Good Friday confronts you with brutality that’s difficult to process. The day commemorates the torture and execution of an innocent man, the Son of God, dying in agony on a Roman cross. There’s nothing immediately “good” about whipping, mocking, crucifixion, and death. You’re supposed to reflect on this violence, to understand that Jesus suffered for your sins, but honestly, the gore feels overwhelming, and the theological concept of substitutionary atonement seems abstract when you’re looking at the horrific reality of what crucifixion actually involved.
What makes Good Friday challenging is holding in tension the horror of what happened with the hope of what it accomplished. You can’t skip the cross to get to the resurrection. The Friday has to be endured before Sunday comes. Meanwhile, you’re navigating how to observe a day about death and suffering in a culture that avoids both topics completely. You want to honor what Jesus did without getting lost in either morbid fixation on His suffering or superficial prettification that ignores the cost.
These verses ground Good Friday in what actually happened, why it was necessary, and what Jesus’s death accomplished for humanity trapped in sin.
Bible Verses For Good Friday
1. Isaiah 53:5 – But He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions
But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
English Standard Version (ESV)
2. John 19:30 – It Is Finished
So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
New King James Version (NKJV)
3. 1 Peter 2:24 – He Himself Bore Our Sins
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
New Living Translation (NLT)
4. Romans 5:8 – But God Shows His Love
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
English Standard Version (ESV)
5. Matthew 27:46 – About the Ninth Hour
And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
New King James Version (NKJV)
6. Colossians 2:13-14 – He Forgave All Our Sins
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
New Living Translation (NLT)
7. Hebrews 9:22 – Without the Shedding of Blood
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
8. Luke 23:34 – Then Jesus Said
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.
New King James Version (NKJV)
9. Isaiah 53:3 – He Was Despised and Rejected
He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
New Living Translation (NLT)
10. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 – For I Delivered to You
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.
English Standard Version (ESV)
11. Mark 15:37-38 – And Jesus Cried Out
And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
New King James Version (NKJV)
12. Galatians 3:13 – Christ Redeemed Us from the Curse
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
New Living Translation (NLT)
13. John 3:16 – For God So Loved the World
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
English Standard Version (ESV)
14. Isaiah 53:10 – Yet It Was the Lord’s Will
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
New King James Version (NKJV)
15. 2 Corinthians 5:21 – God Made Him Who Had No Sin
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
New Living Translation (NLT)
16. Matthew 27:50-51 – And Jesus Cried Out Again
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
English Standard Version (ESV)
17. Luke 23:46 – And When Jesus Had Cried Out
And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.'” Having said this, He breathed His last.
New King James Version (NKJV)
18. Philippians 2:8 – He Humbled Himself
He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
New Living Translation (NLT)
19. Hebrews 12:2 – Looking to Jesus, the Founder
Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
English Standard Version (ESV)
20. John 19:17-18 – And He, Bearing His Cross
And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center.
New King James Version (NKJV)
21. 1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ Also Suffered
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.
New Living Translation (NLT)
22. Isaiah 53:6 – All We Like Sheep
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
English Standard Version (ESV)
23. Matthew 27:54 – So When the Centurion
So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
New King James Version (NKJV)
24. Romans 6:23 – For the Wages of Sin
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
New Living Translation (NLT)
25. John 19:28-29 – After This, Jesus, Knowing That All Was Now Finished
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
English Standard Version (ESV)
26. Luke 23:43 – And Jesus Said to Him
And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
New King James Version (NKJV)
27. Hebrews 10:10 – And By That Will
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.
New Living Translation (NLT)
28. Mark 15:39 – And When the Centurion
And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
English Standard Version (ESV)
29. John 19:26-27 – When Jesus Saw His Mother
When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.
New King James Version (NKJV)
30. 1 John 4:10 – This Is Real Love
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
New Living Translation (NLT)
31. Isaiah 53:7 – He Was Oppressed
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
English Standard Version (ESV)
32. Luke 23:33 – And When They Had Come
And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
New King James Version (NKJV)
33. Ephesians 2:13 – But Now in Christ Jesus
But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
New Living Translation (NLT)
34. 1 Corinthians 1:18 – For the Message of the Cross
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
English Standard Version (ESV)
35. John 19:34 – But One of the Soldiers
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
New King James Version (NKJV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Good Friday
Good Friday is called “good” not because the events were pleasant but because of what they accomplished. Jesus’s death on the cross paid the penalty for human sin, satisfied God’s justice, and opened the way for reconciliation between the holy God and sinful humanity. The horror of crucifixion demonstrates both the severity of sin and the extent of God’s love. He didn’t send someone else to fix the problem but came Himself, took on human nature, and experienced the full weight of divine wrath against sin in our place.
What’s staggering about Good Friday is the deliberate choice involved. Jesus could have called legions of angels to rescue Him. He could have come down from the cross as the mockers suggested. But He endured because of what was set before Him: the joy of bringing many sons to glory, of reconciling rebels to their Creator, of defeating death and sin forever. “It is finished” wasn’t a cry of defeat but of victory. The work of redemption was complete. The price was paid in full.
The torn temple curtain is significant. Access to God’s presence was no longer restricted to one high priest once a year. The barrier between God and humanity was removed through Christ’s sacrifice, opening the way for all who believe.
Say This Prayer
Father, Good Friday confronts me with the cost of my redemption. Thank You that Jesus willingly endured the cross, despising the shame, to pay the penalty for my sin. Thank You that while I was still a sinner, while I was Your enemy, Christ died for me. I can’t fully comprehend that kind of love, but I’m grateful for it beyond words.
Help me to never take the cross for granted, to never treat casually what cost You everything. When I’m tempted to minimize my sin or to think I’m good enough on my own, bring me back to the cross and remind me what it took to secure my forgiveness. Let the reality of Christ’s suffering for me produce deep gratitude, genuine repentance, and transformed living.
Thank You that “It is finished” means the work of salvation is complete, that I don’t have to add anything to what Christ accomplished. Thank You that by His wounds I am healed, that He bore my sins in His body on the tree, and that the barrier between You and me has been removed forever. Help me to live in light of Good Friday every day, not just once a year.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.