Democratic Mayor Zohran Mamdani of New York City probably went about as far as any reasonable person would have expected.
Because we know what foolishness lurks in the minds of socialists, however, we Christians might have good reasons to object.
Friday on the social media platform X, Mamdani marked Good Friday by calling it simply “a day of sacrifice,” prompting a rebuke from Christians, including one who advised that mayor that “[i]t’d be better not to talk about it at all.”
“Today, on Good Friday, we mark a day of sacrifice,” Mamdani wrote. “Some New Yorkers will abstain from eating; others will spend hours without speaking. Faith, the Bible tells us, is belief in the things unseen. That belief is what will guide so many of our neighbors in solemn reflection and reverence. I wish all those observing Good Friday a blessed day of peace.”
Today, on Good Friday, we mark a day of sacrifice. Some New Yorkers will abstain from eating; others will spend hours without speaking.
Faith, the Bible tells us, is belief in the things unseen. That belief is what will guide so many of our neighbors in solemn reflection and…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) April 3, 2026
Above all, Christians on X objected to the generic celebration of “sacrifice.”
“I really don’t like hearing non-Christians talk about Easter as if it’s some abstract allegory. It’d be better not to talk about it at all,” conservative Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey wrote. “Good Friday isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about Jesus’s sacrifice. God-made-flesh shed his blood on the cross for our sins, so that by grace through faith we could be forgiven and reconciled to God. Acts 4:12: ‘And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’”
I really don’t like hearing non-Christians talk about Easter as if it’s some abstract allegory. It’d be better not to talk about it at all.
Good Friday isn’t about sacrifice. It’s about Jesus’s sacrifice. God-made-flesh shed his blood on the cross for our sins, so that by grace… https://t.co/fyRZy6ifay
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) April 3, 2026
Others made similar arguments.
Good Friday isn’t about the universal virtue of “sacrifice.” It’s about Christ’s particular sacrifice – his brutal crucifixion – a real, historic event with eternal consequences.
“[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his… https://t.co/kJT93P9dhO
— Congressman Brandon Gill (@RepBrandonGill) April 3, 2026
Today is not about the sacrifice of anyone but the one who came to save us. Speak His name: JESUS! ✝️ https://t.co/k9YbHzc1kW
— T.W. Shannon (@TWShannon) April 3, 2026
Today is not just any ol’ day of sacrifice.
Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for our sins in the most brutal fashion possible. https://t.co/zbNxqumbnF
— Brianna Lyman (@briannalyman2) April 3, 2026
Goofiest way a politician has ever described the significance of Good Friday. https://t.co/ShXMLCNMw1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 3, 2026
Christians cannot expect Mamdani, a practicing Muslim, to embrace the true meaning of Good Friday. In fact, were we to apply the Christian virtue of charity, we might feel inclined to praise him for the attempt.
Nonetheless, we cannot extend such praise, because we know what a socialist means by “sacrifice.” That word, when used by a man who has touted “the warmth of collectivism,” refers to state power. It means that the people must surrender their rights and prosperity so the government can make things “fair.”
Of course, we cannot read Mamdani’s heart. If he meant well by extending his Good Friday message, then we should give him a break and reserve our criticism solely for his politics.
On the other hand, we know a man by his fruits. So we suspect that Mamdani smuggled an extreme-leftist message into his Good Friday post. And that would make him contemptible.
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