The Sorrow of Saturday

The tomb was closed. The grave was shut. The cross was empty. Jesus was dead.

I cannot imagine what this day, Saturday, must have felt like for the Disciples and followers of Jesus in the 1st Century. Their friend and Messiah was dead.

If you have ever lost someone, you know the deep grief that comes along with saying goodbye or abruptly having someone you love be gone in an instant. For the Disciples and Followers of Jesus, their grief was deep. Everything they had ever hoped for and longed for in their coming Messiah was over. The excitement was gone. For them, all hope was lost.

Was doubt seeping in where hope once soared? Did worry crouch at their door? Were they anxious for what could happen next? Did they begin to question everything they had sacrificed for the last three years? Was all that had just taken place in vain? Where was their hope now? For them, the Messiah had come. He had done MIGHTY things in their presence. They watched the lame walk, the blind see. They witnessed those with leprosy be healed before their very eyes. They watched Jesus raise people back to life. But what about for Himself? Did they question why He didn’t save himself from the cross?

For the Disciples and the many others who followed Jesus’ physical ministry, they did not have the historical reference of what was about to happen. However, they did have Jesus’s words spoken directly to them from the Messiah Himself. In Matthew chapter 16 beginning at verse 21 “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” They had His word. He had never failed them, but instead had proven over and over and over again who He was; that the ancient scripture spoken of Him was being fulfilled. He had never failed them. Ever.

Instead, they hid. Afraid of what could happen. Their hope had diminished.

BUT

Their friend and Savior was about to do something radical. Something the minds of the Disciples and Followers of Christ could not fathom with their heavy grief stricken hearts. While they grieved, Jesus was taking hold of the keys of death and the grave (Revelation 1:18) and was about to conquer death. He was about to raise Himself from the dead and turn their mourning into dancing.

Don’t miss this. Don’t miss what has taken place. Don’t miss the risen King. Don’t stay in the sorrow of Saturday. Tomorrow, we celebrate a joyful and triumphant day! A day that the King of Kings conquered the grave!