Is Good Friday a day to celebrate or to mourn?

This day from Holy Week can stir up many different emotions. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we may feel profound love from the Savior who gave His life for us, sorrow for the suffering He endured, and rejoicing in the victory He secured through His atoning sacrifice.

Each of these emotions can deepen our worship on Good Friday.

Good Friday offers a beautiful opportunity to soak in the Savior’s love. After all, it’s the event that Christ Himself defined as His greatest act of love. He taught, “Greater love hath no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

When my children were young, I felt unsure how to commemorate the sad elements of Good Friday. In fact, I found myself wanting to skip past it.

That perspective changed as I began to directly connect the Savior’s death with His love. Love is something that even young children can understand. One scripture you might share is 1 John 4:10, which contains a beautiful truth: “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (New International Version).

You can also plan simple activities to help connect the Savior’s death with His love. For example, adults may want to take time meditating on the Savior’s love shown in His sacrifice. Youth or children might create a small craft featuring both a heart and a cross, or bake cookies or bread shaped like hearts and crosses for visual reminders of the Savior’s love.

While I cherish focusing on the Savior’s love, I feel like I have not fully worshipped on Good Friday unless I also make space to reflect on what the Savior willingly suffered.

Scripture records the brutal mocking He endured, the scourging ordered by Pilate, the sharp nails driven into His hands and feet, the crown of thorns pressed upon His head, the six long hours on the cross as He struggled for breath, and finally, His death.

Around the world, many countries commemorate this day in big ways. Some communities hold public processions reenacting the Savior carrying His cross. Others designate Good Friday as a day of mourning, eliminating work and festivities. Some congregations conclude a Good Friday service at 3 p.m., the traditional hour of His death, and allow for several minutes of silence to symbolically sit and pray at the foot of the cross.

What might be appropriate in our own homes or church settings? It can be meaningful to display or discuss items that remind us of elements of the Crucifixion, such as a large nail, fine purple cloth, a cup of vinegar, a cross, a crown of thorns, or white cloth.

Similar to how we read Luke 2 at Christmas, we can also read one of the Crucifixion accounts together (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, or John 19). Reading about the Savior’s suffering can be hard and also healing. For those of us experiencing tremendous pain and heartache, we can remember that only the suffering Savior helps.

Though Good Friday events are solemn, they do not leave us without hope. The scriptures describe the following signs at the Savior’s death: three hours of darkness, an earthquake, and even graves opening. Another sign of His death was the temple veil being torn in two.

This veil, which was woven from thick, high-quality material in shades of red, blue, and purple (Exodus 26:31), was far larger than many of us may imagine. Within the temple, it separated the holy place from the Most Holy Place, where only the high priest could enter. Its being torn in two teaches a profound truth: because of Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we can all enter the presence of God.

We do not need to wonder who ultimately wins. Scripture makes it clear that through the cross, Satan is conquered. Hebrews 2:14–15 explains that through His death, Christ broke “the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil” (NIV). Another passage declares, “We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus … opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body” (Hebrews 10:19–20, NIV).

With this context, it is no surprise that Eliza R. Snow wrote of “the triumph of the cross.”¹

Jesus has won! While Good Friday is not a time for loud celebration, it is appropriate to rejoice in the reality of the Savior’s victory, both on a cosmic scale and in our personal lives. He is both the Redeemer of the world and our individual Savior. The adversary’s power in our own lives diminishes the closer we are to Jesus Christ.

We can celebrate these beautiful truths on Good Friday.

Love, sorrow, and joy are deeply felt emotions. Rather than avoiding them, we can let these feelings draw us closer to Jesus Christ.

As we intentionally make space to feel these emotions, whether on our own or with others, we can honor the sacred events of this holy day in a worshipful way.

And ultimately, we can be filled with gratitude for Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who loved us enough to suffer and die for us.

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Note
1. Eliza R. Snow, cited in “Lucy Mack Smith, History, 1845,” 334, The Joseph Smith Papers, accessed August 25, 2020.