Holy Saturday

Luke 23 Darby Translation (DARBY)

50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good man and a just

51 (this [man] had not assented to their counsel and deed), of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who also waited, [himself also,] for the kingdom of God

52 —he having gone to Pilate begged the body of Jesus;

53 and having taken it down, wrapped it in fine linen and placed him in a tomb hewn in the rock, where no one had ever been laid.

54 And it was preparation day, and [the] sabbath twilight was coming on.

55 And women, who had come along with him out of Galilee, having followed, saw the sepulchre and how his body was placed.

56 And having returned they prepared aromatic spices and ointments, and remained quiet on the sabbath, according to the commandment.

 

Why didn't Jesus rise on Saturday?

Why did He wait while his followers were freaking out?

What was God doing in the darkness and silence of the grave?

Saturday was the day that God himself lay cold in the grave. Friday was death, Sunday was hope, but Saturday was that seemingly ignored middle day between them when God occupied a dirty grave in a little garden outside Jerusalem. Saturday is about waiting, about uncertainty, about not knowing what’ll happen.

Martin Luther

Muddling through.

Walking in the gloom and waiting in silence is frightening, but often it is where God meets us most intimately. 

We know that God is good, He never acts without purpose.

Before we know what God is doing, things can look all wrong. We are tempted to see God as unloving. But God is loving us in the most profound way He can.

What seems pointless and sometimes even mean has a greater purpose beyond what we can see. 

Stepping into the gloom and waiting in the silence for God is frightening, but it is often where we meet with Him most intimately.