By Suzanne Newman (verse copyright 2019, but I own no rights to the picture)

WHY IS GOOD FRIDAY GOOD?

Why is it called “Good Friday?”
When they hung a man to die,
Suspended from a wooden cross,
And watched his mother cry.

Why is it called “Good Friday?”
When they saw at Calvary,
The twists of pain contort his face,
As he hung in agony.

Why is it called “Good Friday?”
When he shouted: “It is finished!”
His body drooped, his flesh was marred,
And his presence seemed diminished.They wrapped him in a linen sheet,
And took him to a tomb,
Is this the same Messiah
Who came out of Mary’s womb?

This Friday has no “good” in it,
All I see is pain and death!
Most people seemed to be relieved,
When he sighed his final breath!

This is NOT the Easter message,
If that’s all you see you’re blind,
To the truth and why it was he came –
As Saviour to Mankind.

His cries were not just physical,
For he had a greater loss –
His Holy Father turned away,
From sin upon that cross.

And there’s no worse pain in the world,
Than knowing God’s rejection,
But Jesus didn’t stay this way
For he was, and is, perfection.

‘though Jesus Christ was born in flesh,
He was always God whilst man,
And part of the Holy Trinity,
Since before the earth began.

Because of this he lived a life,
That was Holy, without sin,
To be the pure and spotless lamb,
So we can be let in,

To Heaven, when we breathe our last,
For Jesus paid the price,
He conquered sin upon the cross,
As the worthy sacrifice.

And that is why “Good Friday”
Is so-called, for it IS good –
Because Christ took our blame away,
God can’t punish, as he should.

For we’re ALL unfit for Heaven,
We are sinners, selfish, weak,
Unclean for God’s great kingdom,
Due to things we do and speak.

We cannot buy or earn our place,
For its Heaven and thus pure,
We can’t undo our sinful acts,
So what then is the cure?

Jesus is the way, He is the truth,
And he’s the life,
But in your heart you must believe,
What he said and did is right.

So, yes, be upset on Good Friday,
As you picture our Christ hanging there,
Pierced and bloody, upon the cross,
Crown of thorns rammed into his hair.

But do not forget to be filled with great joy –
For it also means death of all sin!
And although Jesus Christ as a man really died,
This was not the true end of him.

For when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb
In the morning upon the third day,
She found no body lying in there,
And the mighty gravestone rolled away!

For he had risen, just as he said,
To prove that he IS the Messiah!
Even death itself cannot hold him down,
And nobody else can rank higher!

So we celebrate at Easter-time,
That Jesus Christ is Lord!
Through him we are given salvation,
True to God’s promise and his word.

He ascended after forty days,
Back to his home in Glory,
And told all the disciples,
To go forth and tell his story.

In time, he sent The Spirit down,
To help them accomplish his will,
And to this day, to who believes,
He gifts his Spirit still.

Short bio...."my name is Suzanne Newman and I live in The Midlands in England. I have always liked reading poetry, but only started writing it earnestly in 2018, when The Lord put it upon my heart. I find it cathartic and like to use poetry to share my struggles with the hope of encouraging others in a similar position. I suffer from clinical depression & anxiety & had cancer in 2015/16 & still battle with the effects of that treatment to this day."