By: Kurt Barnes

I have always excelled as a history student. Although I was not generally a great student growing up, in fact, my ADD-fueled habits earned me the nickname “the happy wonderer” from my teachers. I struggled to focus on many subjects in school, but history was always different. My daydreaming and hyperfocus became a superpower, transporting me to various places and periods. I would dive deep down rabbit holes, learning everything possible to understand better the people and places we were studying.

For me history isn’t just a dusty old book; it’s the story we’re all living in. It’s woven from people, places, big decisions, and game-changing events. And let’s be honest, the headlines usually go to the big stuff: the terrible wars, the incredible discoveries, the moments that shifted culture, and sadly, the awful disasters.

We all know dates that stop you in your tracks: December 7th. September 11th. Years that echo: 1929, 1941, 1969, 1989, 2020. Names that defined eras: Roosevelt, Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. Places that mean more than just a spot on the map: Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, Ground Zero. Events that marked us: the Moon landing, Katrina, the pandemic. History makes us, and it marks us. Digging into it helps us understand who we are and how we got here.

The Strangest “Good” Day in History
But amidst all those historical markers, there’s one weekend that stands apart. One specific Friday afternoon, about 2000 years ago, that changed the eternal trajectory of humanity. And it carries the strangest name you could imagine: Good Friday.

Think about that. We call a day “Good” when Christians gather specifically to remember the most brutal, unjust, and significant execution in the history of the world – the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Now, we don’t gloss over the horror of it. Calling it “Good” doesn’t mean ignoring the agony. We remember the details because they matter: punched, whipped raw, thorns pressed into his skull, beard ripped out, nails hammered through his hands and feet, lifted onto a cross, speared in the side until blood and water flowed out. It was horrific.

So why on earth do we call it Good Friday? Why do we even sing about this blood? Because of who it was, and why He was there. This wasn’t just any man. This was the Lamb of God. The blood that stained that ground wasn’t just human blood; it was the lifeblood of God Himself, willingly poured out. This wasn’t Plan B. This day was circled on God’s calendar before He even spoke the stars into existence. Remember what John the Baptist yelled when he first saw Jesus? “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). He knew.

God’s Emancipation Proclamation
Think about a pivotal moment in American history: the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln’s declaration on September 22, 1862, aimed to abolish slavery. It was a monumental step towards freedom, purchased at the staggering cost of the Civil War. It changed millions of lives.
But what happened on Good Friday? That was God’s Emancipation Proclamation for all of humanity, for all time. See, Lincoln freed people from physical chains in one country. Jesus came to free everyone from the spiritual chains of sin and death that have entangled us since Adam. No amount of human effort, no other sacrifice, could break those chains because we’re all caught in the same condition.

God announced His plan centuries earlier through the prophet Isaiah. Listen to this, from Isaiah 53: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering… he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed… the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:4-6). Do you see it? He took our place. He paid our debt. That’s the substitutionary atonement. That’s the heart of the Gospel.

That’s why Good Friday is Good. It’s the day Jesus paid the ransom we could never afford. It’s the day our freedom from sin and death was bought – not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. Our pardon papers were signed and sealed in his blood. Our staggering debt was nailed to the cross with him and canceled forever. When Jesus died, the massive curtain in the Temple ripped in two, from top to bottom. That wasn’t random! That was God shouting, “Access granted! The way back to Me is open for everyone, through my Son!”

The Resurrection: History Split in Two
But the story doesn’t end at the cross. Thank God! What ended in the darkness of death on Friday exploded into the light of eternal life three days later on Resurrection Sunday. Jesus didn’t stay dead. He rose again!
And how significant was the resurrection? It literally split history in half. Think about how we date everything. BC and AD. BC counts down Before Christ. AD counts up Anno Domini – “In the Year of Our Lord.” Even if people use BCE and CE now, the pivot point is still Jesus! Every single date on your calendar, your birth certificate, your mortgage statement – April 10th, 2025, AD, right now – points back to the life of this one man. From America to Zambia, from Qatar to California, time itself testifies to Jesus.

Two thousand plus years of days, weeks, months, decades, centuries, millennia – all of it pivoting around the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the God-man, God’s Son, the only Savior of the world. John 3:16 nails it, doesn’t it? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Your Story: BC and AD
And guess what? Your life story has those same letters: BC and AD. Not just Before Christ historically, but Before Christ was Lord of your life. And AD? That’s After you surrendered to Him, After Deliverance, right up to this moment.

Friends, He forgave you to free you. He saved you and invited you to live a brand new life in His kingdom. He redeemed you so you could spend life with Him forever.

Resurrection Sunday isn’t just about remembering an old event. It’s the greatest day because it marks the moment God made it possible for you and me, right now, to have new life. Not just patching up the old life, not just turning over a new leaf. Dead people don’t need a new lease; they need new life. Resurrection life! And that’s exactly what Jesus offers.