What did Jesus do on Good Friday?
Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday.
For six hours, Jesus was tortured on the cross. Darkness fell over the entire area during his final three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 p.m.
“My God, my God, why have you left me?” Jesus said from the cross, quoting the messianic Psalm 22.
Judas, Jesus’ close friend and fellow disciple, led the soldiers that arrested Jesus in Gethsemane, according to Gospel traditions.
In exchange for betraying Jesus, Judas received 30 silver pieces and instructed the guards to arrest everyone he kissed.
As soon as Jesus was arrested, he was carried to the home of Caiaphas’ father-in-law Annas.
He was taken to Caiaphas the high priest, where the Sanhedrin had convened, and handed over after a fruitless interrogation.
Many people testified against Jesus, and he said nothing in response to their claims of inconclusive evidence.
“I adjure you, by the Living God, to tell us if you are the Anointed One and Son of God,” the high priest pleaded with Jesus.
Uncertainty reigned in Jesus’ testimony when he stated: “You have said it, and in time you will see Jesus Christ seated at God’s right hand, coming on the clouds of Heaven.”
Jesus was sentenced to death by the high priest and the Sanhedrin for blasphemy. While the interrogations were taking place exactly as Jesus had predicted, Peter was waiting in the courtyard and denied Jesus three times to onlookers.
At dawn, the crowds dragged Jesus before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, accusing him of plotting to overthrow Caesar, refusing to pay taxes, and proclaiming himself king.
The Jewish leaders objected to Pilate’s permission for them to carry out the execution of Jesus’ death sentence, arguing that the Romans had forbidden them from doing so.
When Jesus was questioned by Pilate, he said there were no grounds for a sentence. Pilate referred the case to King Herod of Galilee, who was in Jerusalem for the Passover Feast, after learning that Jesus was from Galilee.
Herod interrogated Jesus but had no response, so he returned him to Pilate. After announcing to the crowd that neither he nor Herod had judged Jesus guilty, Pilate decided to have Jesus beaten and then released from prison.
The throng, led by the senior priests, demanded the release of Barabbas, an insurrectionist accused of murder.
When Pilate inquired about Jesus’ fate, they said, “Crucify him.” Forewarning Pilate of the “righteous man,” Pilate’s wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day.
After flogging Jesus, Pilate released him in front of the throng. Pilate was notified by the chief priests of a new charge against Jesus: “since he claimed to be God’s son,” they said.
Pilate was terrified by this idea, so he dragged Jesus back into the palace and demanded to know where he had come from.
