Good Friday—Going Deeper
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, April 3, 2026 (Donate)
Today is April 3rd—Good Friday. What makes April 3rd
especially notable is that the first Good Friday, the day of Jesus Christ’s
crucifixion, is often calculated to have occurred on April 3rd in AD 33. At
that time, Jesus would have been about 37 years old. This alignment of calendar
date and event only happens a few times per century, making it a remarkable
historical consideration.
How Do We Know Jesus Was Crucified On Good Friday?
It is simpler than many realize. Scripture tells us that
Christ rose on the third day and that His resurrection occurred on the first
day of the week.
“Now on the first day of the week
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that
the stone had been taken away from the tomb” (John 20:1, NKJV).
If Sunday is the third day, then counting backward places
Saturday as the second day and Friday as the first day—thus, identifying Friday
as the day of the crucifixion.
Some object by noting that in Jewish reckoning, days begin
at sunset. While this is true, the crucifixion itself took place during
daylight hours. Jesus ate the Passover meal, instituted the Lord’s Supper,
prayed in Gethsemane, was arrested, tried through the night, and then crucified
during the day.
“Now it was about the sixth hour,
and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour” (Luke 23:44,
NKJV).
This firmly situates the crucifixion on Friday by both
Jewish and Roman reckoning.
Jesus Was Falsely Accused
Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. We all
know that. He realized his error and threw the silver back into the Temple, but
he never repented and never received forgiveness. We also know that it would have been better
for him to have not been born. He is in hell suffering God’s wrath for
eternity.
“Then one of the twelve, called
Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you willing to
give me if I deliver Him to you?’ And they counted out to him thirty pieces of
silver” (Matthew 26:14–15, NKJV).
Though Judas later returned the money in remorse, he did not
truly repent and remained condemned. Jesus Himself said,
“It would have been good for that
man if he had not been born” (Matthew 26:24, NKJV).
But Judas’ betrayal wasn’t enough to get Christ the death
penalty. That came from false accusations. False accusations were
necessary. Jesus was subjected to slander, which reflects the character of
Satan. In fact, the name of Satan in the New Testament (devil) means slanderer.
“For many bore false witness
against Him, but their testimonies did not agree” (Mark 14:56, NKJV).
Satan’s influence at Christ's betrayal is found in Judas (John 18:37). Those at the trial threw out many accusations toward Christ—we
simply don’t know what they all were. Among the accusations, one that gained
traction was the claim that Jesus intended to destroy the Temple.
“This fellow said, ‘I am able to
destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days’” (Matthew 26:61,
NKJV).
This statement was twisted from Jesus’ earlier words. “Destroy
this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19, NKJV), which
He spoke concerning His body, not the physical Temple.
But the accusation that stuck was that Jesus was going to
destroy the Temple (Matthew 26:61). This was a political charge. Christ was
mocked for this claim on the cross (Matthew 27:40).
Did you ever stop and consider who it was that heard Jesus
say this? If we look at the context, it was the money changers in the Temple (John
2:13-21).
Now the Passover of the Jews was at
hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold
oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business.
When He had made a whip of cords,
He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured
out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who
sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of
merchandise!”
Then His disciples remembered that
it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” So the Jews answered and
said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews
said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it
up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2:13-21,
NKJV)
These were the very people doing an evil and desecrating act
in the house of Christ. Jesus had every right to remove them, with their evil, greedy,
money-loving pride, from His Father’s house.
So, who made these accusations? If we interpret Scripture
with Scripture, it was surely these same money changers. The very people accusing
Christ of wanting to desecrate the Temple were the ones who were actually desecrating
the Temple!
The Nature Of Belief And The Religious Leaders
If someone asks how to be saved, we might simply repeat the
words that Paul and Silas said when they were asked:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31, NKJV).
Some might point out that the religious leaders accusing
Christ:
· Believed Jesus existed
· Believed He was crucified
· Believed He was buried
· Believed He was resurrected
But…were they saved? No. Why then?
Belief must be rightly
placed in the true Christ of Scripture. This is where the nature of who
Christ is becomes of essential importance. The Pharisees and scribes, for
examples, struggled to even ascertain if Jesus was a prophet, let alone the Son
of God who took on flesh. They would have denied that!
When Jesus claimed to be God, they wanted to kill Him. They
denied who He really was—God who took on flesh. This is important because one
has to understand who Jesus is to be saved. If they have a false understanding
of Him—i.e., a false Christ—that false Christ can’t save you.
The religious leaders believed certain historical facts
about Jesus: that He existed, was crucified, and was buried. They even had
knowledge of the resurrection and publicized an excuse for it. However, they were not saved because they
rejected who He truly is.
Jesus claimed to be God, and this became the central issue.
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” (John 8:58, NKJV)
“I and My Father are one” (John 10:30, NKJV).
In response, the Jews sought to kill Him saying, "Then they took up stones to throw at Him" (John 8:59, NKJV), and, "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him" (John 10:31, NKJV). They claimed it was, “because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (John 10:33, NKJV). Their rejection of Christ’s divine nature rendered their belief insufficient (i.e., null) for salvation.
A false understanding of Christ results in a false
gospel. If one believes in a Christ who is not truly God in the flesh, that
belief cannot save.
“For in Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9, NKJV).
Denying this truth is fatal to saving faith. So these religious leaders weren’t
saved because they had a false understanding of who He was. They often
struggled with His role as prophet and king; but the big problem was they
denied He was God who manifested and took on human flesh to become a man.
They had a false belief about who He was, this was enough to
negate their salvation. Instead, they were instruments of evil and punished for
their sins and denial of God.
“You believe that there is one God.
You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!” (James 2:19, NKJV).
But one might say, well Satan and demons know Jesus was God
in the flesh and they know He died and rose again—Are they saved? Again, no.
They are not in a position to be saved because they are not
descendants of Adam. Jesus became a man, not a demon—to save man, who is
made in God’s likeness, not demons. Satan and demons are not eligible for
salvation so their belief in the true Christ doesn’t matter.
Nevertheless, the demonic belief isn’t a saving, surrendered
belief and faith in Christ anyway. They were with God in heaven and rebelled;
they have no excuse. Satan, for example, will have no repentance and be in hell
for eternity. God who knows all things (including the future) already revealed
that to us.
The Meaning of the Cross?
Jesus’ death was not accidental or merely tragic—it
was the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Isaiah prophesied this clearly:
“But He was wounded for our
transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our
peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV).
On the cross, Christ satisfied the wrath of God against sin.
“For He made Him who knew no sin to
be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2
Corinthians 5:21, NKJV).
This is the doctrine of imputation—our
sin placed upon Christ, and His righteousness credited to us. Salvation is
found only in Him.
“Nor is there salvation in any
other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must
be saved” (Acts 4:12, NKJV).
Good Friday is therefore a reminder of the cost of our redemption. Christ suffered, bled, and died in our place. It calls
us to reflect on His sacrifice, understand who He truly is, and place our faith
wholly in Him.
Jesus’ death fully satisfied God’s wrath (Isaiah 53). This
what makes grace and mercy possible. It is through the imputation of our sin to
Christ and His perfect righteousness to us. Thus, we are saved only through the
name of Jesus Christ (the true Christ of Scripture). When we believe and put our faith in the Jesus of the Bible. We are saved.
Good Friday should be a remind of these things where
Christ suffered on our behalf.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing
evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as
a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers
News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science
was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one
year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and
scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over
25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
