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Devotionals for the Holy Week: Saturday

4/3/2021

Saturday: “Low In the Grave He Lay”
Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1, Luke 23:56, and John 19:40.

It’s Saturday of the Holy Week. Jesus is in a sealed tomb. I want to invite you into the tomb with Jesus.

Let’s begin by reading some of the passages in the gospels that pertain to Saturday. These passages are from the King Jesus Translation (KJT).

Mark 16:1,
1When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome purchased a fragrant spice in order that they might go and anoint Jesus.

Luke 23:55-56,
55The women who had accompanied him from Galilee followed along and saw the tomb where they placed his body. 56They returned and made ready fragrant spices and perfumed oils. They rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

The Guard at the Tomb,
Matthew 27:62–66
62The next day—after the Day of Preparation for Passover—the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate, saying, 63“Sir, we remember that while the deceiver was still alive, he said, ‘After three days, I will rise.’ 64Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his apprentices might steal him and say to the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead.’ This last deception would be worse than the first.”
65So Pilate said, “You have soldiers. Go make the tomb secure. You know how to do this.”
66So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the tomb.

I want you imagine that you are inside the tomb with Jesus. When we lived in Israel, I was able to enter a number of first century tombs. In Jerusalem, there is a first century tomb in the Church of Holy Sepulcher. There is one at the Garden Tomb. Also, there are the tombs of Herod the Great’s family near the King David Hotel.
Outside of Jerusalem, I also saw an amazing first century tomb on the side of a road. We happened upon this tomb while we were traveling in Galilee.
I entered three out of four of those tombs. I sat and meditated on what Saturday must have been like for Jesus, for his followers, for the soldiers outside the tomb.

These first century tombs are like caves, not natural caves but caves that have been carved into the rock. They have selves upon which to lay the bodies of the deceased. Jesus was placed on one of those shelves. He didn’t stay on that shelf very long.

You might think that imagining yourself in the tomb with Jesus is a morbid thought. I guess it can be, but it’s not only my thought. It’s also Paul’s thought. In Romans 6, Paul mentions that when we are baptized into Christ, we are buried with Christ in baptism. So, when we are immersed into Jesus, in some mystical way we enter the tomb with Jesus. And just like Jesus waited for resurrection, we wait for resurrection. We wait to come out of the tomb.

It’s Saturday. Jesus is in the tomb today. Spend time in the tomb with Jesus. Feel the cold and humid air. Smell the earthy scent. Experience the loneliness, the isolation, the separation, but not the finality. Because there is no finality to this tomb. This tomb is a way-station to a new life.

And while you are here in this tomb with Jesus, think about the new life that awaits you after the resurrection. What do you want that life to be? How do you want to live that life? Perhaps you want to live in joy and celebration. Maybe you want to experience a grateful heart and a generous spirit. Perhaps you want to express your love for God by developing a heart that is ready to serve other people.

Also, meditate on this: When resurrection happens, what will you leave behind in this tomb? What sin? What critical attitude? What debilitating addiction? What bitterness? What fear? What pain?

We must remember this tomb. It’s so easy to forget our time here. It’s so easy to forget that we have died to our old lives and we live a new life in Jesus. We have to come back constantly to this tomb.

Henri Nouwen writes to Jesus, and he says,

“I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, human respect, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life. ... The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are no times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you.” (Nouwen, Show Me The Way, p. 145).

Nouwen expresses why it is important for us to come back to the tomb time and again. We need to remind ourselves that we have died. Our old life is like a rotting corpse that we leave behind. We are a new person.

So as we sit with Jesus in the tomb and await the resurrection, let’s put the past behind us: the guilt, the fears, the addictions, the wrong motivation, the sinful ambition, selfishness, pride, prejudice, hatred, and any other attitude or vice that would keep us in the tomb.

Let’s prepare ourselves for the new life.

For the sun will rise. And tomorrow will come. We will experience Resurrection Sunday.

Prayer:

Dear Father,

I sit in the tomb with Jesus. Darkness envelops me. I smell the acrid, pungent odor. I feel the dampness of the air.
I wait for the light to break and the day to dawn. Resurrection Sunday comes.
While I wait, help me to discard everything that ties me to the old life of sin and death. My pride, selfish ambition, addictive nature, prejudice, lust, bitterness, guilt, and fear.
When the stone is moved, help me to run from this tomb.

Through Jesus,
Amen

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Devotionals for the Holy Week: Saturday

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