Easter Series | Holy Saturday: The Waiting

2023 Easter Series

Written + read by Nokuthula Lumba

Luke 23:55 | ESV Then he took it down and wrapped it in linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of preparation and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb  and how His body was laid.The Waiting We are told little about the events between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. What we do know is that a man named Joseph of Arimathea, “a good and righteous man”, a member of the Sanhedrin who did not approve of what had occurred and was looking for the Kingdom of God, asked for the body of Jesus. The burial style of the tomb was one of honour usually reserved for the wealthy and prominent people. It is also said that the women who had travelled with Jesus saw the tomb where His body lay and intended to return the following day, the day after the Sabbath, with spices  and ointments to control the smell of decay and honour Christ’s body. An act that showed indeed that they did not believe Jesus would rise from the dead. One would imagine the sorrow that filled their hearts and perhaps the confusion that lay deep within as they waited on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ told them that the Son of man would be raised from the dead and yet they did not understand this. A lament could have been offered in that moment of darkness and despair. The enemy appeared to have won. The promised Messiah had been slain. And together with him, all the Hope they had could have been buried. And yet again, like Him, that same hope would rise with His resurrection. We can refer to Holy Saturday as a day of silence. Of stillness. Of waiting. More specifically waiting upon the LORD. Waiting for his promises to be fulfilled. Though unlike the disciples who waited with fear and despair, we must wait with hope for we know that God’s promises come to pass. The journey from the crucifixion to His resurrection cannot be told without the day of stillness. For it is after that day that Christ’s power through His resurrection is shone.  Low in the grave He lay Jesus my Saviour Waiting the coming day Jesus my LORD.

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