Holy Week: Saturday
Once again there is no Scripture for this day. Saturday was a day of silence among those who had loved Jesus.
The Sabbath began with the appearance of the first star at sunset on Friday evening. Jesus’ friends and disciples had scattered. They were in hiding in the homes of friends, or wherever they could find refuge.
It was left to a secret follower of Jesus, a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea, to come forward and claim his body. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish Council who had visited Jesus at night. Pontius Pilate granted permission, and Jesus’ body was taken down and given to them.
Quickly, because no work could be done once the Sabbath had begun, they wrapped Jesus’ body in a long piece of clean linen and laid it in Joseph’s newly carved tomb. They would hope to return later, when the Sabbath was done, to prepare the body properly.
Now the sun has set and Saturday, the Sabbath, has begun. Through the long evening and the dark night Jesus’ followers were alone – some here – some there – left with their thoughts. What did they pray? What did they ask God that night? All their hopes were gone. They had thought that with the Savior’s coming that all the world’s injustice and sin would end. But now they huddle in fear for their lives.
As the sun came up on Saturday, they may have walked to the synagogue. It was Jesus’ habit always to go, to read and hear God’s word, to pray, and to share with other worshipers. If his disciples were in worship that day, what word from the scrolls of the Old Testament did they read? Did they even hear them? As the morning turned to noon, did they begin to gather with other disciples to grieve and to remember?
Finally, the evening fell once again. With the first star, the Sabbath would end as it had begun, and for a brief time the markets would open so that the women could quickly buy the spices they would need to care for Jesus’ body tomorrow. They carried their fragrant packages home and thought about the sad task that awaited them on Sunday morning.
It’s different for us, isn’t it? We know the end of the story, that Jesus will rise from the grave. Easter no longer holds a surprise for us. But there are many other days like this in our life – days of waiting – days of grief – days in which we seem to be holding our breath.
But God has not paused. He did not stop in his work of saving us and caring for us. While his friends grieved, Jesus was declaring his victory in heaven and in hell. And while you grieve – while your life is on hold – Jesus is at work in your life also. He has declared victory over your sins and failures, and there will come for you too a day of surprise and astonishment. A day of resurrection and life!
Prayer: Victorious Lord, I praise you that you have so wonderfully conquered sin and death. I am here, still caught in this world’s cares and concerns. I live by faith and not yet by sight. But increase my faith, so that I may see by the eyes of faith the new life you have for me. Amen.