Silent Saturday

This post was first published in 2017.

Saturdays are days that I have looked forward to for most of my life. Getting to sleep in late… no school… laid back schedule… Looney Tunes in the morning (where did they go?)… ball games … on and on…

I still love Saturdays to this day. I may not sleep in like I once did, but Saturdays are days where you can do what you want to do easier. I especially like Saturdays from September to January with college football going on.

This week, I have been reflecting on events that took place during the first Passion or Holy Week leading up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We come to one of the hardest, if not the hardest day of the week. I call it “Silent Saturday.”  This includes much of the time between the cross and the empty tomb. 

The only thing really mentioned about this time period in the Bible is found in Matthew’s gospel. 

“The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guard.”

Matthew 27:62-66 CSB

Those who had pleaded for Jesus’ death wanted to make sure that He stayed there. They had shut this rogue Rabbi up, and they wanted to make sure things went back to the way they were when they were calling the shots. 

What strikes me more than the paranoid (yet rightful) worry of the religious leaders of that day was the silence that is found in the Bible. The is not much at all mentioned about that day. 

I can understand that though, too. If the One that you had put all your hope and dreams in was suddenly gone, would you really feel like doing much? I can imagine the remain disciples hiding out wondering if there would be a knock at their door from those who had Jesus killed wanting to do the same to them. 

Some of the most difficult times in our journey of faith with God are those of silence.  It seems that God doesn’t say or do anything. One can easily think that God has either been bested/stumped, doesn’t care, or left the scene and we are all alone in the situation. 

The truth is that Saturday was silent because God wanted it so. I’ve come across some material that leans on the thought that Jesus was taking a Sabbath from His work on this Saturday. I could see that in one sense. I think it is more about what was said in the prophet Isaiah: 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”

Isaiah 55:8-11 CSB

What looks like apathy or abandonment to us was very different to God. Jesus had already said that He would be raised on the third day (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17:22‬). This was all part of the plan. A day of letting all of what had already taken place sink in was in play, but the silence wouldn’t last forever. 

You may be in a period of silence. I would encourage you to take this time of silence to remember what God has done for you, already taught you, already done in you. Then, lean on His understanding and trust His timing. God is always right on time… not too early, never too late. 

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Silent Saturday 2017

Saturdays are days that I have looked forward to for most of my life. Getting to sleep in late… no school… laid back schedule… Looney Tunes in the morning (where did they go?)… ball games … on and on…

I still love Saturdays to this day. I may not sleep in like I once did, but Saturdays are days where you can do what you want to done easier. I especially like Saturdays from September to January with all the football going on.

This week, I have been reflecting on events that took place during the first Passion or Holy Week leading up to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We come to one of the hardest, if not the hardest day of the week. I call it “Silent Saturday.”  This includes much of the time between the cross and the empty tomb. 

The only thing really mentioned about this time period in the Bible is found in Matthew’s gospel. 

“The next day, which followed the preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember that while this deceiver was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ So give orders that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come, steal him, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” “You have a guard of soldiers,” Pilate told them. “Go and make it as secure as you know how.” They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guard.”  (Matthew 27:62-66 CSB)

Those who had pleaded for Jesus’ death wanted to make sure that He stayed there. They had shut this rogue Rabbi up, and they wanted to make sure things went back to the way they were when they were calling the shots. 

What strikes me more than the paranoid (yet rightful) worry of the religious leaders of that day was the silence that is found in the Bible. The is not much at all mentioned about that day. 

I can understand that though, too. If the One that you had put all your hope and dreams in was suddenly gone, would you really feel like doing much? I can imagine the remain disciples hiding out wondering if there would be a knock at their door from those who had Jesus killed wanting to do the same to them. 

Some of the most difficult times in our journey of faith with God are those of silence.  It seems that God doesn’t say or do anything. One can easily think that God has either been bested/stumped, doesn’t care, or left the scene and we are all alone in the situation. 

The truth is that Saturday was silent because God wanted it so. I’ve come across some material that leans on the thought that Jesus was taking a Sabbath from His work on this Saturday. I could see that in one sense. I think it is more about what was said in the prophet Isaiah: 

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating the earth and making it germinate and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so my word that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do.”  (Isaiah‬ ‭55:8-11‬ ‭CSB‬)

What looks like apathy or abandonment to us was very different to God. Jesus had already said that He would be raised on the third day (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭17:22‬). This was all part of the plan. A day of letting all of what had already taken place sink in was in play, but the silence wouldn’t last forever. 

You may be in a period of silence. I would encourage you to take this time of silence to remember what God has done for you, already taught you, already done in you. Then, lean on His understanding and trust His timing. God is always right on time… not too early, never too late. 

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Good Friday 2017

Welcome to Good Friday. That title has always been a little confusing to me. Growing up there was the joke that went around saying it was good because we got out of school and it was typically good weather so we could enjoy the day off.

I would find out later that it was called Good Friday because on this day around 33AD, Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the world (Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19).

How could something that was so brutal, so shameful, so wrong be considered good in any sense? What sadistic person said, “Let’s remember this day as something good and put it on the calendar to remind us!”?

I’m not sure who that person was, but I am so grateful that they did.  It is days like this that I am reminded of just how often that God wants us to see that there is so much more than what appears on the surface.

The saddest day in history is also one of the greatest.  On this day… on that hill called Golgotha/Calvary… the Son of God took the sins of the world and dealt with them!  It turns my stomach to think about all that Jesus went through – the mockery, the shame, the beatings, the torture – it was all because of my sin.  All that junk that Jesus went through was meant for me.  But because of the love that God has for us, He took it so I didn’t have to.

May this day be so much more than another “day off” for us.  My prayer is that it would be a day of reflection… a day that we remember the high price that Jesus was willing to pay just to redeem us.  If anyone needs any proof that they are cared about, they need only to turn their eyes to that hill called Calvary and see God hanging there with arms wide open saying, “I love you this much!”

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Maundy Thursday 2017

 

As we continue our journey to Resurrection Sunday, we find ourselves in the middle of “Maundy Thursday” of “Holy Week.”  It is a remembrance of when Jesus Christ shared a final meal with His disciples before His crucifixion.

The word “maundy” is derived from the Latin word for “command.”  John’s gospel gives some details that the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) do not have about this moment.  One was the picture of Jesus washing His disciple’s feet as a sign of what every follower of Jesus should do (serve).

I give you a new command: Love one another.  Just as I have love you, you are also to love one another.  (John 13:34  CSB)

This is the command that is referred to with the name “Maundy Thursday.”  It was thought that Jesus gave this command on the day/night before He was arrested.

The big thing that is associated with this day is the institution of the Lord’s Supper.  It was on the night before Jesus was betrayed by one of His closest followers that Jesus celebrated a final meal with His disciples.  It was at this meal that Jesus set a mark that would be carried out by the Church ever since.

It is interesting to me that for His final message before betrayal, Jesus chose to use the classroom of a table.  He didn’t go to the Temple or a synagogue.  He simply gathered those who would be responsible for carrying on His mission, and He got them around a table to share a meal.  The table is a place where your guard is down.  The table is a place where you share and talk about what’s at the depth of your heart as you fill your stomach with that which is provided by God.

On that night, Jesus used a very common scene (dinner around a table) and a common meal at that time, and He made the ordinary extraordinary.  He would take a common piece of bread and break it before His disciples to show what was about to happen to Him.  He wasn’t looking forward to it, but He didn’t want His followers to be scratching their heads when God’s plan unfolded.  He would take a cup of wine and use it an illustration for the blood that He was about to shed for the forgiveness of sins.  One of the greatest teaching moments ever was done around a dinner table with friends.

What does our dinner tables look like?  Are they just a place that we run to in order to fill our stomachs?  Do we take the opportunities that are right in front of us to gather around a table and share moments, dreams, heartaches, and more?  Jesus did, and I’ve always thought that He was a pretty good example to follow.  Remember, the command that He gave that day was to love one another as we were loved by Him (John 13:34).  Take time to make the moments around a table with family and/or friends one that will be remembered for much more than the food that goes into our bellies.

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Spy Wednesday 2017

As we come closer and closer to the celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, we find ourselves on a very interesting day in history.  This day of “Holy Week” has been called various things throughout the centuries.  The one name that has always struck me as unique is “Spy Wednesday.”

When I think of spies, I think of James Bond and others like him.  Those who go undercover to find out some information.  This seems a little strange to think that there might have been some 007 action going on around Jesus, but we see from the Bible that is exactly what happened.

Then one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you? ” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him. 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:14-16 CSB)

What would cause one of the men who had traveled with Jesus for so long turn on Him?  Judas Iscariot saw Jesus do the same miracles that the other disciples saw.  He saw the healings… the dead brought back to life… the blind receive sight… the lame walk… Yet, he still was willing to sell Jesus out.  Why?

The answer to that question is found in the verses preceding those mentioned earlier.  In Matthew 26:6-13, one will see where a woman comes and anoints Jesus.  She was preparing Him for what was to come in just a few short days.  This woman’s worship was misunderstood by many around her.  They thought it was a waste.  The perfume could have been sold and the money used to help those in need.  It sounds good, but it was not what God wanted with that offering.

How quick are we to just rush into what sounds right?  Do we take the time to ask God what His desires are with our gifts?  We may just find out that His desires are not ours.  We may find out that what God wants doesn’t make the best sense at the time.

Judas Iscariot had been the disciple that was in charge of overseeing the finances for the team (John 13:29).  When one reads of this anointing account from John’s gospel, it is revealed that not only did Judas oversee the finances, but he frequently helped himself to some of the goods (John 12:4-6).  By this we see that one thing that led to Judas’ betrayal was the fact that Jesus had affected his pocketbook.

What areas in your life are there that if Jesus were to mess with would give you problems?

The Bible tells us that the saying of the Christian’s heart is “Jesus is Lord!” This means that He has complete control of everything… even the areas that we really don’t want Him messing with. Let us examine our lives today and make sure that there are no corners of our lives that we have said “no trespassing” to Jesus with.

As we bring every area of our lives under the Lordship of Jesus, we begin to see all the little moments like a “waste of perfume” as the beautiful moments God intends them to be.

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Holy Monday 2017

Today is what has been commonly called the “Holy Monday” of the passion week.  It refers to the Monday that follows Palm Sunday where Jesus rode into Jerusalem for the final time before going to the cross.

One of the biggest events that took place on that Monday was a visit that Jesus made to the Temple that day.  Here is what happened:

Jesus went into the temple and threw out all those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves! ” (Matthew 21:12-13 CSB)

Not your typical visit to church, eh?  Jesus didn’t go into the Temple for the ordinary worship.  He was on a mission.  Sadly, the worship of that day had become somewhat of a show.  There were those who were buying and selling materials that were used in the worship services, but these people many times took advantage of the worshippers by inflating prices and such.Jesus was not pleased with what was going on in the house of worship.  It was to be a place that was for people to come and draw nearer to God not be taken advantage of.

I often wonder if Jesus were to come into the doors of our churches today, would there be some “overturning of things”?  Would Jesus find what He intended to be there?  I certainly hope so.  I also hope that if He didn’t like what He would see that He would do the necessary “rearranging” that was needed.

As we draw nearer to the celebration of the resurrection, let us do an inventory of what is present not only in our churches but our own lives.  It may be time for some spring cleaning to take place.

 

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