I once had a Jewish friend, who couldn’t understand why Christians called Good Friday, “Good.” This was the day that Christians remember Jesus’ death. What is so good about that?
Once, in regards to this same friend, during the time of the Jewish High Holidays I wished him a “Happy Yom Kippur.” He quickly corrected me and told me that Yom Kippur was not a “Happy Day.” In fact, Yom Kippur was a somber day involving one’s reflection upon their sins and their repentance before God. Part of my misunderstanding of Yom Kippur was probably my mentally connecting it to Good Friday and the Passion Week. Good Friday is the day, when we as Christians remember and celebrate Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.
Of course, there is no literal connection between Yom Kippur and Easter. Yom Kippur takes place in the Fall, whereas the Passion Week comes in the Spring. The only Jewish holiday that has a true connection to the Passion Week is Passover. Nevertheless, I can’t help but think that there is a connection between Yom Kippur and Good Friday.
As Christians, before we can celebrate Good Friday and Easter, we need to commemorate Yom Kippur. Why? Good Friday can truly be “Good” to us, only when we recognize both the power of sin in our lives and the hopelessness of our sin. We should understand in our repentance, the consequences of our sin and understand the hurt that we have caused to our God, to other people and to ourselves. All of this should be done with a sober understanding of who we are before God.
In the end, what makes Good Friday, truly “Good” is that Jesus died for those very same sins that we acknowledged during Yom Kippur. Good Friday and Easter celebrate our victory over sin through Jesus Christ our Savior. The celebration of the resurrection is made all the more sweet and good, because we could understand the pain and hurt caused by our sin and know that Jesus took care of our sin once and for all.
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