Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
Luke 23:50-56
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Friday, before the sun set, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus’s body down from the cross, wrapped it in linen, and placed it in a new tomb. Mary Magdalene and the other women watched the burial, mourned, and planned to return after the sabbath to cover the body in spices and perfumes.
Imagine the looks of silent shock around the shabbat dinner Friday night. Imagine the silence of Saturday.
It was meant to be a day of rest, but I imagine it was a day of restlessness for the followers of Jesus. Their rabbi, their Messiah, their King, their hope for freedom from Roman occupation was dead. One of their closest friends, Judas, had turned Jesus over to the Jewish leaders and then committed suicide. One of the leaders of their band of brothers, Peter, had just denied even knowing Jesus in the moment when Jesus needed him most. Everyone else seemed to scatter except the women and the beloved disciple John.
What just happened?
Everything happened so fast. Have you ever had one of those moments of confusion and disillusionment that seemed to move faster than your thoughts and feelings could process? When things finally slow down, as they did that sabbath, everything comes rushing back. Flashes of scenes play through your mind.
Jesus in the Gethsemane agonizing in prayer.
The soldiers marching toward them with torches.
Jesus getting struck on the face.
The mock trial.
The early morning pronouncement of Pilate that left them in shock.
The beaten and bloodied image of Jesus stumbling up to Golgotha.
His eyes.
What was on his head?
The clank of metal on metal met with screams of pain.
Our Savior hanging there.
The smell of blood and death.
The lifeless body.
The dark tomb.
All the images flashing in their minds on repeat. Then the questions. How could this happen? Why would God let this happen? This can’t be God’s plan. Why didn’t God stop this? What do we do now? How can I go back to my old life? Will the Romans come for us next? The Jewish leaders know us. Are they going to hunt us down? What about my kids? What are we going to do?
Silence.
They couldn’t have known that while they were feeling defeated, Jesus was defeating death.
All they knew was silence.
Sometimes God does His best work in the quiet of disillusionment…
…if we would only hold on until morning.
Fire and Light 