Good Friday

Good Friday at 3 pm (when Jesus died on the cross) there is the narrative of the Passion, and veneration of a relic of the True Cross. Jesus agonised on the cross for six hours. During his last three hours on the cross, from noon to 3 pm, darkness fell over the entire land. With a loud cry, Jesus gave up His spirit. There was an earthquake, tombs broke open, and the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. The centurion on guard at the crucifixion declared: "This Man truly was the Son of God!"

Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and secret follower of Jesus, who had not consented to His condemnation, went to Pilate to request the Body of Jesus. Another secret follower of Jesus and member of the Sanhedrin named Nicodemus brought about a hundred pound weight mixture of spices and helped wrap the Body of Christ. Pilate asked confirmation from the centurion whether Jesus was dead. A soldier pierced the side of Jesus with a lance causing blood and water to flow out, and the centurion informed Pilate that Jesus is dead.

Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' Body, wrapped it in a clean linen shroud, and placed it in his own new tomb that had been carved in the rock in a garden near the site of crucifixion. Nicodemus also brought seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes, and placed them in the linen with the body, in keeping with the burial custom. They rolled a large rock over the entrance to the tomb.