Part 1 can be found here.
Easter Saturday, a day of nothingness, of emptiness. In churches on Good Friday we remember the price that Jesus paid for our sins on that cross; on Easter Sunday we rejoice in the resurrection, the victory over sin, death and the devil. But on Saturday, what should we do?
Let’s consider the various protagonists we considered in yesterdays “On this day”. What about Pilate? Well that was another riot averted, another problem solved. Solved in a rather bloody and unsavoury manner, but this is the Roman Empire, this is the way we operate. And guards are placed on the tomb just in case anyone has any daft ideas.
The Jewish religious leaders breathe a sigh of relief. This troublemaker of the past three years has at last been dealt with and he won’t be coming back. Now we can get back to being the respected religious leaders we deserve to be.
Eleven disillusioned disciples, numb with shock and fear. All seemed so wonderful at times, amazing things happened, but now Jesus is dead. Will they come after us next, or we will just try and return to our old everyday normal lives? Numbness and emptiness. What was the point of it all?
Then there is Judas. He had betrayed Jesus but is now dead, having killed himself. He gave Jesus up for a pittance, but at the time it seemed so easy. It seemed so attractive. Jesus was leading them nowhere. He had pilfered money from what was meant for the poor. Handing Jesus over would solve the problem of him ever being found out. But once the deed was done, the sudden realisation of what his actions meant. Suddenly the blindness that had covered his eyes is removed and he can see the horror of his actions. And isn’t sin like that? It seems so reasonable, so irresistible, so attractive. But once the deed is done the awfulness, the problems, the price of sin becomes all too apparent.
Finally there were the women who had followed Jesus. Here was a man who at last appeared to value them, and the women had been so faithful to him. Then they had had to see him die in that horrible way. There isn’t even anything they could do for it was the Sabbath. On Sunday they would go to the tomb and prepare his body properly, but today they could not even comfort themselves by doing things.
It is so appropriate that the day between the crucifixion and the resurrection was the Sabbath. A day when we can do nothing. God had instituted the Sabbath not for the miserable purpose the Pharisees thought, an excuse to have rule upon rule. It was a day of rest, a day to remind us that we belong to God, that we are dependent upon Him for absolutely everything. There is a time for work, a time to plan and do things, and very soon the disciples, male and female, would be working harder than they had ever worked before. But there is a time when we just need to trust God.
Looking at the people we have considered above, all of them were wrong. None of them understood what had actually happened on the previous day, and none of them knew what was about to happen and the consequences it would have. There are times in our lives when we are in mourning or in shock, when there is emptiness. We think we know what has happened, we think we know what the future is. But we don’t.
A day when we can do nothing.
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