Passion Week: Silent Saturday

Related Passion Week Devotionals:

• Cleansing of the Temple
• Jesus Questioned by Religious Leaders
• The Sanhedrin and Judas’ Betrayal
• The Last Supper
• Good Friday
• Silent Saturday
• The Resurrection

How many of you today are aware that nothing can stop God’s plan from unfolding? He created everything and He is in control of everything. There is no spiritual or human force that can manipulate or control His ultimate plans. Today in Matthew 27: 62-65, we read about the burial of Jesus Christ. But, more specifically, the plan behind the burial. In other gospel accounts, we are given more detail on the actual burial, but in Matthew’s account, we are told of a conversation that happens between the chief priests, Pharisees, and Pilate. Following the crucifixion and confirmation that Jesus was dead, these individuals continued to fear the activity that could unfold as Jesus stated He would be raised again in three days. They were nervous that the disciples would steal the body to make it appear as if Jesus rose again. So, they had a conversation with Pilate and asked for excessive security around the tomb to ensure that there would be no such events to unfold. The stone of a tomb was as heavy, if not more heavy, than a vehicle. It could not be moved by man’s own strength. On top of the stone, they positioned soldiers around the tomb to ensure that Jesus’ body was not stolen. Surely, there was no such way that the disciples would be able to steal the body.

I can imagine the fear and sadness that overcame Jesus’ most beloved close friends and family. I can feel the fear of these leaders in the passage of Matthew as they conspired to maintain control of an event that was so horrible and cruel to do to an innocent “man”. There are multiple perspectives to this passage, but how can we take this particular passage, the events of today, and apply it to us?

I believe “Saturday” has always been a day of anticipation for Sunday, but also an emotional relief from the pain of Good Friday. On Good Friday, we experience emotions of sadness, of great thankfulness, and sincere evaluation of our own sin and the cost that was paid by Jesus Christ. It’s a heavy day. Then, Saturday comes, and we sit in this moment of nothingness. I can only imagine how the disciples felt and the women who were closest to Jesus, awaiting what was next, or what would never be. Was Jesus’ ministry a scam? Or, was He the Son of God who would rise again?

Saturday is a day of waiting, maybe for some it marks a period of still grieving, maybe for others, anticipation and hope. The important takeaway is that we don’t skip past Saturday. We know, as humans, how to grieve, we know how to rejoice, but do we truly know how to dwell in moments other neither? I want to express to you today that it is okay to go through periods in your life that seem mundane, routine, and uneventful. You can find rest in those times, you can find a beautiful silence that gives you time to evaluate yourself and life in general, and you can process hard emotions. Suppressing grief or refusing to accept hope will leave an emptiness in you as an individual in which you will begin to try and fill those voids with distractions or harmful things.

Know today, that you have purpose in Christ. It is His will for your life to live it to the fullest, in Him. You don’t need anything else in life but Him. As children of God, we can rest in Him, knowing that He is in control of all things, He will sustain us through difficult seasons, and in the end, He always has the final say. We don’t have to carry the burdens of this life, we don’t have to try and control every situation that we are met with, and we don’t need to worry about tomorrow. All we simply need to do is find rest in Jesus Christ. The One who defeated sin and the grave can be trusted to be the guiding force in your life today.