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
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.