As I sat down to write this Holy Saturday devotional, it struck me that I was doing so on my own “Sabbath” day. A few years ago, I chose Friday as my day of rest, and it has become a vital and meaningful discipline in my life. When I read today’s passage in Matthew 27, I was reminded that Saturday was the Sabbath for the Jewish people, the day after the day of preparation, and Jesus was lying in the tomb on the Sabbath, dead.
Depending on your tradition, conviction, or beliefs, you might feel strongly that we need to rest on a certain day of the week, or you might not go as far as “die on that hill” but instead argue that we just need to rest.
Let’s revisit Holy Saturday, reflecting on what just happened on Friday and what was happening on Saturday. Jesus was betrayed, tried, flogged, and crucified, and He died on Friday. He was taken down from the cross, His lifeless body was prepared for burial, and He was laid in a tomb. The man who was familiar with sorrow and bore the weight of the sin of the world was buried.
What do we remember on this specific Sabbath day known as “Holy Saturday”? We are not just recalling that Jesus died but acknowledging that Jesus was, in fact, dead. However, I thought that the Sabbath was a day for us to remember to practice the discipline of rest. To some extent, this is true. But I believe a question we need to consider is not “What are we resting from?” but “What are we resting in?” Based on his pattern of rest established at creation, God commanded His people to rest and remember their release from slavery in Egypt. Similarly, We rest from doing certain things so that we provide ourselves space to remember the One who did what we could never do.
Before Christ’s resurrection and before we received His Spirit, who raises us from death to life, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1). On Holy Saturday, Jesus was lying in a tomb because He was dead. He died for our sins, and we no longer have to be bound or buried by them. The next time we take a Sabbath day, let’s not just rest from work—we should also rest in the truth that since we have been buried with Christ, we are free. When Pilate commanded the religious leaders to “go and make it as secure as you know how” (Matthew 27:65), he meant to keep Jesus’s body in the tomb. Yet his words unintentionally remind me of a deeper truth: Nothing and no one can undo what God has accomplished in Christ. The tomb was sealed, but more importantly, so was our forgiveness and freedom.
Written by Will Heydel
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62 thoughts on "Holy Saturday"
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But I believe a question we need to consider is not “What are we resting from?” but “What are we resting in?”
This is a very good question and heart posture to focus on today. There is a heaviness…the sorrow, suffering and sacrifice just cannot be overlooked, I need to feel that. But what a hope because we know Sunday is coming.
Thank you Jesus. May complacency and idleness not be the narrative of my waiting. Let me be intentional, vested and willing to seek you out, to look for you, to serve you, to wait well and be ready to move forward with a heart overflowing with gratitude for your sacrifice, forgiveness and love and to live for you. Thank you, Jesus. Find me faithful in these days Lord. Amen ❤️
Amén!
This Saturday had to belike no other Saturday for Jesus followers. Full of grieving and waiting. Grieving and waiting. Lord, I give all of me in thanks for your sacrifices….your deliverance. I’m not much but would be nothing if I was weighted down in my sin. Thank you for dying for my sins and saving me so that I may know the one true God. So that I may live with hope and your grace.
My family watched Passion of Christ last night (Friday) and it still is sitting on my heart with heaviness the pain and Suffering that Jesus CHOSE for us. He Chose. We could never repay that debt. He could have walked away but He CHOSE us. What an amazing God we have.
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I am grateful for a Holy Saturday. A day of rest and reflection
Holy Saturday, a day of rest.
Today was my mom’s funeral. It is a 2 hour drive one way, so lots of rest and prayer as my husband drove there and back. Loved reading all your comments. Loved your post Tami:
It’s the kind of day
that reminds you death is real
that loss is real
that sometimes you stand there
loving someone
and there is nothing you can do to save them.
Sunday is coming. Praise the Lord✨
Oh, Carol, What a heavy day you’ve had! Praying for restful sleep tinight and peace for your heart as you move forward.
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Hugs to you Carol. What a hope we have to cling to. May you find comfort and rest in Him❤️
That was a very deep way of looking at it for me, I had to read & meditate the last paragraph twice. What shook me the most was: Nothing and no one can undo what God has accomplished in Christ. The tomb was sealed, and more importantly, so was our forgiveness and freedom.
My daughter has just recently told me she doesn’t believe the Bible is true. It was just written by “a bunch of men” she has been in church since she was born and now, at the age of 37-38 she became an unbeliever. “The falling of the unbelievers” so it begins. I just never thought my own blood would be amongst them. Please pray with me that the Lord will change her mind before He comes back
Praying for your daughter!
Praying. We have a list of prodigals that we regularly pray for. You aren’t alone in this.
LOVELovelove this devotional!
(Prompting me to instate my own Sabbath practice.)
Today, Holy Saturday…We wait.
And rest in the knowledge of Him.
Friday was Good.
But Sunday is Coming.
(A Phil Wickham song plays in my head).
Today is a day rest and remember that God always has the final word!!! Sunday is coming!
Praying for all!
Amen
How perfect and fitting today’s reading about rest, I am currently in a season of rest, nothing scheduled, just sitting with the Lord until I know that I know what His plan is. I am so grateful for the reminder to rest in the Lord, not just from the hustle and bustle of life but to truly take this time to lean in to the Lord, rest in Him and listen and keep listening until I clearly hear His instruction. oh, the goodness of our Lord!
The tomb was sealed, but more importantly, so was our forgiveness and freedom. – Will Heydel.
For You and I and those yet to be born.
Thank you my Jesus, our Jesus!
I’m here again, in the quietness, just watched the sunrise. Love mornings like this and plan on it tomorrow as well. I really needed this as I struggle to get a good nights sleep. I guess sleeping (or at least staying in bed for 11 hours on Thursday night helped me). I met up with my sweet friend G yesterday over coffee and we both mentioned how we try to lay low (quiet) on Good Friday, and though we met up, we talked, we cried, talked some more of the goodness of God and where we are today in life. It’s ALL our Jesus! I can’t (and don’t want to) imagine life without my JESUS! Rest my sweet friends on this Holy Saturday as Sunday is coming!
So good, Will Heydel… But I believe a question we need to consider is not “What are we resting from?” but “What are we resting in?”
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We wait (with tears for me!) today.
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Good Friday and Holy Saturday are so very difficult. (And difficult for US… imagine how God felt, knowing that Jesus suffered and died and rested n the tomb for our benefit.) I’ve heard it said many times… Sunday is coming!
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Wait, sweet sisters, for Sunday will be tomorrow!
Amen!
Amen
GM ladies. A friend sent this to me yesterday. SO beautiful!
This was posted on a Facebook group I am in.
Today is Good Friday…
and everything feels heavy
Not quiet in a peaceful way
but quiet like something is missing
like the world is holding its breath
Because this is the day
love didn’t look victorious
It looked like loss
It looked like a mother watching her son suffer
like friends standing at a distance
not knowing what to do
not able to stop it
It looked like prayers that felt unanswered
like hope slipping through fingers
like the kind of grief
that makes your chest ache
And He didn’t stop it
Jesus didn’t step down
He didn’t call angels
He didn’t rewrite the moment
He stayed
And I think that’s what undoes me the most
Because He knew
He knew how it would feel
He knew what it would cost
He knew the weight of it
And still
He chose to stay
For the ones who would run
For the ones who would doubt
For the ones who would forget
For me
So today isn’t light
It’s not pretty
It’s not easy
It’s the kind of day
that reminds you death is real
that loss is real
that sometimes you stand there
loving someone
and there is nothing you can do to save them
But this day
this painful
heavy
unbearable day
is not pointless
Because this is the day
love proved
it would go all the way
All the way into suffering
All the way into death
All the way into the grave
And if love was willing to go that far
then maybe
just maybe
it’s strong enough
to meet us there too
Today is Good Friday
And it doesn’t feel good
But it is
Because Jesus didn’t walk away
He stayed.
That is so good, Tami. ❤️
thank you for sharing, Im not on Facebook so I would not have seen that. it is perfect in simplicity.
Thank you for sharing, Tami. This is really tender, true, heavy…..
Oh to rest IN him!
As so many Shes have already said the reminder that forgiveness and freedom was also sealed in the grave stood out to me too. Thank you lord for conquering the grave. May we rest in your grace, mercy and love every day!
It’s not just what are we resting from but what we are resting in…. So good!!!
Faith in the Silence
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Holy Saturday lingers
between death and resurrection,
between promise spoken
and promise fulfilled.
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The tomb is sealed,
a stone, a guard, a silence.
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The faithful rest and wait,
hands still, hearts aching,
holding obedience in the dark.
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The soul leans forward,
longing, watching,
like a watchman for the morning,
certain the light will come.
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And the question remains,
quiet but piercing…
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Can you trust God
when He seems silent?
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A Prayer in the Waiting
Lord, in the silence and uncertainty,
teach me to wait.
When I cannot see what You are doing,
help me trust Your word.
Like the watchman waits for morning,
let my hope rest in You.
Amen.
Amen.
Love this. Amen and amen. ❤️
Kumberly, is that one of your creations- one of the best yet, if so! Thanks so much! ❤
That’s what I was thinking—!
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Amen, Kimberly! ❤️
Beautiful, Kimberly
Amen
Amen. Kimberly…thank you ❤️
Not “What are we resting from?” but “What are we resting in?”
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Forgiveness
.
Mercy
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Grace
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Redemption
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Justification
.
Hesed
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Rest in these truths today❣️
Amen! ❤
Amen ❤️
Absolutely, “nothing and no one can undo what God has accomplished in Christ…”
Amen❤️
A solemn day for His followers, heartbroken and unsure of their next step.
Solemn for us as well, but we are blessed in knowing with certainty that He rose the next day.
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Reminded of Rise Again, Dallas Holm, late 80’s.
I also tried to put myself Jesus’ followers and family’s place this morning, Searching. What must it have been like for them having forgotten He promised to rise again… We know what’s coming (hang on, Sunday’s coming!:), but they did not.
Father, help us in in our seasons of waiting and not knowing how You will show up, to remember to put hope in Your word and that Your promises never fail!
So grateful with you all that Jesus paid, once and for all, the debt of my sin!! Amen and amen.
We’ve had some great discussions with these verses (minus the Psalm passage) in small group. When I was growing up I never heard about that aspect of the event- don’t remember it if I did. The focus was Jesus, Peter, and the women at the tomb, but nothing of the emotional turmoil of Jesus’ followers in the hours “in between”. I was introduced to that in adult Bible study. Lanie H mentioned that (emotions) in reply to my comment. Important lesson there and so often skimmed over.
Amen! Great song; I remember when it was released- even have an “easy” version in sheet music. Still too hard for me to play without lots of mistakes!! Lol I think I will try to play it today. Thanks, sister! ❤
“Nothing and no one can undo what God has accomplished in Christ. The tomb was sealed, but more importantly, so was our forgiveness and freedom.” Will Heydel
“The disciples had forgotten that Jesus promised to rise from the dead on the third day, but His enemies had remembered. Pilate permitted the leaders to set a guard at the tomb. This guard put an official Roman seal on the stone. All of this was of God, for now it was impossible for anyone—friend or foe—to steal the body. Without realizing it, the Jewish leaders and the Roman government joined forces to help prove the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” – Warren Wiersbe
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SONG SHARE:
O Sacred Head Now Wounded
Verse 1
O sacred Head, now wounded,
with grief and shame weighed down;
now scornfully surrounded
with thorns, thine only crown;
how pale thou art with anguish,
with sore abuse and scorn!
How does that visage languish
which once was bright as morn!
Verse 2
What thou, my Lord, hast suffered
was all for sinners’ gain:
mine, mine was the transgression,
but thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall, my Savior!
‘Tis I deserve thy place;
look on me with thy favor,
vouchsafe to me thy grace.
Verse 3
What language shall I borrow
to thank thee, dearest Friend,
for this thy dying sorrow,
thy pity without end?
Oh, make me thine for ever;
and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
outlive my love to thee.
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Love, hugs, and prayers! ❤
this part stool out to me too, that the Pharisees remembered but the disciples forgot. probably bc the disciples were too busy feeling. it reminds me (like the psalms) that isn’t everything. sometimes we need to feel too
I agree, Lanie. Fear, doubt, exhaustion- all things that block the flow/assurance of HOPE and relationship. Great point; thank you for sharing! ❤
I love how I am consistently learning from SRT. Thank you Cee Gee and Lanie.
Most welcome, AZ! So glad Lanie shared that! ❤
The tomb was sealed, but most importantly, so was our forgiveness and freedom.
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These words reminded me of a mad dash mission to save her from a spider. I have been known as the spider catcher over the years, by family and friends..
My friend called a couple of years ago, terrified to the point I got in the car in my pajamas! Literally no time to change, she had a spider in her room and it was the biggest one yet!
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I tell you this, why?
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My trick to catching spiders is enticing them into a jar and sealing the lid tight!
Exactly what I did once I saw it.( never mind the size) I showed my friend as I came out of her room. She relaxed, and apologised for her silly fear. I told her, ” it’s in the jar, and its sealed tight, you are safe now”
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I guess my thinking was, our sins were locked tight in that tomb, and we were free from the fear that oftentimes grips us.. that we can sometimes be defined by our sins our shame, our wrongdoings.. being our own worst critic..
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BUT GOD..
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Sitting in the knowledge today, that Jesus paid it ALL, and ALL to Him i owe, my sin had left a crimson stain, but HE and HE alone can and has washed me white as snow..
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AMEN.
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Rest well today dear hearts, as we take in the enormity of this gift.. it is HUGE, truly!
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Much love,
Tina❤️
This is great, Tina! My comment was ‘in progress’ when yours posted. I got carried away with videos before I finished and posted so you beat me here!☺ ❤
By the way- I share that trapping skill. ☺☺☺
Same, but for lizards :)
Got that covered, too! ❤ Lol Copperhead remover, too! yikes!!!
I was the one yelled for to my son’s room to free his room of a spider that might get him. The one time I didn’t come out with the spider dead, but rather, the worst, the spider fell from the ceiland and I lost him….!! gasp! My child would not go back in to sleep that night! What’s the lesson in that…living in fear rather than security. No bueno. Jesus always conquers the spider. :)
Love that! Jesus always conquers the spider! Lol
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Hallelujah, Jesus paid it all and set me free ❤️
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I love this
In His word do we hope!