Jesus is Dead: What’s Next? Hopelessness or Hope?

Holy Saturday — the day between Good Friday and Resurrection Day. Not much is said in the Gospels about what the disciples were going through, but we can imagine it. I heard Max Lucado call this day “Silent Saturday”.

Holy Saturday Mirrors Today

Imagine being in hiding for fear for their lives. It’s kind of what we’re going through today with the coronavirus pandemic, lock-down and social distancing. Jesus was dead and put into the tomb. Because it was the Sabbath, the Jews were not allowed to properly mourn or grieve.

I have a friend who’s going through something similar. His wife passed away two days ago and because of the pandemic, he won’t be able to have a proper funeral for her. I’m sure that we’ll have a memorial service once this is all over, as I believe this, too, shall pass.

My mom passed away last Christmas Day. I got the news around mid morning. She was in Puerto Rico. I didn’t want to tell any of my friends as to not ruin their Christmas celebrations. I posted it later in the evening on Facebook. The next day, I was numb. I knew I had to contact my cousin and friends in PR, but it being a holiday, it wasn’t easy.

What the Disciples must have been Feeling

In my last post, I mentioned Joseph of Arimethia and Nicodemus. They probably were not hiding in the upper room with the disciples. Being well-educated in the Torah and the Prophets, they were more than likely going through the scriptures trying to make sense of what Jesus had said about rising on the 3rd day.

What did he mean by that?

Didn’t we read that somewhere?

What Psalm was that?

Psalm 118: The Cornerstone

Psalm 22: Written centuries before crucifixion

Isaiah 53: The Lamb led to slaughter

Even more Old Testament Prophecies that Jesus Fulfilled

So, I figure that both Joseph and Nicodemus were waiting for something to happen. The disciples, however, were probably freaking out. They couldn’t properly mourn their rabbi and friend. They were afraid of the Romans and the Pharisees. Could what happened to Jesus happen to them?

The Torn Curtain in the Temple

Another interesting event, would have been the high priests finding the curtain in the temple torn from top to bottom. This curtain was big and heavy. Behind the curtain was the Holy of Holies where the high priests would take the special sacrificial lamb — that had to be spotless — on Yom Kippur as the sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.

In Matthew’s account of the crucifixion he also mentions another curious occurrence…

At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead. They left the cemetery after Jesus’ resurrection, went into the holy city of Jerusalem, and appeared to many people.

Matthew 27:51-53

The Book of Hebrews

Too bad the disciples didn’t have the Book of Hebrews — one of the epistles or letters in the New Testament. It puts everything into perspective. Basically, God keeps his promises. That’s what the disciples had to focus on.

For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:

“I will certainly bless you,
    and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” (Genesis 22:17)

Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind.

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:13-20

We find Jesus Christ in ALL the Scriptures

• In the Old Testament, He is Predicted.
• In the Gospels, He is Revealed.
• In the Book of Acts, He is Preached.
• In the Epistles, He is Explained.
• In Revelation, He is Expected.

Sunday is coming….

Soli Deo Gloria — to God Alone be the Glory!