It is Saturday.
The day between Good Friday and Easter. And it makes me wonder, as I sit here in my apartment in good ol’ Oklahoma, what that first Saturday was like…
Friday had came and went,
Filled with the angry, prideful shouts of man
“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Men willing to trade an innocent man -
One who spent His time on this earth, though God,
Serving, healing, teaching, and loving -
For a murderer.
A man full of sin like you and me.
And as Pilot washes his hands of the blood of Jesus,
Though in truth we all are responsible,
Man’s thirst for blood was satisfied.
Christ was beaten and whipped,
His back stripped for me.
Christ wore a crown of thorns in mockery,
Blood falling down His face for me.
And He carried that cross to calvary,
His wrists and feet nailed to wood,
And though He is God and could easily flee,
He submitted to God’s plan as He hung on that tree.
For me… you… and all of humanity.
As He let out His last breath,
All of hell rejoiced and leapt,
For it seemed God had been finally defeated,
Their mission for revenge completed.
Then darkness fell upon the land,
The veil tearing in the temple,
A sign that there was more happening here.
But we remained ignorant,
Unaware of the rumblings of eternity.
And then it was Saturday.
As Christ’s physical form rested in a garden grave,
God’s plan for man was still unfolding.
The powers of death and sin were being defeated.
For though it seemed hell had the last laugh,
Jesus’ death was being used to satisfy God’s wrath.
Still, man remained ignorant and unknowing,
Fear seeping into some hearts,
As the one they called Lord laid in a tomb.
I wonder if the angel’s knew?
Or do you think they held their breath,
Knowing God was sovereign,
but unsure how He planned to conquer death?
As the disciples sat in hiding,
Do you think tears slipped from their eyes?
For though Jesus taught them personally,
Leaving hints of what was to come,
It seemed all plans were halted,
And their Lord was overcome.
Yet, before we judge their quick forgetfulness,
Let us not forget our own.
Was Hell holding a party?
The devil robed in fires finest and drunk?
The demons unexpecting thinking their god had won?
Were they dancing in the fires, as God was knocking down their gates?
Do you think they saw it coming,
The numbering of their days?
As the Romans contemplated all the heard,
Do you think their spirits stirred?
As the guards marched to the tomb to watch,
Did they wonder at what they heard?
And as the sun dipped below the horizon,
Were their hearts stilled with fear?
For they must have sensed an atmospheric shift,
As the time for resurrection drew near.
Creation in all its beauty,
Was it saddened by the acts of man?
For the Bible reveals all creation knew,
The power and safety in His hands.
Did the earth begin to hold its breath,
The air becoming tense and stiff,
The sun we know stopped its shining,
As our Savior was on that cross dying.
Do you think they knew that their Creator was gone?
I feel like Saturday time stood still.
I feel like the sounds of nature must have stopped.
I feel like the guilt must have clung to man.
I feel like the world had to feel the immensity of that moment,
And a frightful anticipation of what must then come?
For how can a god be slayed without revenge?
How can an innocent man be killed without justice?
How can goodness come from such a bad day?
How….
But, we serve a God who had a plan,
His Son given to save the life of man.
And on day three that Son arose,
Death, hell, and sin defeated,
Hell quiet,
Heaven singing.
And on that Easter Sunday,
All of creation must have come back to life,
Knowing their Creator was still living,
Praise God, Jesus is alive.
So on this Easter weekend,
Don’t forget about that cross.
Don’t forget about who hung there.
Don’t forget about the cost.
For it was not Jesus’ misconduct that hung Him on that tree.
No, Jesus paid the ultimate price,
Because of His love for You and Me.