Good Friday: God turned ‘moral evil’ of Christ’s crucifixion into a gift to humanity, says Catholic missionary

The faithful around the world observe Good Friday on Friday, April 7, 2023.

Good Friday is the “most solemn day of the year” for Christians, according to the CatholicLink website and many other sources.

“This is the day when we remember Christ’s death on the cross for us,” the site adds.

“We remember the suffering he endured for our sake. We are reminded of the depths of his love for us.”

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A Denver-area faith leader told Fox News Digital that Jesus’ crucifixion and death on the cross is God transforming the “greatest moral evil in history” into the “greatest good the world has ever seen.”

The crucifixion narrative told in the Gospel of John may give the reader the idea that Jesus is not in control of what is going on, said Curtis Martin, founder and CEO of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS).

Good Friday is a solemn remembrance of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Said one faith leader,  “Jesus assures us he is in total control.” (Godong/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“We might be tempted to think that Christ was simply a passive victim in his passion, that the primary actors were the leaders of his time,” Martin continued.

In John 19:6, Pontius Pilate, the emperor of Judea, tells the crowd to “take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him,” he noted.

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The crowd then proceeds to crucify Jesus, along with two others. 

“This forces us to ask a question: If Jesus was in total control, then what was he doing?”

Despite this, “Jesus assures us he is in total control,” said Martin. 

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“He said that no one takes his life from him; he lays it down freely,” he said, referring to John 10:18. 

Curtis Martin is founder and creator of FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. He is based in the Denver area. (FOCUS)

When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, Christ proclaimed that Pilate would not have power over him “unless it had been given to you from above,” said Martin.

“Indeed, Christ was not passive — he was the main actor in his Passion,” he added.

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“This forces us to ask a question: If Jesus was in total control, then what was he doing?” said Martin. 

“The truth is that Christ gave his life to share his life with us.”

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“What we meant for evil, God destined for good,” said Martin.

“But Jesus didn’t merely save us from sin. He saved us for divine life — that we would be transformed; his life, lived through ours.”

The “unhoped-for good news” of the resurrection is “incredibly good news” for humanity, said Curtis Martin, CEO of FOCUS. (iStock)

If Christ had merely forgiven humanity of it sins, “that alone would have been more than we deserved,” explained Martin. “But, in his superabundant love, he didn’t only save us from hell. He made all things new.” 

This “unhoped-for good news” of the resurrection is “incredibly good news” for humanity, said Martin.

“The truth is that Christ gave his life to share his life with us.”

“When Christ gave his life on the cross, he unleashed the power of his life to transform us,” he said. “That’s what grace is, God’s very life given to us to transform us.” 

The cross enabled humanity to become a “new creation” and partake in the divine nature, said Martin. 

“Just as a cold steel bar is transformed when it is placed into a fire, becoming hot and glowing red like the fire itself, when Christ poured out his life from the cross, he enabled us to take on the properties of God — to become like him, loving like him, holy like him,” said Martin.

The cross enabled humanity to become a “new creation” and partake in the divine nature, said Curtis Martin.  (FOCUS)

Jesus “wasn’t merely a passive recipient of torture, but an active lover, giving the gift of himself to transform us,” he said. 

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“This Good Friday, as we consider Christ’s sacrifice and wrestle with our own weakness, we are invited to remember, ‘God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him,'” said Martin, referencing John 3:17.

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FOCUS, which Martin founded and leads, is a college outreach apostolate and missionary organization begun in 1998 with two missionaries on one college campus. 

In its 25 years, it has grown to include hundreds of full-time missionaries serving at hundreds of college campuses, says the organization’s website. 

Christine Rousselle is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.