“Remember to stay alert and hold firmly to all that you believe. Be mighty and full of courage.”
(1 Corinthians 16:13 TPT)
I find myself often frustrated with the way many of my questions go unanswered in the Bible. (I realize that a great deal of God is mystery, but that’s another post for another day.) The question of today: What happened to the followers of Jesus on “Holy Saturday” between “Good Friday” and “Easter Sunday?” The Gospel accounts of the crucifixion let us know that it occurred on a Friday, the day of preparation for Sabbath. Indeed, they broke the legs of the criminals on either side of Jesus so they could hasten their deaths and finish the whole business before sundown when Sabbath began. They laid Jesus’s body in Joseph’s tomb because there wasn’t time to seek out another place or to move the body very far. There was an urgency to these ministrations … and then the Bible is silent until Sunday morning when the women and disciples approached the tomb.
What did they do on the Sabbath from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown?
Did they go about the regular rituals of Sabbath and Passover scriptures, prayers, and meals? Did they rest, as a Sabbath invites us? Did they talk with each other about the events of that week? Did they sit in silence, too stunned and disheartened to talk? Did they fear for their own lives now that their Rabbi was dead? Did anyone remember the promises of resurrection that Jesus had made? I don’t know, as the Bible doesn’t speak to it.
What we now call “Holy Saturday” is a place of silence – of nothingness – in our Bible.
In modern times, we may be busy preparing for Easter dinner or Easter dress or Easter egg hunts the next day. The extra church services of the week have given way to this in-limbo day which our culture no longer uses for Sabbath rest. But, maybe, instead of filling it up with busy-ness, we should stop, pause, and ponder. I invite you to read John 18 & 19 but don’t go on to John 20. You can go there tomorrow. But, for now, stay in this dark, somber, and, even, holy space. Taste and see that the Lord is good, even in the midst of silence, darkness, and mystery.
God,
On this Holy Saturday, may our activities be centered around hearing your voice and seeking your rest. May we be alert to all you have taught us. Help us remember all your promises and all you have done and continue to do for us. May we be mighty and full of courage, tasting and seeing your goodness and joy for we who take refuge in you. We ask in Jesus’s name, Amen.
“Remember your promises to us, for darkness covers the land. (Psalm 74:20 TPT)
“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” (Psalm 34:8 NLT)