In the Silence of Saturday

Saturday..... the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. What happened in the silence of this day?

We know that Jesus was taken down from the cross and placed in a borrowed tomb before sunset. We know that a guard was placed outside that same tomb. And we know that when the women arrived on Sunday morning, Jesus was no longer in the tomb.

However what happened with Jesus in the time between the guards and the women is less known. I've read various opinions and scholarly discussions concerning this time. And while the conclusions don't always match up, one thing remains constant: Jesus Christ was dead. Both the Apostles and Christ Himself testify to this within Scripture.

"This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."  Acts 2:23-24 

"When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."  Revelation 1:17-18  


I may not know, and I have a hard time even trying to imagine, where Christ was or what Christ was doing on this day, but I can imagine what Satan may have been doing. Satan- a being known for his pride which led to his fall and for his lies. How would Satan view this day? Could he see that there was more to come or was he blinded by his own arrogance and audacity?  Did he recognize that this was the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”? Did he know that this action, which seemed so final and so destructive, was nothing more than a wound on Christ's heel? I can't answer those questions, but because of his pride, I still always imagine the same response from him when I consider this day.

Have you ever seen a rooster in the barnyard, all puffed out, crowing and strutting around? That is how I imagine Satan on this Saturday. On the day when Jesus' disciples locked themselves away in a room, preparing for Jesus' final burial treatment, I envision Satan strutting around in all his pride and audacity proclaiming his victory. The son of God was dead.  Whether he thought he had achieved the ultimate victory or if he was already aware that God was working in the background, I don't know. Still I imagine he was thrilled with the current state of things. Big or small, this was his victory.

But was it?

God may have seemed silent when viewed through our mortal eyes, but God was not dead and His plan was not thwarted. Because Jesus didn't stand before Pilate, die on a cross or lay in a tomb because of any machinations of Satan. No, Jesus did everything because of the will and plan of God. And this "silence", this waiting was part of that plan as well.

So though it seemed as if God was silent and all was grim, never forget that Sunday is still coming.

Good Friday?

Sometimes I struggle with the term Good Friday. I understand that the response of God which we celebrate on this day is good- beyond good, but I cannot think about the events of Good Friday without thinking about the original why. I cannot think about the events of Good Friday without recognizing and mourning my own complicity in it all.

I just read a post where someone referred to today as a Black Friday and sometimes that is more how I view this day.  So maybe sometimes Good Friday feels a bit like Black Friday and I'm okay with that. I'm forgiven and I know I no longer must bear the guilt for my poor choices and sins, yet I never want to forget my role on this day.


-Jesus was  betrayed by His creation and His people in order to open the way between us and God.

"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. ... By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished." Isaiah 53:3,8


-Jesus bore the crown of thorns and stripes on His back so I wouldn't need to.

"Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted." Isaiah 53:4


-Jesus went to the cross to make restitution for my sins.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions,  he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,  and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53:5-6


A Black Friday because everything that happened should have been mine to bear.

Yet the only Black Friday where we all can get exactly what we need and everything we could ever want at the greatest price ever- FREE. Jesus faced it all for me. Jesus faced it all for you. Whether you or I acknowledge who He is and what He has done, He still did this for each of us. That's grace. That's love. That's what makes a Black Friday Good Friday as well.

And we cannot forget whether you find yourself mourning your role or glorying in God's forgiveness and grace, either way- we know that Sunday is coming and there is no question regarding the victory of that day!