Day 7: Silence

 

Silent Saturday

            Saturday, the day after Jesus’ crucifixion was the Sabbath Day.  The Sabbath is a day of worship and rest, free from any kind of work.  Although the Scripture is silent as to the activities of the people on that particular Sabbath, I have some thoughts on what that day might have been like.

            The Disciples had deserted Jesus, and only John is mentioned as having been at the crucifixion.  Since Jesus had been branded as the leader of a revolt against the Roman government, it’s quite likely that His followers, especially the Apostles, were afraid for their lives.  However, fear was probably only one of the emotions that they felt that day.  Can you imagine the thoughts that must have gone through their minds?  “How could it all end this way?”  “He saved other people, why couldn’t He save Himself?”  “How did we get it so wrong?”  “I don’t understand.”

            I especially feel sorrow for Peter.  His last recorded contact with Christ is looking into Jesus’ eyes right after he denied Christ three times.  We’ve probably all said things to loved ones that we regretted later, but can you imagine the grief of knowing you can never take it back?  For Peter, that Sabbath must have been a day of agony.  He had vowed to defend Christ to the end but when trouble came, he walked away.  His pain that Saturday must have been unbearable.

            Then, we have the crowds.  Just seven days earlier, they had cheered and praised Christ as He entered Jerusalem, but in the early hours of Friday morning, probably some of those same people had shouted “Crucify Him!”  I wonder if they stopped to reflect on what they had done.  Did they even see the contradiction in their actions between Sunday and Saturday?

            Finally, there are the Religious Leaders who had orchestrated Jesus’ death.  Did they spend that Sabbath celebrating their “victory”?  Did they smugly return to their duties in the Temple, as if nothing unusual had happened?  Did it cross their minds for even one moment that they may have made a mistake? 

            Scripture doesn’t tell us what happened that Saturday.  Thankfully, we don’t have to endure the uncertainty of His followers, or the anguish of Peter, or the contradictions of the crowds, or the “holier than thou” attitude of the Religious Leaders.  For us, Saturday is a day of anticipation.  Yes, Friday was a Day of Sacrifice, but thankfully, Sunday is coming!

Luke 23: 56

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