion takes place. They also try to carry out weights on their back the same as Jesus did.

Significance

Good Friday is marked as the crucifixion day of Jesus Christ. It is observed in the holy week which starts from Sunday (before Easter) to Monday (after Easter). The dates of Easter and Good Friday vary every year.

Christian observe religious holiday on this day. Countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Canada, etc observe public holiday on the occasion of Good Friday.

The death and resurrection of Jesus shows that “Good always wins over bad”.

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions on Good Friday

Ans. Some Christians consider this day as a holy day on which Jesus sacrificed his life for the sins of the world.

Ans. Italy, Afghanistan, Japan, Bhutan, Pakistan, etc do not observe holidays on Good Friday.

Ans. Good Friday is mostly observed by Christian community.

Ans. No, Good Friday is a gazette holiday in India.

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Middle East Crisis U.S. Criticizes Israel for Failure to Protect Civilians in Gaza Conflict

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• Smoke rising after a strike in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Displaced Palestinians evacuating Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
• Displaced Palestinians on the beach in Deir al Balah in central Gaza. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• People leaving Rafah, in southern Gaza. -/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
• Israeli soldiers in southern Israel near the Gaza Strip border on Thursday. Abir Sultan/EPA, via Shutterstock
• An injured Palestinian child being treated at a hospital in Rafah. Ismael Abu Dayyah/Associated Press
• Mourning a relative killed in a strike in Rafah. Ismael Abu Dayyah/Associated Press
• An injured child in Rafah. Hatem Khaled/Reuters

Follow live news updates on the crisis in the Middle East .

The U.S. criticizes Israel for failure to protect civilians in the Gaza conflict.

The Biden administration believes that Israel has most likely violated international standards in failing to protect civilians in Gaza but has not found specific instances that would justify the withholding of military aid, the State Department told Congress on Friday.

In the administration’s most detailed assessment of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, the State Department said in a written report that Israel “has the knowledge, experience and tools to implement best practices for mitigating civilian harm in its military operations.”

But it added that “the results on the ground, including high levels of civilian casualties, raise substantial questions” as to whether the Israel Defense Forces are making sufficient use of those tools.

Even so, the report — which seemed at odds with itself in places — said the United States had no hard proof of Israeli violations. It noted the difficulty of collecting reliable information from Gaza, Hamas’s tactic of operating in civilian areas and the fact that “Israel has not shared complete information to verify” whether U.S. weapons have been used in specific incidents alleged to have involved human rights law violations.

The report, mandated by President Biden, also makes a distinction between the general possibility that Israel has violated the law and any conclusions about specific incidents that would prove it. It deems that assurances Israel provided in March that it would use U.S. arms consistent with international law are “credible and reliable,” and thus allow the continued flow of U.S. military aid.

The conclusions are unrelated to Mr. Biden’s recent decision to delay the delivery to Israel of 3,500 bombs and his review of other weapons shipments. The president has said those actions were in response to Israel’s stated plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The report said its findings were hampered in part by the challenges of collecting reliable information from the war zone and the way Hamas operates in densely populated areas. It also stressed that Israel has begun pursuing possible accountability for suspected violations of the law, a key component in the U.S. assessment about whether to provide military aid to allies accused of human rights violations.

Israel has opened criminal investigations into the conduct of its military in Gaza, the report said, and the Israel Defense Forces “are examining hundreds of incidents” that may involve wartime misconduct.

The report also did not find that Israel had intentionally obstructed humanitarian aid into Gaza.

While it concluded that both “action and inaction by Israel” had slowed the flow of aid into Gaza, which is desperately short of necessities like food and medicine, it said that “we do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance” into the territory.

Such a finding would have triggered a U.S. law barring military aid to countries that block such assistance.

Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer now with International Crisis Group, said the report “bends over backwards” to avoid concluding that Israel violated any laws, a finding that would place major new pressure on Mr. Biden to restrict arms to the country.

Mr. Finucane, a critic of Israel’s military operations, said that the report was “more forthcoming” than he had expected, but that he still found it “watered down” and heavily “lawyered.”

The findings further angered a vocal minority of Democrats in Congress who have grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza. They argue that Israel has indiscriminately killed civilians with American arms and intentionally hindered U.S.-supplied humanitarian aid.

Either would violate U.S. laws governing arms transfers to foreign militaries, as well as international humanitarian law, which is largely based on the Geneva Conventions.

The report did not define the meaning of its other criteria for Israel’s actions, “established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” though it cited Defense Department guidelines on the subject released last year, which include some measures “not required by the law of war.”

“If this conduct complies with international standards, then God help us all,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, told reporters after the report’s release. “They don’t want to have to take any action to hold the Netanyahu government accountable for what’s happening,” he added, referring to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Critics of Mr. Biden’s continuation of most military support to Israel had hoped that he would use the report as a justification for further restricting arms deliveries to the country. The United States provides Israel with $3.8 billion in annual military aid , and Congress last month approved an additional $14 billion in emergency funding.

Mr. Biden ordered the report with a national security memorandum known as NSM-20. It requires all recipients of U.S. military aid engaged in conflict to provide the United States with written assurances that they will comply with international law and not hinder the delivery of humanitarian aid provided by or supported by the U.S. government.

The report called on the secretary of state and the defense secretary to assess “any credible reports or allegations” that American weapons might have been used in violation of international law.

Since the president’s memorandum was issued, an independent task force formed in response issued a lengthy report citing dozens of examples of likely Israeli legal violations. That report found what it called Israel’s “systematic disregard for fundamental principles of international law,” including “attacks launched despite foreseeably disproportionate harm to civilians” in densely populated areas.

In a statement following the State Department report, the task force called the U.S. document “at best incomplete, and at worst intentionally misleading in defense of acts and behaviors that likely violate international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.”

“Once again, the Biden Administration has stared the facts in the face — and then pulled the curtains shut,” said the task force’s members, who include Josh Paul, a former State Department official who in October resigned in protest over U.S. military support for Israel.

The State Department report showed clear sympathy for Israel’s military challenge, repeating past statements by the Biden administration that Israel has a “right to defend itself” in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. It also noted that military experts call Gaza “as difficult a battlespace as any military has faced in modern warfare.”

“Because Hamas uses civilian infrastructure for military purposes and civilians as human shields, it is often difficult to determine facts on the ground in an active war zone of this nature and the presence of legitimate military targets across Gaza,” it said.

Even so, it singled out numerous specific incidents where Israel’s military had killed civilians or aid workers, the latter of which it called a “specific area of concern.”

Those episodes include the killing of seven World Central Kitchen workers in April. The report noted that Israel has dismissed officers and reprimanded commanders involved in that attack, which Israel has called “a grave mistake,” and is considering prosecutions.

Other episodes it cited included airstrikes on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 on the crowded Jabaliya refugee camp, which reportedly killed dozens of civilians, including children. It noted Israel’s claim that it had targeted a senior Hamas commander and underground Hamas facilities at the site, and that its munitions had “led to the collapse of tunnels and the buildings and infrastructure above them.”

And while the report did not find that Israel had intentionally hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, it listed several examples of ways in which its government had “a negative effect” on aid distribution. They included “extensive bureaucratic delays” and what it called the active involvement of some senior Israeli officials in protests or attacks on aid convoys.

The report was delivered to Congress two days after the deadline set by Mr. Biden’s February memorandum, arriving late on a Friday afternoon — the time of choice for government officials hoping to minimize an announcement’s public impact. Earlier that day, a White House spokesman, John F. Kirby, denied that the delay had any “nefarious” motive.

— Michael Crowley Reporting from Washington

The U.N. General Assembly adopts a resolution in support of Palestinian statehood.

U.n. general assembly backs palestinian membership bid, the united nations general assembly approved the resolution by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 nations abstaining. the assembly can only grant full membership with the approval of the security council..

“A ‘yes’ vote is a vote for Palestinian existence. It is not against any state, but it is against the attempts to deprive us of our state. That is why the Israeli government is so opposed to it. Because they oppose our independence and the two-state solution altogether.” “This is your mirror. So that you can see exactly what you are inflicting upon the U.N. charter with this destructive vote. This is — You are shredding the U.N. Charter with your own hands.” “The result of the vote is as follows: in favor 143, against nine, abstentions 25. Draft resolution A/ES10/L30/Rev1 is adopted.” [cheering]

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full-members status at the United Nations, a highly symbolic move that reflects growing global solidarity with Palestinians and is a rebuke to Israel and the United States.

The resolution was approved by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 nations abstaining. The Assembly broke into a big applause after the vote.

But the resolution does not mean a Palestinian state will be recognized and admitted to the United Nations as a full member anytime soon. The Assembly can only grant full membership with the approval of the Security Council, and, if history is a guide, the United States would almost inevitably wield its veto power to kill such a measure, as it did in April.

Even though a majority in the General Assembly have long supported Palestinian statehood, the resolution was the first time the body had voted on the issue of full membership. The resolution declares that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules and recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter with a favorable outcome.

The resolution was prepared by the United Arab Emirates, the current chair of the U.N. Arab Group, and sponsored by 70 countries. The United States voted no, along with Hungary, Argentina, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia and Nauru.

“The vast majority of countries in this hall are fully aware of the legitimacy of the Palestinian bid and the justness of their cause, which faces fierce attempts to suppress it and render it meaningless today,” said the U.A.E. ambassador, Mohamed Abushahab, as he introduced the resolution on behalf of the Arab Group.

Though largely symbolic, the resolution does provide Palestinians with new diplomatic privileges. Palestinians can now sit among member states in alphabetical order; they can speak at General Assembly meetings on any topic instead of being limited to Palestinian affairs; they can submit proposals and amendments; and they can participate at U.N. conferences and international meetings organized by the Assembly and other United Nations entities.

The 193-member General Assembly took up the issue of Palestinian membership after the United States in April vetoed a resolution before the Security Council that would have recognized full membership for a Palestinian state. While a majority of council members supported the move, the United States said recognition of Palestinian statehood should be achieved through negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Frustration with the United States has been brewing for months among many senior U.N. officials and diplomats, including from allies such as France, because Washington has repeatedly blocked cease-fire resolutions at the Security Council and has staunchly supported Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, even as civilian suffering has mounted.

“The U.S. is resigned to having another bad day at the U.N.,” said Richard Gowan, an expert on the U.N. for the International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention organization. But he added that the resolution “gives the Palestinians a boost without creating a breakdown over whether they are or are not now U.N. members.”

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., told the Assembly ahead of the vote that Palestinians’ right to full membership at the U.N. and statehood “are not up for negotiations, they are our inherent rights as Palestinians.” He added that a vote against Palestinian statehood was a vote against the two-state solution.

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, a sharp critic of the U.N., said voting for a Palestinian state would be inviting “a state of terror” in its midst and rewarding “terrorists” who killed Jewish civilians with privileges and called member states endorsing it “Jew haters.”

Robert A. Wood, a U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said that while the U.S. supported a two-state solution as the only means for sustainable peace, “it remains the U.S. view that unilateral measures at the U.N. and on the ground will not advance this goal.”

Mr. Wood said that if the Assembly referred the issue back to the Council, it would have the same outcome again with the U.S. blocking the move.

The Palestinians are currently recognized by the U.N. as a nonmember observer state, a status granted to them in 2012 by the General Assembly. They do not have the right to vote on General Assembly resolutions or nominate any candidates to U.N. agencies.

France, a close U.S. ally and one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, has supported the Palestinian bid for statehood breaking away from United States’ stance at the U.N. both at the Council and the Assembly vote. “The time has come for the United Nations to take action with a view to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, on the basis of the two-state solution,” said Nicolas de Rivière, France’s ambassador to the U.N., in his address on Friday.

The Assembly session, which was expected to flow over to Monday because of the long list of speakers, was not without moments of performative drama.

Mr. Erdan, Israel’s ambassador, held up the picture of Hamas’s military leader, Yahya Sinwar, considered the architect of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, with the word “President,” and then a transparent shredder, inserting a piece of paper inside it, and said the member states were “shredding the U.N. charter.”

Mr. Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador, at the end of his speech raised his fist in the air, visibly chocking back tears, and said “Free Palestine.” The Assembly broke into applause.

— Farnaz Fassihi

The White House defends voting ‘no’ on a U.N. resolution supporting Palestinian statehood.

A White House spokesman on Friday defended the United States’ decision to oppose a U.N. resolution declaring support for Palestinian statehood , saying that such a measure should be negotiated in the Middle East.

The United States was among a handful of holdouts as the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution declaring that Palestinians qualify for full membership at the United Nations. The vote was widely seen as a rebuke of Israel and the United States as global outrage mounts over the Israel-Hamas war.

John F. Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said President Biden remained “fully and firmly committed” to a Palestinian state, but the U.N. resolution was not the way to establish it.

“We continue to believe in the power and promise of a two-state solution, and an independent state for the Palestinian people,” Mr. Kirby told reporters. “We also believe that the best way to do that is through direct negotiations with the parties and not through a vote of the U.N. of this kind.”

Friday’s vote comes as the ties between the United States and Israel, its closest ally in the Middle East, are tested over the war in Gaza. More than 34,000 people have died in Gaza, including both combatants and civilians, and the director of the World Food Program has said that parts of the Gaza Strip are experiencing a “full-blown famine.”

The United States is the biggest supplier of weapons to Israel, and Mr. Biden is hoping to use that leverage to get Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to forgo a long-threatened invasion of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than one million Palestinians have taken refuge.

Mr. Biden has halted a shipment of bombs to Israel and said he would withhold artillery as well if Israel moved forward in Rafah. But the Israelis maintain they need to go into Rafah to finish destroying Hamas, which killed 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack it led on Israel.

The U.N. resolution does not establish a Palestinian state, but it does recognize Palestine to qualify for full-member status at the United Nations. Its membership will need to be approved by the U.N. Security Council, which includes the United States.

The United States has repeatedly wielded its veto power on the council to block U.N. resolutions calling for a cease-fire in Gaza.

The U.N. General Assembly took up Friday’s resolution after the United States vetoed in April a resolution that came before the Security Council that would have recognized full membership for a Palestinian state, which is considered a “nonmember observer state.”

The resolution that passed on Friday would extend to Palestinians new privileges, such as sitting among member states in alphabetical order, speaking at meetings on any topic instead of being limited to Palestinian affairs, and submitting proposals and amendments.

The resolution was prepared by the United Arab Emirates, the current chair of the U.N. Arab Group, and sponsored by 70 countries. It declares that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules and recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter with a favorable outcome.”

The resolution’s adoption prompted rousing applause.

Farnaz Fassihi contributed reporting.

— Erica L. Green Reporting from Washington

Here is what we know about where aid can enter Gaza.

Following Israel’s incursion into Rafah this week, the Israeli military briefly shut down the Kerem Shalom crossing and seized the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, choking the flow of desperately needed food, fuel and medical supplies at a time when experts believe parts of Gaza are already experiencing a famine and several have died from malnutrition.

According to United Nations data, the number of aid trucks entering Gaza hit a peak last week since October: A total of 1,674 aid trucks entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings, the main entry points of aid into the enclave. But since Sunday, no aid trucks have entered Gaza from either entry point, even after Israel said that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing on Wednesday.

The entry of aid into Gaza has been heavily restricted by Israel since the war started, creating what aid experts say is a human-made hunger crisis. Humanitarians warn that the crisis will worsen without the fuel necessary for bakeries and hospitals to operate.

Here is a look at the major routes for aid into Gaza and their status.

Kerem Shalom

Israel shut down the Kerem Shalom crossing after a Hamas attack on Sunday killed four of its soldiers in the area.

On Wednesday, Israel said it had reopened the crossing, but the United Nations and others disputed that claim because no trucks were being allowed through. On Friday afternoon, Israel allowed at least 157,000 liters of fuel to enter , according to Scott Anderson, a senior official at UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinians. But no humanitarian aid, which includes food and medical supplies, has entered since Sunday, he said.

Egypt, which plays an important role in facilitating aid collection and delivery, has complicated matters by resisting sending trucks to Kerem Shalom, according to several Western and Israeli officials ; American and Israeli officials believe that Egypt is putting pressure on Israel to curb its invasion of Rafah.

The Kerem Shalom crossing has been a major artery for aid into Gaza since it opened in December and is where most aid trucks now enter. Before Israel’s incursion into Rafah, an average of 185 trucks entered Kerem Shalom daily last week, peaking at 270 trucks last Friday, according to United Nations data. Aid groups have said for months that at least 300 trucks are needed daily to prevent further malnutrition and worsening hunger.

The Rafah crossing remains closed.

The crossing has been an important gate for injured and sick people to leave the enclave to receive medical treatment abroad. The Gazan Health Ministry has said that dozens of people with illnesses such as breast cancer and lymphoma have been unable to leave Gaza since Sunday.

The Erez crossing at Gaza’s northern border is open, but limited aid is trickling through, according to data from COGAT, the Israeli agency that oversees aid delivery in Gaza, and an UNRWA official. It is the only border crossing in the north and was only opened last month after pressure from President Biden.

COGAT said on its website that 36 aid trucks and one fuel truck passed through the Erez crossing on Thursday. Mr. Anderson said UNRWA sent 67 trucks through the Erez crossing on Wednesday and that nothing has passed through since. A reason for the discrepancy between the numbers and days was not immediately clear.

Sending more aid to northern Gaza would be crucial to prevent further malnutrition-related deaths in the area . In March, health experts projected that northern Gaza would soon face a famine, and, on Saturday, Cindy McCain, the executive director of the World Food Program, said that parts of Gaza were already in one. As of mid-April, Gazan health officials said that at least 28 children younger than 12 had died from malnutrition in hospitals and perhaps dozens more outside medical centers.

Since Gaza has no international pier of its own — Israel has for years prevented the construction of one — the U.S. military said in March that it would build a temporary pier to get aid in by sea, part of what it said was a multipronged effort to deliver humanitarian assistance to the enclave.

The Pentagon said on Thursday that the floating pier and the causeway had been completed but that bad weather and sea conditions had prevented their installation. They remain at the Israeli port of Ashdod.

An American cargo ship, called the Sagamore, departed from Cyprus on Thursday, the Pentagon said, and ship tracking websites show the ship positioned at Ashdod. The Sagamore is carrying more than 170 metric tons of nutrition bars, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development, but cannot be unloaded and distributed in Gaza until the pier is installed. It is unclear when that might be, as the Pentagon said the installation would be dependent on security and weather conditions.

COGAT said on Thursday that 117 packages were airdropped in northern Gaza that day. Airdrop operations only began in March to try to prevent a greater humanitarian disaster as hunger grew in the Palestinian territory. COGAT said 99 airdrop operations by nine donating countries, including the United States and Jordan, had been completed since March.

But airdrops have been criticized by aid experts as perhaps the most inefficient way to deliver aid into Gaza, and in some cases, deadly. Airdropped aid packages in March fell on several Palestinians in Gaza City , killing five and wounding several others, according to Gazan health officials. In another case , a dozen Palestinians drowned while trying to retrieve packages that had been intentionally dropped over the water to prevent further deaths if its parachutes failed to deploy.

— Gaya Gupta

South Africa again asks the U.N.’s top court to act against Israel in Gaza

Days after an Israeli military incursion into Rafah , in southern Gaza, South Africa once again asked the United Nations’ top court to issue constraints on Israel, saying “the very survival” of Palestinians in Gaza was under threat.

In filings disclosed by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Friday, South Africa asked the court to order Israel to immediately withdraw from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city where more than a million Palestinians displaced by the war have sought shelter, and to “cease its military offensive” and allow “unimpeded access” to international officials, investigators and journalists.

South Africa’s latest move is part of a case the country filed in December in which it accused Israel of genocide. Since then, the court has ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza and ordered the delivery of more humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the face of growing starvation in areas. But the court has not ordered Israel to stop its military campaign against Hamas.

Israel has strongly denied South Africa’s accusations and said that it had gone to great lengths to admit deliveries of food and fuel into Gaza and to lessen harm to civilians. It has also said that its war in Gaza was necessary to defend itself against the Oct. 7 attacks led by Hamas and other armed groups that killed more than 1,200 Israelis and led to the capture of about 250 others.

Friday’s request is the fourth time that South Africa has asked the U.N. court for temporary injunctions. The filings noted that conditions had deteriorated significantly for civilians sheltering in Gaza.

“Rafah is the last population center in Gaza that has not been substantially destroyed by Israel and as such the last refuge for Palestinians in Gaza,” South Africa stated.

The court has not indicated when it will respond to the South African request, but its rules require that it must give priority to petitions for emergency orders. The 15-judge court has no means of enforcing its orders.

The main case, dealing with the question of genocide, is not expected to start until next year.

— Marlise Simons Reporting from Paris

Cease-fire talks hit snag, in part, on how many hostages would be released in a first phase, officials say.

Talks involving Israeli and Hamas negotiators on a cease-fire and hostage release deal remain snagged over whether a truce would be permanent or temporary, and how many hostages would be freed in the first phase of an agreement, officials briefed on the matter said.

Israel and Hamas representatives left Egypt on Thursday after the latest round of indirect talks — they do not communicate with each other directly — without any deal in sight, the officials said. But U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari teams were still holding further discussions in Egypt.

Hamas is still demanding that Israel abide by a permanent cease-fire and completely withdraw from Gaza as part of any truce, said Mousa Abu Marzouk, a member of Hamas’s political leadership. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has said Israel cannot end the war as long as Hamas’s rule in Gaza remains intact. On Friday, Hamas declared that Israel’s rejection of a framework that Qatar and Egypt had proposed, and Hamas had approved, had “brought matters back to square one.”

Mr. Abu Marzouk added that another obstacle in the talks is how many living hostages held in Gaza would be released during the first phase of a multistage cease-fire. His account was confirmed by an Israeli official and another official briefed on the negotiation. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic negotiations.

Palestinian armed groups still hold approximately 132 hostages in Gaza, the vast majority of them seized during the Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, according to the Israeli authorities. But Israel says it has also determined that at least 36 of them are dead.

Israel had initially demanded that Hamas release 40 hostages in the first phase of a cease-fire, including old captives, ill people and women, both civilians and soldiers. Male Israeli soldiers, seen by Hamas as higher-value captives, would be released in the second phase of the truce.

A recent Israeli proposal made a concession, reducing the number of living hostages Israel was demanding to 33 during the first tranche, according to the officials familiar with the talks.

On Monday, Hamas told negotiators it did not have enough living hostages for the first phase of agreement and said the 33 turned over would include both living hostages and the bodies of those who had died in captivity, two U.S. officials said on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

But during this week’s meetings in Egypt — mediated in part by William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director — the Israeli negotiating team said that Hamas must release 33 living hostages during the first phase, said Mr. Abu Marzouk, the senior Hamas official, and one of the officials briefed on the talks. If the group could not muster that number, Israel demanded they release some captive Israeli male soldiers as well, said Mr. Abu Marzouk.

On Friday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said both Israel and Hamas needed to “show flexibility” in the talks so as to “reach an agreement for a truce that would put an end to the humanitarian tragedy.”

Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Adam Rasgon and Julian E. Barnes

People leaving Rafah describe yet another fearful flight from Israeli assaults.

Manal al-Wakeel and her extended family of 30 people thought they were going home.

Displaced from their home in Gaza City months ago, Ms. al-Wakeel and relatives began packing their bags on Monday and preparing to dismantle their tent in Rafah, at the southern edge of the Gaza Strip.

Hamas had announced that it had accepted a cease-fire proposal from Qatar and Egypt, leaving many Gazans thinking that a truce was imminent. Their joy was short-lived; it soon became clear that Hamas was not talking about the same proposal endorsed days earlier by Israel, which said the two sides remained far apart.

Instead, Israeli warplanes dropped leaflets in eastern Rafah telling people to flee and move to what Israel called a humanitarian zone to the north, as the Israeli military bombarded the area. Gazan health officials say that dozens have been killed since Israel’s incursion into parts of Rafah this week.

“We thought that day a cease-fire was possible,” said Ms. al-Wakeel, 48, who helped the aid group World Central Kitchen prepare hot meals.

She and her family had been sheltering near the Abu Yousef al-Najjar Hospital, in an area battered by Israeli airstrikes and ground combat. The director of the hospital, Dr. Marwan al-Hams, said on Monday that it had received the bodies of 26 people killed by Israeli fire, and treated 50 who were wounded. The hospital was evacuated the next day.

So rather than return home, on Tuesday night Ms. al-Wakeel, her husband, her 11 children and other relatives found a semi-truck that would take them and their belongings, including suitcases of clothes, pots and pans and tents, for 2,500 shekels — about $670 — in search of another place to stay.

They left Rafah around midnight and made their way north along with hundreds of tuk-tuks, trucks, cars and donkey-carts full of other displaced families and their possessions.

“It was a scary night, the truck was moving slowly because of the heavy load on it,” she said.

Once out of Rafah, they made frequent stops at schools and other buildings, desperately looking for any empty place for them to shelter. But every place was full.

Others couldn’t find a place, either, and Ms. al-Wakeel saw many people sleeping by the side of the road next to whatever belongings they had fled with.

At a U.N. school in Deir El-Balah, a young man suggested they stay in an empty concrete building — with no windows — that belonged to the Hamas-led government’s ministry of social development.

“It looked like a dangerous place,” she said, adding that they had been told that a woman and her daughter had previously been killed in one of the building’s rooms by an Israeli missile.

But they were too afraid to continue roaming around in the darkness, and decided to spend the night there and look for a safer place come morning.

“I feel so sad and disappointed for what happened to Rafah as it was stable for us there,” she said. “We have spent so much time having to arrange new places for ourselves again and we feel depressed and so exhausted from repeating the same suffering.”

Saeda al-Nemnem, 42, had given birth to twins less than a month before Israel dropped the leaflets over where they were sheltering in Rafah, ordering them to leave. Her family, also displaced from Gaza City, dispatched a relative to look for a truck that could ferry them north, despite the intense Israeli airstrikes at the time.

The relative, Mohammed al-Jojo, was killed by an Israeli strike on the tractor he was riding, she said.

He “was killed when he was getting us out of that area to a safer place,” she said. “I feel I caused his death.”

Despite the dangers in getting on the road, staying where they were in Rafah was no safer.

Along the terrifying journey to the city of Khan Younis, where she and her family of eight found shelter in a room attached to Al Aqsa University’s main building, they could hear what seemed like explosions from Israeli bombs, missiles and artillery, she said.

“My children’s heartbeats were so high that I could feel them,” she said. It was the heaviest bombardment she had ever heard, she said, “so close and so terrifying for me and my children.”

— Raja Abdulrahim and Bilal Shbair Reporting from Jerusalem and from Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip

More than 100,000 have fled Rafah, the U.N. says, as Israeli bombardment intensifies.

With fears rising that Israel will move ahead with a long-planned full-scale invasion of Rafah, the United Nations said Friday that more than 100,000 people had fled since Israel ordered people to leave parts of the city and intensified a bombardment that Gazan health officials say has killed dozens of people.

As Israeli troops continued to exchange fire with Palestinian fighters near Rafah on Friday, according to both the Israeli military and Hamas, people were packing up their tents and leaving the southern Gazan city and its surrounding areas where more than a million Palestinians had sought shelter in trucks, cars and donkey carts.

Many of them have already been displaced multiple times by Israel’s war in Gaza over the past seven months.

“Around 110,000 people have now fled Rafah looking for safety,” the main United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, known as UNRWA, posted online on Friday. “But nowhere is safe in the #GazaStrip & living conditions are atrocious.” On Thursday, a U.N. official said that 79,000 people had left since Israel issued its evacuation order.

“The only hope is an immediate #Ceasefire ,” UNRWA said.

Israel seized control of the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in what it called a “limited operation,” and intense fighting has continued on the eastern edge of the city since. The Israeli military said on Friday that its aircraft had struck Hamas members and rocket-launching sites at several locations in the Rafah area over the past day, while Hamas said its forces had fired mortars on Israeli troops east of the city.

The Israeli security cabinet agreed on Thursday night to expand the operation in Rafah, two officials said, but it was not clear what that would mean in practical terms.

Fighting continues in other areas of Gaza, and on Friday, the Israeli military said four of its soldiers were killed and two were seriously injured by an explosive device near Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Israeli forces seized the north months ago but have been unable to control it completely, repeatedly battling militants there.

In an apparent sign of the militants’ staying power, Hamas took responsibility for a rocket attack, the first one since December that was launched from Gaza and triggered air-raid sirens in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. Rockets were fired at Israel from both Rafah and central Gaza, according to the Israeli military. There were no reports of injuries or serious damage.

Israel has designated what it calls a safe zone for Gazans fleeing Rafah, including Al-Mawasi , a coastal section of Gaza it has advised people to go to for months. But the United Nations has said it is neither safe nor equipped to receive them.

On Friday, UNICEF’s senior emergency coordinator in the Gaza Strip, Hamish Young, said from Rafah that in his 30 years working on large-scale humanitarian emergencies “I’ve never been involved in a situation as devastating, complex or erratic as this.”

“Yesterday, I walked around Al-Mawasi,” Mr. Young said. “The roads to Mawasi are jammed — many hundreds of trucks, buses, cars and donkey carts loaded with people and possessions.”

“People I speak with tell me they are exhausted, terrified and know life in Al-Mawasi will, again, impossibly, be harder,” he said. “Families lack proper sanitation facilities, drinking water and shelter.”

— Raja Abdulrahim and Bilal Shbair

Actions by Israel and Egypt are restricting Gaza aid routes.

For a few weeks, after extraordinary international pressure and warnings of an imminent famine in the Gaza Strip, Israel announced new steps to increase humanitarian aid and more supplies entered the territory.

But the flow of aid, the vast majority of which goes through two border crossings in southern Gaza, has come to a near-total stop this week, first closed off by Israel and then further restricted, officials say, by Egypt.

Israel shut down the Kerem Shalom crossing after a Hamas rocket attack nearby killed four Israeli soldiers last Sunday. The next day, Israeli forces seized and closed the Gaza side of the other crossing, at Rafah on the Egyptian border, as part of what they have described as a limited military operation against Hamas, and raised the Israeli flag over the crossing.

Although Israel has reopened Kerem Shalom and some fuel has gone into Gaza from there, humanitarian aid like food and medicines has not been allowed through the crossing since last Sunday, according to Scott Anderson, a senior official at UNRWA, the main U.N. agency that aids Gaza.

One reason is that Egypt, where most of the aid for Gaza is collected and loaded, is resisting sending trucks toward Kerem Shalom, according to two U.S. officials and another Western official who are involved in the aid operation, as well as two Israeli officials. The American and Israeli officials believe that Egypt is trying to put pressure on Israel to pull back from the Rafah operation.

Another official familiar with the negotiations said U.S. officials — including William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, who was in Cairo this week for Gaza cease-fire talks — have been trying to persuade Egypt to dispatch the trucks. But Egypt has rebuffed the pressure, saying it will not allow aid to flow to Kerem Shalom while Israel has closed the Rafah crossing, and casting the situation as a matter of sovereignty , a United Nations official said.

All the officials spoke on condition that they not be named because of the sensitivity of the aid talks and the cease-fire negotiations. A spokesman for Egypt’s government declined to comment.

Egypt plays a vital role in the Gaza relief effort. Much of the international aid bound for Gaza is collected in the Egyptian city of El Arish, about 30 miles from the Gaza border, where it is loaded onto trucks and sent to the Israeli border for inspections before being allowed into Gaza.

Egypt has grown increasingly nervous about Israel’s Rafah operation, in part over deep-seated fears it will push Palestinian refugees onto Egyptian soil — an outcome Egypt views as a national security threat. Israel’s presence on the Egypt-Gaza border, a border Egypt is supposed to control, has also drawn heavy domestic criticism.

Egyptian concerns are not the only factor complicating the use of Kerem Shalom. The Western official said that Israeli military activity and fighting near Kerem Shalom have partly destroyed the roads, making it extremely difficult for aid trucks to navigate into Gaza.

With fighting continuing, the area is also considered unsafe for aid workers, according to one of the U.S. officials and the U.N. official, who said that a U.N. contractor near Kerem Shalom was shot at by Israeli forces on Wednesday.

An Israeli military spokesman, Maj. Nir Dinar, declined to comment on the incident, but blamed Hamas for preventing aid from entering. While Kerem Shalom was accepting aid deliveries, he said, it had been closed in previous days only after Hamas fired on the crossing three times this week, killing Israeli soldiers.

“Israel is doing everything to enable” aid to enter, Major Dinar said.

On Friday, the Israeli authorities permitted at least 157,000 liters of fuel to enter southern Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing, said Mr. Anderson, the UNRWA official. Gaza’s power grid stopped functioning early in the war, leaving hospitals, bakeries, shelters and other essential facilities dependent on generators for electricity, but this week they were in growing danger of running out of fuel.

While aid deliveries rose in April and the first days of May, before the Rafah operation, aid groups said Israel was not allowing nearly enough into Gaza to stave off famine or the collapse of the health care and sanitation systems. Now that tens of thousands more civilians are fleeing Rafah to areas with little infrastructure set up to care for them and Gazan hospitals are running low on fuel , the United Nations and aid groups say the situation has become far more dire .

Julian E. Barnes , Gaya Gupta and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.

— Vivian Yee and Ronen Bergman

Here’s why Rafah and Gaza’s southern border are strategically important in the war.

Tens of thousands of people have fled the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, this week in response to an evacuation order from Israeli forces who took control of a border crossing there with Egypt and have bombarded the area as part of their campaign against Hamas.

Gaza’s eight-mile-long southern frontier with Egypt is critical to Palestinians. One reason is that it is the territory’s only land border that does not adjoin Israel. But that also makes it vital for Israeli security interests.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has repeatedly said that his government sees it as critical to seize control of a buffer strip along the southern edge of Gaza, from Israel’s border to the Mediterranean, known in Israel as the Philadelphi Corridor.

Here is a look at why Rafah has taken on outsize political significance in the war:

Why is Rafah important?

In essence, because of geography. Israel began its ground invasion of Gaza in the north in late October and, since then, has expanded its campaign southward, fighting a series of battles to dismantle the main battalions of the military wing of Hamas, the Qassam Brigades.

Military experts and Israeli officials say that the last remaining battalions are in Rafah, along with Hamas’s military leaders. In addition, Israeli officials say that most of the remaining hostages taken on Oct. 7, more than 100 people, are being held in tunnels under Rafah.

For months, Mr. Netanyahu has said his government wants to eradicate Hamas entirely, making Rafah the logical next destination in its military campaign. But Rafah, a city of around 170,000 before the war, has swollen to more than one million as Gazans driven from their homes in other parts of the enclave have taken shelter there.

Conditions there are catastrophic, with inadequate shelter, sanitation, medical care, food and fuel.

Rafah is also the base for international humanitarian work in Gaza, and it is the funnel through which most aid flows.

Hamas rocket fire from Rafah killed four Israeli soldiers on Sunday, after which Israel sent ground forces to seize the border crossing at Rafah and close it. It also closed the primary aid crossing into Israel, which has since been reopened, though the supplies passing through there are limited.

Why does the border matter to Hamas and Gaza?

At least 12 tunnels wide enough to carry trucks have been constructed under the buffer strip in recent decades, according to Ahron Bregman, a political scientist and expert in Middle East security issues at King’s College in London, who is a former Israeli military officer. The tunnels act as a conduit for commercial imports into Gaza, which are important for Gazans, given Israel’s partial blockade of the territory since 2007, and for the Egyptian and Palestinian business leaders who control the trade.

But the cross-border tunnels are also important for Hamas and have allowed it to smuggle weapons, money, building materials and personnel into Gaza over the years, Mr. Bregman said.

“This is the way they can get in and out without asking the Israelis,” Mr. Bregman said. “This is the only outlet for Hamas at the moment.” He said that unless the tunnels were blocked, Hamas could rebuild its military capacity after the war.

What is Egypt’s interest in the Rafah border?

During other regional conflicts, Egypt has opened its borders to refugees. But the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi fears that, given the chance, large numbers of Palestinian civilians would rush across the border under military pressure from Israel.

Even if they initially only intended to stay for the duration of the war, the Egyptian government is concerned that their stay could become prolonged and that they could be a destabilizing political force in Egypt and a burden on its economy. The government also sees Hamas as an enemy and opposes giving it a foothold in Egypt. Hamas began as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist movement that was strongly linked to the government Mr. el-Sisi overthrew in 2013, and that his government has suppressed.

Egypt has warned Israel to avoid doing anything that could force Gazans across the border or threaten a landmark peace agreement signed by the two countries in 1979.

Egypt has stationed border guards along the Gaza border for decades, but it reinforced that presence after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel.

— Matthew Mpoke Bigg

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