Holy Saturday – the Day After — the Day in the Middle

Here we are — the day after Jesus died. The day between death and life. A pause. A spacer. In the middle there sits the silence of Holy Saturday. If it were our loved one, today, we would be going to the funeral home to attend to the details: the coffin, the funeral, the music, the flowers, the burial plot, the program. After our loved one’s body was prepared for viewing, we would go in and pay homage to the one we loved so dearly. I was okay with all the details — it went smoothly, but I’ll be honest, I didn’t like the viewing part. The larger-than-life one I knew and loved so dearly held no life. It was no longer him. The funeral would be in a day or two, but in the meantime, I was in the middle.

But, there’s a colossal difference with our Lord’s death. Though He hung from the cross on Friday, died and was buried, we are NOT going to His funeral tomorrow. Yesterday was Good Friday when Christ bore every sin we’ve ever committed, carried every sickness we ever had, and will ever have. He gave His life so that we would live forever with Him. That was His promise, but this day after — the day-in-the-middle — the day between Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection, His disciples and followers could only think….”It’s all over for us! Life will never be the same again.”

We have similar feelings when we face death. No matter how strong our faith, we each experience the pangs of death. This is just not how it’s supposed to be! We find ourselves waiting for our loved one’s return even though we know it cannot be. We feel the loneliness of their absence. We endure the waiting for reunion, but in the meantime we question: “Am I dreaming? Is this a nightmare? It can’t be reality.”

The disciples had walked with Him and talked with Him. They had seen His good acts and the many miracles He performed. Now, Jesus was dead — as dead as He could be. They had forgotten His 3-days promise. It was all over for them. They succumbed to doubt, fear, and unbelief. It was their saddest day EVER.

“In-the-middle” may be where we are right now. God hasn’t come through for us and we feel like He may never will. Our dreams for tomorrow are in the tomb right alongside Jesus. It seems all hope is gone because a loved one may have died, an illness may be bearing down hard on us, our marriage may seem dead, our financial situation may appear buried. But to those who know the end of this Love Story and who know the Savior – our hopes, dreams, desires and prayers won’t be dead forever, because Jesus was raised to life on the 3rd day and He came to give us LIFE and life more abundantly (John 10:10). For the disciples — in the middle, and for us — in our middle, it may seem like the deadest day of hopelessness, doubt and unbelief. BUT, hold on, my child, in the middle, this day AFTER, it’s time to get our hopes up because JOY COMES in the MORNING!

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 30:5.