A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Home for the Holidays Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday and Great Friday. It is the day Christians worldwide observe for the Crucifixion of Jesus.

After His arrest on Thursday night in the Garden of Gethsemene by the Temple Guards, He was taken to the house of Annas, father-in-law of the high priest Caiaphus. He was interrogated fruitlessly, then tied up and sent bound to Caiaphus where the Sanhedrin (legal body) had assembled. Ultimately, the high priest condemns Jesus to death for the crime of blasphemy. However, because the Romans were in rule of the country, the Jews were not allowed to carry out capital punishment.

On Friday morning, the entire council brings Jesus to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.... under three charges. 1) opposing taxes to Caesar 2) subverting the nation 3) declaring Himself a king.

Pontius saw no crime in Jesus but feared a riot in Jerusalem if he released Jesus. Pontius had also been warned by his wife who'd had a dream not to have anything to do with Jesus's trial. Finally, Pilate turned Jesus over to be crucified after asking the mob which prisoner did they want released in honor of the Passover? And the mob screamed for Barabas to be released, a man convicted of murder. Interestingly, Pilate washed his hands before the mob to demonstrate that he had no part in condeming Jesus to death.

After Jesus had been beaten and whipped, he was stripped and forced to carry his own cross along the road now known as the Via Dolorosa (The Way of Suffering). When he fell, unable to continue the climb, Simon of Cyrene is ordered to help Him carry it up to the mount. There, at 9 AM, at a place known as Golgotha (Hebrew) or Calvary (Latin) meaning "The Skull", He was crucified with other men sentenced to death on that day.

From noon til 3 PM, His last hours of suffering, the sky went dark.

It must have been a terrifyingly horrific scene... the sounds of the dying men groaning in the darkness, the sounds of the mocking & jeering crowd, the sounds of the soldiers gambling for Jesus's robe, and the sound of the Lord speaking His last words, the sounds of His mother and His disciple John weeping...

Anxious that the deaths be completed before sundown and the start of the Sabbath, the dying men's legs were broken to speed up the death process. When the guards came to the Lord, He was already dead. A guard pierced His side. There was an earthquake and the curtain (drape) of the Temple was torn in two.

Joseph of Aramathea had been a follower of Jesus. As a wealthy man, he approached Pontius Pilate and asked if he might take Jesus's body for burial? And had Him removed from the cross, wrapped in linen, and taken to a new grave he had recently had dug out of a cave for himself. Nicodemus, a member of the Sanhedrin but also a secret follower of Jesus who had not agreed with His death sentence, brought 75 pounds of spices to the grave to assist with the proper burial rites used by the Jews in those days.

Many Christians around the world gather for church services held at noon on Good Friday. It is usually a solemn assembly, with the church stripped of decoration and the ministers/priests in plain dark garb. In the liturgical churches, it is the only day of the year when the Eucharist is not celebrated although communion is given using previously blessed bread (The Host) & wine. Following this simple service, usually consisting of readings and homilies (short sermons), many churches remain open until 3 PM to allow the faithful to remain in prayer and reflection throughout the hours Jesus was on the cross.

In some countries, Good Friday is observed with elaborate street processions carrying lifesize statues & crosses or tableaux depicting the crucifixion which are adored by the faithful. In several countries, Good Friday is a legal holiday and in some areas alcohol and entertainments may be sold.

For many, it is also a day of fasting.

Merme

Gee Stevie you hit the nail on the head with that last sentence.

I'll bet that is a fun service and a large one. Tent services are always fun.