Holy Saturday
by Alexis Coelho
Luke 23:54-56, Matthew 27:62-66, Isaiah 53:8-12
Holy Saturday, a day not really mentioned in the Word but also a day drenched in grief. I mean, can you imagine being one of the disciples on this day? You’re following Jesus around, declaring He is the Son of God. He is the One they had been waiting for. Then He is nailed to a cross, and put in a heavily guarded tomb (Matthew 27:62-66).
The things they must have been thinking, “is this really how it ends?” “What are we going to do now?” “Were we wrong about who Jesus was?” Grief, pain, brokenness, despair. All the things felt so heavily, all the reasons why He came at all.
We’ve all had a Saturday like this; it’s been a season. We’ve all had a day where we are staring pain in the face wondering if this is really how it ends. Maybe our Saturday is our current season, maybe it’s one we have come out of already, or maybe it is one day that glooms in the future. It’s a day that we can’t really find the words to describe, but the very raw feelings are there, just like the disciples felt. Silence, and wondering what is coming next.
But even in the midst of these Saturdays, there is hope. Our hope is that Sunday is coming. You see, while the disciples were left standing there wondering what’s coming next, we have the upper hand. We KNOW what’s coming next. We know the ending. We know the victory. We know that: SUNDAY IS COMING. Sunday is around the corner. Resurrection is around the corner. A new life is around the corner. Sin and death were in the midst of thinking they had won, but it didn’t and they still don’t today. Sunday is coming, Sunday has come, and we get to rejoice in that!
Our Saturdays, this Saturday, is just a small momentary struggle that allows us to feel the true freedom found on Sunday, freedom found only in Christ Jesus. Saturday’s darkness does have to be felt, because when it is felt we can really acknowledge the victory found in Jesus’ resurrection.
Saturday is real, but in the midst of this day let us hold tightly to the truth that Sunday is coming.
