'For God So Loved The World, That He Gave His Only Son' & 9 Other Best Good Friday 2018 Bible Verses

Good Friday 2018 is on March 30. On this day which follows Maundy Thursday, Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Commemorate this holy day with these inspirational Bible verses about sacrifice and love.

Maundy Thursday falls on March 29 and Easter on April 1. Especially interesting for 2018 is that Passover and Easter fall at the same time. Most scholars agree that Jesus was presiding over a Passover Seder in what would eventually become known as the Last Supper, according to Biblical Archaeology. This line up isn't always the case for these religions because Jewish people use a lunar calendar to determine the date of Passover, which is always the 14th day of the Jewish month Nisan, a fixed date, while, for Western Christians, Easter is always the first Sunday following the first full moon of Spring. This year, the spring equinox occurred on March 20.

Maundy Thursday is called lots of things throughout the Christian world. Besides Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, it is also called Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, Sheer Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries depending on where in the world you live. "Maundy" itself has mysterious etymology, but the most popular theory is that it is a bastardization of the Latin text of John 13:34:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

The verse reads in Latin, “Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos.” “Maundy” most likely derives from “mandatum,” the first word of the verse, and also the derivation of the English language word “mandate.”

Good Friday occurs three days before Easter, which is when Christians believe that Jesus rose from the dead. A common belief behind the name of "Good Friday" is that it is a corruption of "God Friday," but this is incorrect. In the ever-evolving English language, "good" used to also mean "pious" or "holy."

Here are the best and most inspirational Good Friday:

1. “It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.” –Luke 23:54

2. “And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” –Mark 10:34

3. "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:7-8

4. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” –John 3:16-17

5. “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ –Matthew 27:46

6. "And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.” –Mark 10:34

7. "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” -1 Peter 2:24

8. "But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” –Isaiah 53:5

9. "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.” –Isaiah 53:4-5

10. "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” –John 19:30