The Second Most Important Holiday · 3 April 2026
The second most important holiday is not celebrated by everybody. But it is still the second most important holiday.
Good Friday is a uniquely Christian holiday. And it is a somber, solemn holiday. No treats. No gifts. No fancy clothes. Sackcloth and ashes is more like it. But it is an important holiday because it is a gift of freedom for all who accept it.
So what exactly does Good Friday commemorate? I am glad you asked.
Good Friday commemorates the death of Jesus. That is right. It commemorates the death of the only person who ever lived a perfect life. He is the lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world. Pretty heavy stuff right there. After all, how can one person be sacrificed for every wrong of every person who ever lived or ever will live? He cannot. Not unless He ie is God.
Now, I am not going to delve into the theology of the Trinity or anything like that here. That is a much deeper topic, but suffice it to say that God is one God, but also three unique persons. Like the old hymn says, “God in three persons, blessed Trinity.” Which is why God accepts the sacrifice of Jesus, because Jesus is God and therefore perfect and therefore worthy to be sacrificed for all the sins (wrongdoings) of everybody everywhere everywhen. (Yes, I think I made up a word. Maybe.)
Which is why Good Friday is the second most important holiday. Jesus died on the cross on Friday to pay the debt that we could never pay. His blood was shed as a sacrifice for each one of us. And because He was a lamb without blemish, God the Father accepted the sacrifice for all sin for all time and space. All we need to do is accept this free gift of forgiveness and follow Jesus. (Which is another story.)
Now, I am going to tell you something that I have never heard in a sermon but that is one of the most important things about Good Friday that I have ever thought about. (But I am surely not the first person to think about it.) Jesus is the only person who has ever lived who has been forsaken by God. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit left God the Son, Jesus, alone on the cross. And having been in perfect communion with each other for all eternity, the three hours must have been more anguish than anything we could ever know. More anguish than the pain of being on the cross and bearing all of our sins. I cannot imagine what it would be like to be completely abandoned by God. Even for a moment.
I would be remiss if I did not recall a story of a Good Friday service oh so long ago. I was sitting near the back of the church and the story of Good Friday was being told. The story of that day in history when they crucified my Lord. The thing is, we were supposed to say the words that the crowd said. We said, “Crucify Him!” I think we were supposed to yell, but I do not think I was able. I said the words and they cut me to the core. I realized that even though I was not there at the time, my sins, my wrongdoings, my impure thoughts, my stray words, my anger, my hatred, my unthoughtful deeds were the reason Jesus was sent to the cross.
And so the death of Jesus is commemorated each year on Good Friday. Not because we want to glorify death or suffering, but because we recognize how God sacrificed His Son so we could be reconciled to Him. It is a somber occasion.
Each year, people walk out of Good Friday services all over the world. And most of them are probably silent. They are silent thinking about how their own sins nailed their Lord and Savior to the cross. They are silent knowing that they were with the crowd yelling to crucify Jesus. They are silent, but they have hope in their hearts. They have hope because they know that Easter is coming.
Good Friday is certainly the second most important holiday in the world. It could even be argued that it is the most important, except that we leave the day solemn and somber. We leave downcast and hopeless. At least we would if we did not remember that good news is coming. Easter is on the way! Which makes Good Friday a horrible, terrible, wonderful day to remember.
© 2026 Michael T. Miyoshi
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