Text: John 19:38-42, Romans 6:5-11
If ever there was a day to skip over. To rush past. As if the day before hadn’t been crushing enough, as if all of creation hadn’t cried out in angst as the One who knew no sin became the propitiation – the atoning sacrifice – for all of us.
On this day, it seems like all of heaven would just want to go back to bed.
“It’s darkest before the dawn” and other cliches don’t bring any comfort. There isn’t a bowl of ice cream big enough or a nap refreshing enough or blanket warm enough that can ease the empty ache of knowing that Jesus died with the whole weight of OUR sin because of His great love for us.
In Luke 19, Jesus told the Pharisees that if His disciples kept quiet, the rocks would cry out in praise of Him.
Did creation groan so softly on this pregnant pause of a day?
Did the Father long to reach out through that stony tomb and grab His Son and make everything right?
Why the wait before the rescue?
In the stillness and the silence of the day after Jesus died, it feels right for us to swallow whole our own need and longing to be resurrected in Him.
There are stages to grief, right? Our human coping mechanisms – Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and Acceptance? Yet no combination of those would do any good in the wait between the cross and the rescue our Father had planned, nor will they do any good for us today as we grieve our own sin. We can’t deny our depravity and need for grace; there is no right to be angry about it as we are absolutely the accused. No bargaining with our earthly treasures will gain us heavenly reward and no matter how sullen or depressed we find ourselves over our spiritual state, acceptance will not come.
We need Jesus. We need His resurrection power. And often, we need to sit in the reality of our spiritual deadness apart from Him to walk in the newness of life that we find in Him.
Take heart, Sisters. Death truly aches — but if we are united with Christ, we know what comes next.
Sunday is coming.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
– Romans 6:5, ESV
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38 thoughts on "silence"
I spent most of Saturday, in deep wonder. Where did He go? What have I done? What was God feeling? Were the Angels crying? Oh how deep the sorrow was.
I knew on Friday that my He was bearing the weight of my sin – that He was taking what I deserved. Friday He died – Saturday He's still dead. Hope's coming, but its not here yet. Oh how grieved my soul was. It too needed to die. I needed a change. So instead of allowing this time of sorrow and grief to rob me of the coming Joy – I took the time to die to self and wait expectantly for the morning.
Weeping lasts for a night, but Joy – oh the Joy that comes in the morning.
"Did the Father long to reach out through that stony tomb and grab His Son and make everything right?"
Ninja onions again. Because I think from a mother's perspective, how great the Father's desire to reach out and grab His Son off that cross, to bring him back into the Presence, to fix it somehow… And yet, with that sacrifice so great, that is exactly what He did, for us.
I'm so humbled.
Today, it finally feels like Springtime here in Kansas. The winter is over. FINALLY.
The winter of Holy Week is almost over, sisters. It's almost Easter. It's almost spring.
What a day. A day of mourning for the disciples, deep confusion, sorrow and regret for the mob, and a day of hopelessness for all around. Think of the fear the mob had… killing who they now knew was the son of God. Wow. Think of the loneliness and desperation the disciples felt for Jesus… the truest grief ever known. Such a day of sporadic events, the sheep scattered without a shepherd and wolves seeming to rule over once more, forever. I think of Mary and the women, how they sat across from Jesus' tomb as Joseph and Nicodemus buried Him (Matt 27:61) with pure shock and disbelief, downcast and broken. They had nothing else to do, nothing else in the world to do but sit in the shock and pure pain of their beloved's death. Lord, put me there. Help me to truly realize this emptiness, this pause, this day of mourning and death, so that I can more fully appreciate your resurrection victory tomorrow.
Simply Awesome…………
This is incredibly powerful.
It isn’t a day for us to feel guilty but to find that deep need within our hearts for Jesus. What a powerful reminder of how we need to acknowledge our depravity in order to also acknowledge the power of Jesus’ blood. It is with hope I get through this day.
Sunday is coming!! Yes!
Sunday is C O M I N G……yay!!
Lately my husband and I have hit some really hard times. It’s felt in a lot of ways like a repeat from a year and a half ago, filled with loss and uncertainty. At first, I was having a really hard time celebrating and observing this Easter season. My heart felt hardened and I could feel it but did not know how to change it. I’ve been struggling with the same questions of trusting God.
However, yesterday at our Good Friday service I prayed very candidly about all of that. Then I waited. Suddenly, I was reminded of something I knew I could trust. The message of Jesus dying this year was so much more about His Love than anything else to me. I felt His love and presence right there in my seat. I remembered that the biggest gift we have is God’s loving presence amidst whatever pain we are enduring. He is here because He was there, on the cross. This is a love I can not deny no matter what happens. This is a love and a God I can trust. Praise Jesus! Let all of us sense that love this season and always.
Ann, I have felt called to pray for you, and I want you to know I am answering that call right now. We do not know what the next moment will bring, but we know that He is unchanging and loyal.
I’ve been trying to think what the people who followed jesus felt like the day he was buried. I think it would be loneliness. The one whom they rested their hope in was in the ground.
I have been reading through the Gospels and comparing this week. We have donkeys and let me tell you one cannot just go ride them. They are very intelligent but if they have never done something they won’t do it. Hence the stubborn they are named. So Jesus is out side the city and tells the disciples to go get this colt and bring it back and bam! No worries it all goes fine? No one even claims theif! Only in one gospel does a man question. Miracle! Showing Gods power foresight and plan. Then the people now down and worship and the leaders will not speak up for fear of the crowd.
Fast forward a few days and they have turned against him completely. It does not say there were sides. Like a vote half for Jesus half against. In my perception they all turned! Ten the crucifixion and the whole world mourns including the heavens. So Saturday dawns. Do they realize what they have done? I would have been scared out if my shorts wouldn’t you? I know his followers were grieving but I’m talking about the crowds. Did they dream I the miracles and did the words of Christ haunt them? Were they saved after wards? An if they asked for forgiveness it was given. How merciful and loving! I don’t think I have a drop of that purity.
That’s why I loved the part how we need to remember the sacrifice. Sometimes we make the death of Christ in the past like we have been saved and now that’s for someone else. But we each son every day and hang him on that cross daily. I needed that reminder. I am no better than anyone else. Im a sinner saved by grace! He is amazing and on this day of silence I will not be silent!!!
Valarie, I have also been considering what the people who turned so quickly and violently on Jesus were experiencing on Saturday. Especially when I found Luke 23:48~ "And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts."
Did they realize what they had done? Did they realize they had been duped by the religious leaders to put an innocent man to death? If so, Saturday seems like it would have been a day of torture for them. Praise God, forgiveness was available to them, although, sadly, the consequences of their choices would still have to be faced (remember when they were calling for Barabas to be released and told Pilate that Jesus' death would be on them and on their children?). And the most chilling part of this whole thing for me is that I most likely would have been mixed up in the crowd and would have been one of those in dread fear and hopelessness on that Saturday for the part I'd played in Jesus' death. Thank you, Father, for the sacrifice of Your Son, even though You know me!
It'd be a day of complete torture, as stinav96 said. Think of making such a horrible decision, one that you thought was the right one with all of your hard, hateful heart, and then being completely blown away by what happened at Jesus' death (the Earthquake, the temple curtain, the dead being raised back to life for one night). Knowing that you made the most bitter mistake in the world. Times of regret and bitter mistakes eat me up inside… to even try to fathom the anguish and hate I'd feel for myself about killing the Messiah (without knowledge of His Resurrection) would probably kill me.
Praise you, Lord, that you don't want us to kill ourselves for the mistakes we've made, for the sin we commit… thank you for dying for us instead, and welcoming us back with eyes full of pure, loving, resolute "I will never forgive you, and you are free indeed." eyes of forgiveness. Thank you for making us your children with the full knowledge of just how evil we can be. Thank you for taking our sin and depravity so seriously as to make death it's punishment, and thank you for loving us so intensely that Your death covered all punishment forever. I can't write out enough the gravity for the situation I feel, nor the gratitude for this sacrifice. I'm going to sit in it more today, fully soaking it up, taking it in. Thank you, Lord.
This song is not entirely, topically relevant, but man, does it hit at my heart this silent day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AECad7XIItE
Thank you for sharing, AnnaLee! I really like that song!
The day in between, when we wait for His resurrection – and our own. But when it happened, they didn’t know. They thought it was over. What sorrow they must have felt. What confusion. What a sabbath it must have been for them. A day of rest that must have seemed void of hope,, and full of shame. All deserved – but praise God – He didn’t let them stay there. He rose.
Amen Joanne. They had no idea. They were in a true sense of mourning because as it looked, they believed that they'd perhaps never see Jesus again. Even if they remembered Jesus' words on being brought back (Matt 27:63), the grief was most likely blinding to all hope. Wow. What pain… I can't even fathom it.
Amen. He shall be risen n we shall see Him as He is. Thank You Lord for the death of your Son whom you sent to save us all from sin and shame. He bore it all being sinless and righteous as only the righteous could cleanse unrighteousness. Lord I pray that you will keep us steadfast and unmovable always abiding in your grace and yielding to Your will. Amen. Sisters dont be afraid, dont worry, because, SUNDAY IS COMING!
I am going on my second year since I've been baptized in Christ. WOW!! What a journey!! This Resurrection celebration is the beginning of my understanding of what Jesus's sacrifice truly means. It has only made me stronger in Christ. Made me to be more dependent on his word. Lord I thank you for bringing me this far. Thank you for blessing me with a spirit of understanding. May I always carry the Aroma of Christ wherever I go that people will know it is you who has made me new, you who brings me joy, you who brings me peace, in Jesus name… AMEN
HAPPY RESURRECTION SUNDAY SISTERS!!
I have to admit I am filled with joy its a little challenging to bring myself down to grief. Maybe I will feel it next year? God is truly awesome! I love you guys!
so excited you've found the beauty, love, and peace that comes from Jesus. I celebrate your new journey with you! You are right where you are meant to be on this path, at a place of joy. Don't worry about not yet experiencing all the emotions.
All the best my sister!
I'm with you Nafi! Even on yesterday, the day everyone speaks about being mournful and sadness I was filled with joy!! The lack of feeling grief is not synonymous with lack of understanding or recognizing His ultimate sacrifice. Some people mourn and others rejoice. Different emotions, same Savior. May you and your loved ones have an amazing Resurrection Sunday!!
So true.
I, too, am filled with a sense of joy a midst a sense of pain and emptiness at his burial, because I know that though this day commemorates the Preparation Day, He right now is ALIVE. We all feel different things at different times, and I don't think it means you're more mature in your walk if you mourn today instead of being filled with joy or excitement. It's such a combination of emotions. Father, bring us close to you in whatever emotions we feel, and help us all to reflect upon your great sacrifice for all that it truly is. Blessings sis!
AMEN AnnaLee….He is alive…. and tomorrow is Sunday…..yay.!!!! Rejoice! Rejoice! Yay!!
I'm so happy for your new found love in Jesus Christ. The love he gives us along with the knowledge is like no other. Thanks for sharing the fact that you don't seem to feel the grief, at least not I know I'm not the only one. I'm so thankful for Jesus sacrifice in the the cross it fills me with joy and I can't find myself to mourn about it, all I can do is rejoice to know that we have such a loving father that died for me and you. I can't find myself to mourn specially after knowing how the story ends, which is with his resurection. His power is unlimited!
What struck me about John's account of Jesus' burial is that John is the only writer to mention that Nicodemus worked with Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus, and both men, before Jesus' death, had been "closet Jesus followers." Joseph was afraid of the Jews. He sat on the council that determined Jesus was to die, we find out from one of the other gospel accounts, although he did not agree with the council's decision. Nicodemus was a Pharisee who came to Jesus by cloak of night. It is as if the beginning of the silence was the beginning of their boldness.
Yes absolutely! That's a great connection between the day of silence and their spiritual boldness!
"The beginning of their silence was the beginning of their boldness." Beautiful. Yes, they were closet Jesus followers, but they loved Him all the same, despite their fear. And God still used them to write His amazing story of redemption for all mankind to show us just the true depth and vastness of His love for all people, people-pleasing Politician and Religious Leader alike. God's love in the form of Jesus blows my mind.
I had never known that!! Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you jessi, for speaking the words I couldn't speak….
We need Jesus. We need His resurrection power. And often, we need to sit in the reality of our spiritual deadness apart from Him to walk in the newness of life that we find in Him……
These past weeks, this week in particular…has had me right where it hurts, right where I will always remember, right where my life is now changed….forever, …in the realization of the gift, the abundant LOVE, the sacrifice, of my Lord, Jesus Christ…..I need this day of silence…..I need this day to sit, and sit in this reality , I AM ALIVE BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WAS WILLING TO DO AND DID ON THE CROSS, ………I will say AMEN to that forever…..because it is TRUTH….the absolute TRUTH……Thank you Jesus….Thank you Lord ….
In praise of the One who gave it all….
Blessings being prayed over each and every one of you my sisters….with love, always…..
Thank you all for walking alongside me through these past weeks, this one especially, with your encouragements,…. love….kind words and support….I have felt the Lord's hand and love in all of you and your words….God bless you all, as you have blessed me…Thank you….xxx
Praise God. Tina, your words have been beautiful and much needed as well. Be so blessed on this day of reflection and mourning, dear sister.
I mulled over this very thing yesterday…there isn't much written about the day of silence.
What were the disciples doing? What about Mary and the other women? Were they all in mourning or anticipation?
It does let us know what Pilate and those that had crucified the Lord were doing…they were "making sure" that nothing happened to allow the prophecies to come true! Attempting to secure the burial site, posting guards outside, etc., etc…..all to no avail.
There was no rock heavy enough, no amount of guards strong enough to keep Jesus from coming out of the tomb! He did it for me, for you, for all of humanity and we are forever changed because of His sacrifice.
So excited for tomorrow. Have a blessed Easter every one of my sisters.
Love it – no rock heavy enough, no amount of guards strong enough to keep Jesus from coming out of the tomb!
And it is the same today in my situation! There is no rock heavy enough, no guards big enough to keep Jesus from coming to my rescue, to keep Him from saving, to keep Him from healing, to keep Him from showing Himself, His love and His grace! Nothing is hard enough or big enough to keep Him from coming!
YES! Love that!
Beautiful Brandi! NOTHING CAN STAND IN THE WAY OF OUR JESUS! and the most beautiful thing is, He wants to come to our rescue and is fully willing to search for us, show us Himself to us in all of His fullness! Praise our Precious Jesus! He is ALIVE today– though this Holy Week Saturday has us in a place of waiting, of reflecting, of mourning– and He is willing to save us all Here!! Praise you, O Lord.
Ohhhhhh sooooo powerful words and sooo true! Specially in my couple of days I felt like I was just going Round in circles and not getting anywhere, didn't think I was good at my job taken advantage of, etc. Jist felt mentally and spiritually drained and burned out….. But all I needed to do was cry out to Jesus and He came running!!!! Nothing could keep Him from coming to my rescue like you said -even now Imwell,up with tears just thinking about it……… The song no river, no valley, no mountain is too high for my God to come and rescue me and you AMEN!!!!!
Happy Easter to you too Candacejo! Appreciated you insight today. ~ Valanne
Amen! God's power is so amazing that nothing can stop him from executing his plan.