What is so good about Friday?

Greetings,

     Today is Good Friday.  It is the day when Christians around the world recognize the crucifixion of Christ.  It is also referred to by other names such as Black Friday, Holy Friday, and Easter Friday. It is a day of solemnity and introspection.  It is a day when we try to, once again, come to grips with the fact that Jesus Christ endured the sufferings of the cross for our sins.  In fact, it was our sins that placed Him on that cross.
So, with all of the sadness, pain, and suffering that is marked by this day one has to ask oneself..."What is so "Good" about this Friday?
     As a pastor I would tell you that the "goodness" of the day is marked by the realization that in just two days time Christ will arise triumphant from the grave and claim victory over death and hell, and it's true!  But that is an explanation that you will hear over and over again at Good Friday services worldwide.  What I want to do in the next few lines is to tell you what I believe is a better reason that the "Good" is in Friday.
     The problem that we have, as Christians, in reconciling Good Friday is that we use the word "Good" in the wrong context.  Now, I will be the first one to tell you that my grammatical skills fall far below the standards of today's public education.  I have always had problems with grammar.  I never know when it is "lie" or "lay", "affect" or "effect", or "who" or "whom".  I dangle my participles and I use way to many commas! (and exclamation points)  So with permission from Mrs. Ross, my 9th grade grammar teacher, I would like to wreck the written word in order to make my point.
     Most people use the word "Good" in Good Friday as an adjective.  By doing this they are using good to describe the word Friday.  Therefore we struggle in our tiny little brains to comprehend the goodness of this particular Friday and we come up unsatisfied, or is dissatisfied?  Anyway, I want to change your thinking of Good Friday.  I want you to change the word good from an adjective to a noun.
     The dictionary defines "good" as "morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous".  Now, that is a little bit more than we think of when we use the word good but there it is, right there in the old on-line dictionary. Don't believe me? Google it and you will see that I am right. You see, to me, the word "Good" in Good Friday isn't an adjective describing Friday it's a noun describing Jesus.
     The purpose of the crucifixion was atonement for sin.  In simple terms that means Jesus paid  a debt for us that we couldn't pay, He got the check, He paid the tab!  But He couldn't pay that debt unless He was morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous.  I guess you could say unless He was good!
     In other words, Good Friday isn't just a day when we recognize the sacrificial act of our Savior it is also the day when we recognize the attributes that enabled Him to be that Savior.  Jesus was good!  Not only was He good He was great!  Recognizing the righteousness of Jesus gives us hope on Good Friday.  Knowing that, because He was good, He had the authority to go and kick Satan's rear end over the weekend gives us an assurance that we share in that victory over death.
     So today don't just celebrate a Friday that is good, celebrate a Friday that demonstrated a Savior that was  morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous.  Celebrate today with the hope that in the midst of darkness there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is the Light of the World....and that, my brothers and sisters is good!

Until next time,

Derek