Why the Cross Wasn’t Just a Death—It Was a Declaration

The Spiritual Side of Good Friday: What We’re Missing and Why It Matters

Most times when Good Friday comes around, I feel a whirlwind of emotions as a Christ follower—guilt, shame, gratitude, excitement, and even confusion. For most of my life, I saw Good Friday as the day someone died a horrible death for me. But this year, something shifted. I’m seeing it through a new lens—one that considers the spiritual realm most of us in the Western world tend to overlook.

Let’s look at two verses:

Deuteronomy 32:17

“They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God—gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear.”

Mark 5:8–10

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.”And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

What do these verses have to do with Good Friday?

Everything.

From the very beginning, Scripture acknowledges both a physical and spiritual world. Ancient cultures—especially the people of the Bible—understood this far more intimately than we often do today. We tend to filter the events of Good Friday solely through what we can see: the cross, the nails, the suffering. But something bigger was happening in the spiritual realm.

The Bible shows us over and over again that there are other spiritual beings—other “gods” (with a little g), demons, and divine beings. But all of them, even the demons, recognize who is above them all.

In Mark 5, the demons recognize Jesus for who He really is. They know He’s Yahweh in human flesh. They fear Him. They acknowledge His authority.

Now back to Good Friday.

The Creator God—Yahweh—put on flesh. He walked among His creation. And then He willingly allowed Himself to be executed so that His people could return to a relationship with Him.

Let that sink in: The God of gods chose to bleed for you.

We often focus so much on the brutality of the cross (and rightly so, it’s horrifying and real), but do we ever stop to consider the spiritual magnitude of what happened?

This wasn't just a man dying. This was Yahweh, the Most High, taking on flesh to conquer every lesser god, every demonic stronghold, and death itself—for you.

And until we accept Him, we're following those lesser gods, even if we don’t realize it.

So today, let’s not just feel sad, or thankful, or confused. Let’s pause. Let’s pray. And let’s praise the God who conquered not just death, but the entire spiritual realm—for us.