On Good Friday, Chuck Todd, the political director and host of “Meet the Press” at NBC News, tweeted, “I’m a bit hokey when it comes to ‘Good Friday.’ I don’t mean disrespect to the religious aspect of the day, but I love the idea of reminding folks that any day can become ‘good,’ all it takes is a little selflessness on our own part. Works EVERY time.”
What Todd fundamentally misunderstands is Good Friday is a commemoration of an event which involved more than “a little selflessness.” According to the Apostles’ Creed (a widely used statement of Christian belief), on the first Good Friday, Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried” and “descended into Hell.”
In doing so, 1 Peter 3:18 (ESV) tells readers Christ “suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
In other words, Christians believe Jesus “took away the sins of the world” through his death on the cross, John 1:29. From a Christian perspective, this atonement should matter to everyone because “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. Since “the wages of sin is death,” Christ’s crucifixion ensures that we shall “be saved by him from the wrath of God,” Romans 5:9.
Yet the work of Good Friday is not complete without Easter. Without Easter, “(Christians’) faith is futile” and they “are of all people most to be pitied,” 1 Corinthians 15:17, 19.
Vanessa Romo with NPR misstated in a recent article Easter is “the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere at all, but rather arose into heaven.” Now ascension into heaven is pretty impressive, but it is hardly exclusive to Jesus (who, according to the book of Acts, ascended 40 days after Easter). Both Enoch and Elijah in the Old Testament went straight to paradise. The key difference is neither of them died first.
Easter is the day celebrating how Jesus on the third day after his execution, was resurrected and came back to life. In doing so, “death no longer has dominion over (Christ),” Romans 6:9. God gives Christians “victory” over sin and death “through (their) Lord Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 15:57.
Paul writes “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we (Christians) too…shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his,” Romans 6:4-5. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” Romans 8:1. For Christians, Christ’s death and resurrection entail the most crucial part of their belief.
It is troubling the host of the world’s longest-running TV show feels “any day” can be just as good as Good Friday with “a little selflessness.” Just as concerning is NPR’s erroneous description of Easter.
Elizabeth Jensen at NPR released an article arguing the mistaken claim was published because of a lack of “editing oversight,” not a fundamental misunderstanding of what Christians believe to be the single most important event in the history of the universe. News organizations should strive to be more informed on religious practices, especially those of the world’s largest religion.
