Saturday
Read Matthew 27:57-61
Saturday. The Sabbath. Jesus Christ is
buried, having been vanquished to
death on a Roman cross by an
outrageous series of betrayal, weak
and jealous leadership, false trial,
public mockery and, ultimately, the
weight of all humanity's fallenness and
sin.
Appointed guards stand by the tomb
where the body of Jesus lays, which
was sealed with a stone by Joseph of
Arimathea the night before. We can,
perhaps, imagine and feel the sense of
finality of the situation.
There is no doubt, as Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary look on, Jesus
Christ is dead.
The deafening silence of a community
deep in Sabbath rest and the stillness
of the streets that hours before had
been a chaotic cacophony of jeers,
cheers and tears only compounds this
truth.
Every memory and moment the
remaining disciples had experienced in
their three year apprenticeship with
Jesus has been replaced with tears of
anguish, the lament of broken dreams,
a crushing weight of hopelessness, a
crippling sense of fear and the
question of "what next?" (Luke 24:21).
We can, perhaps, imagine and feel the
sense of finality of their situation.
In the rawness of the events of Good
Friday and in the impatience of having
to be still on the Sabbath, Sunday and
all that Jesus ever spoke of regarding
this idea of a three day temple rebuild
(John 2:19) and resurrection seems far
off.
And yet today, on this most holy of
days, God is in the story working
something incredible as war is waged
on both death and grave.
He is weaving something those first
disciples could scarcely imagine but
we can see on this day for ourselves.
Out of all the tears and pain, lament,
fear and hopelessness, we can,
through the events of Good Friday,
know and enjoy access to our Father
in heaven.
As we wait on all that Sunday will bring
(promises fulfilled, celebration untold
and hope rebirthed) we can today also
accept the incredible invitation offered
to us to "draw near" (Hebrews 10:19-
22) and have fellowship with our God.
Because of Jesus, we no longer have
to settle for God at a distance. Instead,
we can know the near and present
reality of the God of the universe in our
lives when we direct our hearts to him.
Finality gives way to opportunity. He is
calling you to come and draw near.