Uplook - April 8, 2023
Dear Seattle Saints,
Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter which is known in some Christian traditions as Holy Saturday or Black Saturday. Have you contemplated what that day must have been like for the disciples. They had just celebrated a transformed Passover with Jesus and then endured the traumatic events which followed. And worst of all…now he was dead and laid in a borrowed tomb. Words come to mind like pain, grief, loss, anger, numbness, fear, etc. none of which are positive or uplifting in any way. It would seem on that Sabbath the clock moved very slowly and there was little to be said. It is interesting to note that apparently those who instigated the crucifixion of Jesus actually remembered what he had said.
Matthew tells it like this:
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. Matthew 27:62–66
How was it the authorities remembered Jesus’ promise but his own disciples, who no doubt heard it more often and more clearly, completely forgot it? Grief and loss are tough on the human psyche so we shouldn’t be too harsh on them it seems. So the Jewish authorities violated their own Sabbath laws by going to Pilate requesting Roman guards for the tomb to make sure Jesus’ dead body was not stolen. Matthew alone of the Gospel writers shares this because rumors were later spread by the authorities, complete with bribes to the guards, that Jesus’ body was indeed stolen. Of course, we know Jesus’ body was not stolen at all. It was resurrected just as He had promised. Someone has noted that the stone was not rolled away so Jesus could get out…but so that on Easter morning the women looking to prepare his body for proper burial could get in.
Sometimes I wonder if we are so set on just how bad things are and focused on making preparations for that reality that we miss the greater reality of redemption right in the midst of the dark times. We are often caught up in Saturday just as Mary and Martha were when Lazarus was in the tomb a short time earlier. We look somewhere in the distant future for the resurrection when the resurrection is not just an event…rather it is a person. Jesus said “I AM the resurrection and the life”.
So on this Saturday between Good Friday and Easter may we embrace the tension between death and life knowing that Jesus was there for all three days. Suffering, waiting, arising. God bless you all and may you experience the power of the resurrection afresh.
Housekeeping notes:
Blessings,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
Today is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter which is known in some Christian traditions as Holy Saturday or Black Saturday. Have you contemplated what that day must have been like for the disciples. They had just celebrated a transformed Passover with Jesus and then endured the traumatic events which followed. And worst of all…now he was dead and laid in a borrowed tomb. Words come to mind like pain, grief, loss, anger, numbness, fear, etc. none of which are positive or uplifting in any way. It would seem on that Sabbath the clock moved very slowly and there was little to be said. It is interesting to note that apparently those who instigated the crucifixion of Jesus actually remembered what he had said.
Matthew tells it like this:
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. Matthew 27:62–66
How was it the authorities remembered Jesus’ promise but his own disciples, who no doubt heard it more often and more clearly, completely forgot it? Grief and loss are tough on the human psyche so we shouldn’t be too harsh on them it seems. So the Jewish authorities violated their own Sabbath laws by going to Pilate requesting Roman guards for the tomb to make sure Jesus’ dead body was not stolen. Matthew alone of the Gospel writers shares this because rumors were later spread by the authorities, complete with bribes to the guards, that Jesus’ body was indeed stolen. Of course, we know Jesus’ body was not stolen at all. It was resurrected just as He had promised. Someone has noted that the stone was not rolled away so Jesus could get out…but so that on Easter morning the women looking to prepare his body for proper burial could get in.
Sometimes I wonder if we are so set on just how bad things are and focused on making preparations for that reality that we miss the greater reality of redemption right in the midst of the dark times. We are often caught up in Saturday just as Mary and Martha were when Lazarus was in the tomb a short time earlier. We look somewhere in the distant future for the resurrection when the resurrection is not just an event…rather it is a person. Jesus said “I AM the resurrection and the life”.
So on this Saturday between Good Friday and Easter may we embrace the tension between death and life knowing that Jesus was there for all three days. Suffering, waiting, arising. God bless you all and may you experience the power of the resurrection afresh.
Housekeeping notes:
- Our Choir will be sharing special music in tomorrows morning service entitled “Is He Worthy” arranged by Russell Mauldin. Plan to be with us.
- Next Sunday, April 16 we will resume having “Children’s Message” during our Morning Worship. Please pray for those involved as they resume this beloved part of our services.
- Pray for our young people who will be attending the NW Youth Retreat next week from Friday, April 14 – Sunday, April 16.
Blessings,
BB
Rev. William E. McKibben
Senior Pastor
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