Holy Saturday: What Now?

Imagine that you are a disciple the day after Jesus has died and been buried. It is the Sabbath, so you are resting and all you can do is think about the last two days. Your leader has been tried before the high priests and the governor of the Roman occupying force and been sentenced to death. The Son of God is lying in a tomb. It doesn't seem fair. Through the grief and the tears, can you believe that he died as a sacrifice for the sin of the whole world? Can you even begin to believe in a Resurrection?

None of the four Gospels tell us what the disciples did on Saturday, only that "they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Luke 23:56) . We don't know what they talked about, or if the group was plunged into silence as they contemplated going on without their beloved Teacher.

I imagine I would've been terrified, sad, and angry at the same time. I probably would've been inconsolable. What a traumatic experience it must have been to see your friend die an agonizing death on a cross. The curtain of the temple had torn and an earthquake had rocked Jerusalem. What did it mean? There was no one to interpret the signs and Scriptures for them anymore. It must have felt hopeless.

We don't talk about Holy Saturday very much. We spend a lot of time on the build up to Jesus' arrest and on his death on Friday. Then, we skip straight to Sunday morning, when the three women came to bring spices to the tomb, only to find the stone rolled away and the tomb empty.

But today, Jesus has not risen from the dead. The tomb is sealed and Jesus' body is inside. I often find myself in this Holy Saturday mindset. It doesn't always feel like Jesus came back from the dead, even though I know he did. Sometimes, it feels like he's dead and I'm left to carry on alone. And yet, even when it seems like the story is over, we know that there's more. Death is not the end, but more of a beginning.

Tomorrow, we'll go to the tomb only to discover that someone has rolled away the stone right under the very noses of the Roman guards and the body of the Lord is gone. Logically, the tomb should be sealed, but it won't be, because the grave is no obstacle for God.

Today, it is dark and we must dwell on the sacrifice Jesus willingly made on our behalf. He took our punishment and today, he is dead. We should never forget how important that is. Before he rises, he makes the ultimate sacrifice out of selfless love for us — the people who least deserve it. That, in itself, is incredible.

Today, the tomb is sealed. Tomorrow, everything changes.