Why did Jesus need to die and why is it called GOOD Friday?

Almost every Good Friday, we hear people ask, why is it called 'Good Friday' when Jesus died such a horrible death? Why did he have to die, couldn't God find another way? What is the significance of his death? If we had to answer it in one sentence, we would say 'he died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.' But to a non believer and also to many Christians, this might not explain enough. We need to travel back in time to truly understand the significance of the cross.

The problem of sin and the origins of sacrifice

When sin enters man's heart, he struggles to maintain his relationship with God. Just like Adam hid himself in the garden of Eden after he disobeyed God, man is unable to face a Holy and pure God in a sinful state. This separation from God is unbearable for man.

Our ancestors who were mainly sheepherders or farmers, used sacrifice as a way to tell God how sorry they were. They sacrificed to God their livestock or their grains which were their most precious possession, as an expression of love, gratitude and contrition. It was not God who needed sacrifice but man who needed it to maintain a relationship with God. In ancient Judaism there was a ritual held on a day called the Day of Atonement, where the high priest would lay his hands on the head of a goat and confess the sins of the entire community upon the goat and then send it into the wilderness where it would die, taking with it the sins of the community (Leviticus 16). The lamb had to die so that the community didn't have to pay the price of their sins which was death. A spiritual death caused by a separation from the Author of Life which is God. 

The lamb who takes away sins

As sin increased more and more blood of lambs and bulls were shed, yet man knew deep within that his guilt was not washed away. How could an animal take away the guilt of heinous crimes done by man? Just when things seemed hopeless, the prophet in the book of Isaiah, written 700 years before the birth of Christ, tells of someone who would come and take upon himself, the sins of all the people, he would be rejected and tortured yet would be completely innocent of any guilt. Like a lamb he would remain silent and be willingly sacrificed so that others wouldn't suffer the consequences of their guilt. This would be no ordinary individual, he would be sent by God and would return to God and be glorified for his great and extraordinary sacrifice. 

One of the most striking verses from chapter 53 of Isaiah for me personally is "When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the Lord shall prosper." Meaning that, if you offer this man's life as an offering for your own sins, he who died without offspring will continue to live through you as you shall become his offspring, his holy children. 

Jesus the lamb of God was sacrificed not simply crucified

Ever since the prophesy, the Jews waited for their Savior, their scriptures told them the time and place when their Messiah would come and so he did. A little baby, named Jesus, grew up and became a healer, wonder worker, teacher and also a scorn to those who were hungry for power and authority. If you look only at his death, you will call it a Roman execution or a revengeful act by the Jewish leaders but you wouldn't call it a sacrifice. However, we call it a sacrifice because of what happened the day before he died. At the last supper, he told his disciples exactly what he was going to do, he was going to make a "new covenant". While we may not understand this term, the Jews understood it clearly.

A covenant is a family bond, unlike a contract this bond cannot be broken and is usually sealed in blood. The Jews knew all about it as the "old covenant" was made between the people and God by Moses, sprinkling the blood of sacrificed animals on the altar of God and on the people of Israel (Exodus 24). Now Jesus, becoming the sacrificial lamb was going to make a "new covenant" in his own blood.  He offered to his disciples his body and blood in the form of bread and wine at the last supper, saying "Take, eat; this is my body.", "drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." That is when the sacrifice started and it ended on the cross. 

Know then that Jesus has shed blood willingly for your sake, so that neither sin or death has the power to separate you from God, he has already paid the price for your sin. Yet, one thing remains, like in any sacrifice, it remains incomplete, until you eat the lamb that is sacrificed. Which is why we as Catholics continue to take part in the sacrifice during the mass and receive his Body in the form of Holy Communion in the manner commanded by Jesus to his apostles at the Last Supper. 

Good Friday, indeed is good! Where sin was the problem, the cross became the answer and it will forever be the answer to any of the worlds problems whether suffering, death, loneliness or fear. The cross which was seen as a curse, became the most powerful symbol of love. What our human minds fail to understand, God in his infinite Wisdom designed the Perfect, once and for all sacrifice for sin and filled us with the hope that like Jesus we too will rise again and live with him forever.