Common Sense Reborn

The Silent Sabbath

⁶²The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. ⁶³They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ ⁶⁴So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

⁶⁵Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” ⁶⁶So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. (Matthew 27:62-66)

Welcome to the first “In-between”. Yesterday, we observed “Good Friday” and looked at the verses in each of the Gospels that recorded the Passion of Jesus Christ. I hope you spent time reading and reflecting on all Jesus endured for us on the cross. All four Gospels ended their account with His body removed from the cross, prepared for burial, and placed in a tomb donated by Joseph of Arimathea. The sun set on Good Friday, and the world went silent.

Not much is written about the Sabbath, that original Saturday, which sits as the great “In-Between”, the in-between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. The Catholic Church calls this day “Holy Saturday”, but I really think the title “Silent Saturday” is much more accurate. The Gospel authors are silent when recording what happened on Saturday. Only Matthew offers any significant contribution, and those are the verses above. Mark writes one sentence in Chapter 16:1 where he records that Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, and Salome went out on Saturday evening to purchase burial spices. Luke records something similar in the last verse of Chapter 23, where Luke writes “But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.” The Apostle John does not write a single word, but opens Chapter 20 verse 1 with “Early on Sunday morning…”

I think John’s Gospel is the most telling of how silent that Saturday was. It was such a dark day for the Disciples that none of them want to mention it. Let’s look quickly at the last thirty-six hours that the Disciples experienced leading into the Sabbath. Beginning Thursday night, Jesus and the 12 shared their Last Supper together. From their time in communion, they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane. All but Jesus were so exhausted that they could barely stay awake. Then Jesus is arrested and the eleven are jolted awake. Their naps in the Garden are the only sleep that they get all day Friday, as they surely kept close to Jesus during His trial. Only John is mentioned as one of the 11 to be at Jesus’ side while He “gave up His spirit,” plus the women in Jesus’ life: Jesus’ mother, Mary Magdalene, the women named Salome, and the mother of James and John are all recorded at being around the foot of the cross when Jesus breathed His last breath. John, the women, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, gently take down the body of their Savior. John writes that it is Joseph and Nicodemus that prepare Jesus’ body before placing it in the tomb. This explains why Mark and Luke write that the women were seeking to prepare the body on Saturday. I can only imagine the heartbreak and torment that Jesus’ mother suffered after bringing Her son’s body off the cross. One can assume that the other women took Mary away in an attempt to comfort her at the darkest moment in her life.

Poor Mary. How hard that Saturday must have been for her. Mary knew more than any other person in the world that Jesus was the Son of God. After she conceived Jesus as a virgin, her whole life was built around the conviction that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be. But on that Saturday, I wonder what Mary’s temperament was. Was Mary the only voice of faith and reason? Was she reminding the Disciples that this was exactly what Jesus said would happen? Were they gathered together in prayer, fasting, and the highest anticipation awaiting the return of their King? I doubt it. I think on that Saturday, they were all in deep mourning. The silence of the Disciples could only be broken by their weeping and agony.

But what was happening behind the scenes? What was Jesus up to on Saturday? I have mentioned the “Harrowing of Hell” and “The Gospel of Nicodemus” on this blog before, but I found a short PDF version on the inter-webs yesterday that I want to share with you today. If you want a powerful piece of literature that offers one prophetic insight into the Silent Saturday, I invite you to click here.

I implore you all to spend time today thinking about all those who loved Jesus with all their heart and the pain they felt on this day. We are in the second “In-Between” as we desperately await the final return of Jesus Christ. Are you eagerly awaiting that day? Or are you stuck in doubt and despair? I pray it is the first, because He is coming. And He is coming soon.

Bethel Music released a powerful worship anthem on Friday, click on the image below to hear how “Death Is Hollow”.