Daily Devotional Friday | April 3, 2026

Happy Friday! It’s time for your daily devotion. It’s Holy Week’s most impactful and solemn day. An interesting detail is that this year, historians widely cite April 3 as the exact date Jesus died. A notable point of disagreement, though, is calling the day good since it brought so much pain. In today’s daily devotion, is Good Friday good or bad?

Why Call it Good Friday

In Germany, the day is known as “Karfreitag” or “Sorrowful Friday,” and in other Christian societies, it’s called Black Friday, Great Friday, Holy Friday, or Great and Holy Friday. The English word “Good” is believed to have developed from “God’s Friday.” If so, the name Good Friday is still appropriate because, as terrible as the agony, pain, and death of Jesus’ crucifixion was, it marked the completion of God’s plan to save His people from sin.

So believers call the day Good Friday, not because Jesus suffered, which brings sorrow to imagine, but because it brought salvation to the world. In your daily devotion, realize that His death made possible the good news of the gospel. 

Good Friday Brings Joy

Though the events of Good Friday include images of agonizing pain, lashings, and a bloody cross, the day had to happen before we could receive the joy of Easter, or Resurrection Sunday.  Hebrews 9:22 declares that “without the shedding of blood is no remission of sin.” God established the sacrificial system of the blood of animals covering sin, which pointed to Christ as the ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 10:11 proclaims that the priests offered sacrifices continually, but they could never take away sin.

However, Jesus offered His blood once, and it was accepted as the propitiation of your sins. In other words, it satisfied God’s wrath and reconciled you to Him. Hebrews 12:2 states that Jesus “For the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” In this daily devotion, Jesus suffered so you could be free; that freedom should bring you much joy. 

Commemorating Good Friday

In Mark 15, Jesus is bound and turned over to Pilate by the Jewish council, and after questioning Him, Pilate tries to release Him. But the crowd’s cries of, “Crucify him,” influence Pilate to appease them. After the Roman soldiers beat, mock, and spit on Him, they led Jesus to the cross. Because of His distress, they compel a man named Simon to carry His cross. They led Him to Golgotha, offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, and parted His garments. Then they crucified Him at the third hour.

The accusation written above Him is, “The King Of The Jews.” Crucified between two thieves, He is mocked and reviled. Verse 33 says darkness covers the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. In verse 34, Jesus cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Thinking that He’s calling Elijah, someone gives Him vinegar to drink. Verse 37 says, “And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.” In today’s daily devotion, think about all Jesus suffered, and remember it was all for you.

Pain Turns to Triumph

In Friday’s daily devotion, there is nothing good about what happened to Jesus and the events surrounding the crucifixion, but the good that comes to you as a result of His sacrifice is more than you could have ever gained without it. Forgiveness, peace with God, salvation, eternal life, victory over sin, God’s mercy, and His grace are now yours. In today’s daily devotion, without a doubt, Good Friday is definitely good.