As I write this, the shops are full of bunnies, eggs and chocolate – it’s Easter time! Delicious or cute as those things may be, they’ve actually got little to do with what Easter is really about. In the Bible, Good Friday and Easter are the climax of a rescue mission: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But if this is about remembering someone’s death… How can this Friday possibly be ‘Good’?! And what does Easter have to do with that?

If you want to understand Good Friday, you must understand why Jesus lived in the first place. That takes us back to Christmas: the birth of Jesus. His name means “God saves,” because he came to “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1 verse 21). Jesus is the Son of God, God himself with us. He came into this world on a rescue mission. And those in need of rescue are you and I…

But why would I need rescuing, you might ask? Well, according to the Bible, God created us to live for Him and with Him. This would be the best, happiest life possible. But we choose to live for ourselves and other created things. We live as if God isn’t there or doesn’t matter. Living that way towards a close family member is something we recognise as wrong; how much more so when we live like that towards our Creator? Isn’t this rude, bad? The consequence is that we stand guilty before God. We need rescue. That’s the bad news…

Yet Good Friday is called ‘good’ because there’s also really good news! God loves us (John 3 verse 16), so he decided to come to this world himself on a rescue mission. Jesus lived the life we should’ve lived, and Jesus – though innocent himself – took the punishment our sin deserves: death. He died on the cross as a substitute; so that all who believe and follow Him don’t have to bear that punishment themselves. What good news! Because Jesus didn’t stay dead. His payment was so complete that even death could hold him no longer: Jesus rose again from the dead! That’s what Christians remember every Easter, and actually every Sunday! Jesus rose from death. He lives. He proved that the way back to God is open. Now he calls us to follow Him and find eternal life. If you want to know more about this, why not read the story for yourself (the Bible contains four eye-witness accounts: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John)? And why not visit a church where such good news is explained? Then Good Friday might truly become good for you too!

This column first appeared in the Newark Advertiser in April 2025, and was written by Klaas-Jan Gunnink.