Since it's Holy Week, I thought I'd talk about it real fast.
We all know what happened Good Friday. Jesus was arrested. He was taken into the Roman courts before Pontius Pilate, who sent Him back to the Jewish courts. Then he was sent to Golgotha, the place of the skull, to be crucified (Matthew 26:47 - Matthew 27:26).
The Bible says that at noon, the skies got dark and the Earth started to shake. The temple veil was torn from top to bottom to show that no mortal man had absolutely "nothing" to do it. And as Jesus cried out "It is finished! (John 19:30), the people realized that He was no ordinary man.
He was taken down from the cross, prepared for burial, and placed in the tomb to be buried at a later time.
We all know what happened Easter Sunday. He arose. Escaped the tomb and showed himself to his friends, disciples, and rumored 500 others- not just believers, but also cynics- before he ascended into Heaven. With his resurrection, He proved that He was none other than the son of God.
But what about Saturday? Well, after some extensive reading, the only thing I could come up with is this: Saturday was about preparing. The day between the promise and the fulfillment of the promise.
As it says, Pilate pretty much told the Pharisees and high priests to seal his tomb until Sunday, since they didn't have time on that Friday/Saturday to properly dress him for burial (thanks, Sabbath!). The only reasoning they sealed the tomb was because they were afraid that Jesus's disciples would steal his body in the night and essentially "fake" His resurrection.
While the people of Earth were mourning, it says this in Ephesians: "When he ascended on high, he took many captives and gave gifts to his people. (Ephesians 4:8)" When He died, Satan was stripped of his captives and He rescued the righteous ones, from the beginning of time to that very moment. He pretty much put death to death. Dang, Jesus!
But with this information, I want you to think of something: do you have struggles in your life that you feel like aren't being answered or taken care of by God? Do you feel ignored? Like you've been living on a prayer (oh, we're halfway there...)?
Throughout studying the means of Holy Saturday, I realized something: God could've resurrected Jesus as soon as He took His last breath. He could've let Jesus not get crucified. He could've. But as you can see, He didn't.
Maybe what you're going through right now is your waiting period. You feel at your lowest, like no one is coming the rescue. Like you're stuck in your tomb. But it's coming. Your Friday has passed, your Saturday is here, and your Sunday is quickly approaching.
Saturday was a day between the promise and the fulfillment of the promise. And if this is where you are in your walk now, I pray that you stand on this truth. You're in the preparation process. And before you know it, your time of celebration will be here.
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