Grand Pacific Ballroom is not where you would expect to mark a death. Chandeliers. Fancy lights. A large LED screen. The kind of room built for weddings, corporate dinners, and celebration–hardly the kind of place to “celebrate” death.
Yet on the night of 3rd April 2026, more than 700 people, children among them, filed into this ballroom in Petaling Jaya for a Christ Evangelical Reformed Church Good Friday event, a day to remember the death of Jesus. The tension between the setting and the occasion was deliberate.
The largest CERC Good Friday crowd ever
In the weeks leading up to the event, CERC’s Growth Groups went into nearby neighbourhoods, distributing flyers and inviting residents to attend. These efforts sparked curiosity; some who were approached decided to come, wanting to find out for themselves what Good Friday is truly about.
CERC Growth Group members’ efforts to spread the “good” news!
Along the way, a simple question was posed to strangers:“Do you know the difference between Good Friday and Black Friday?” The responses revealed a wide range of perceptions. Some associated Good Friday with rest or family time. Others admitted they had never really considered its meaning. A few linked it loosely to church traditions, while many drew parallels to commercial holidays, where significance is often overshadowed by convenience and consumption.
For many, Good Friday passes quietly, reduced to a long weekend or mistaken for something casual. But what if Good Friday is neither light nor celebratory in the way people expect it? What if its “goodness” is something far deeper, and far more costly?
Upon entering the hall, guests were met not with festivity, but with intentional sobriety. At the entrance stood a long table laid out with a variety of food; fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and wine, resembling a banquet in preparation.
The Lord’s grand banquet feast decoration with blood on the doorpost
Against this backdrop, the event sought to bring clarity. Good Friday was presented not as a social gathering or symbolic tradition, but as a confrontation with the realities of sacrifice, sin, and redemption.
Pastor Jerome preaching on the true meaning of “Good” in Good Friday
The evening’s message was delivered by Pastor Jerome, who challenged attendees to reconsider what Good Friday truly means. Is it merely the remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross, or is there a deeper significance? Drawing from Exodus 12:26–27, he revisited the first Passover, when the Israelites were spared from judgment through the blood of a lamb placed on their doorposts. This historical event, he explained, pointed forward to its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the true Lamb, whose sacrifice secures salvation.
For those saved by His blood, the message extends beyond remembrance. It points to a future reality: Christ will return to judge and redeem His people, and to bring them into God’s presence, to a greater banquet. This raises a pressing question for believers: How are we preparing for that day? As Matthew 22:14 reminds us, “For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Attendees sharing reflections from the sermon
As the night went on, people started sharing what they thought about the event. For some, it really changed how they saw Good Friday. It wasn’t just another church tradition, but it felt like something real, something that matters for their lives today.
Others said they felt challenged. The visuals, the message, everything about the night made them stop and think. Not just about what happened in the past, but about themselves, where they stand, and whether they’re ready for what was described as the “banquet” to come. Good Friday did not feel distant anymore. It felt personal.
Eunice, a guest from Puchong Growth Group was amazed by the decor and music but most of all, she was challenged by the reality of Christ’s return and is reconsidering and reflecting if she is ready to attend the Lord’s banquet after hearing from the sermon.
We often think of “good” as something comfortable or enjoyable, but Good Friday doesn’t fit into that idea so easily. It points us to Jesus Christ, not just His death, but the life He lived. A life fully given to God. He was without sin, yet He died the death of a sinner, the only sacrifice that could truly deal with sin.
And maybe that’s where the weight of Good Friday really lands.
Whether or not they walked in as Christians, most walked out having had to think about what Good Friday is asking of them.
