Today is Holy Saturday, and it has become a bit of a tradition for me to reflect on the state of the Apostles and disciples, following Jesus death, but prior to the Resurrection. There is very little said about this in the Bible, but we can infer a few things from the little that is mentioned. I am going to look at several verses.
Luke 23:55-56 NIV
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. [56] Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Luke 24:1 NIV
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
Mark 16:1 NIV
When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body.
Matthew 28:1 NIV
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
John 20:1-2 NIV
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. [2] So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!”
Now the sabbath of this week, was a High Sabbath (see John 19:31), which means it was a part of the seven days Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast was one of the major Jewish celebrations. It is interesting that Matthew, Mark and Luke indicate clearly that the followers of Jesus observed this Sabbath. The women waited to carry the spices to Jesus' body until after the Sabbath was over, for carrying any burden, which was considered work was forbidden.
We are told that the Last Supper was actually the Passover celebration, which is just one of the days in the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread. Here are the verses from Luke 22:7-8 NIV: "Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. [8] Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
Thus, we can make some assumptions about this High Sabbath. It was a day that people gathered together to celebrate, it was a day of no-work, which specifically limited how far you could walk. We know that Jesus had arranged a place for them all to meet for this important Feast, and they were in Jerusalem. It is likely then that they were all gathered together in that place, trying to make sense of what had just happened. I am not sure if they went through any of the usual customs associated with the celebration, and if they did I am sure they were of mixed emotion. I would imagine it would be like trying to celebrate Christmas, a few days after losing a member of your family.
I would imagine that at this point, they were starting to recall all the times that Jesus had told them He was going to die. We have multiple instances recorded in the Gospels, and the Gospel writers also tell us that the disciples didn't understand what Jesus meant, but now they were staring at the harsh reality of His death, and were surely wracking their minds to remember exactly what He had said, and what He said would happen after He died.
I would imagine there was plenty of self-accusation and shame over their abandoning of Jesus. Their actions had been a far-cry from their oath to Jesus to die rather than abandon Him (Mark 14: 29-31). Shame is a terrible thing to sit under, and here they were all under a similar weight, except for the loyal women who had stayed by Jesus until He died, and maybe John who was present at the foot of the Cross. I have experienced the regrets that arise immediately after the death of a loved one, and I am sure that was going on as well, remembering all the things they had done, and thinking of the things they would want to say if they had Jesus back alive with them. Suffice it to say that is was a very somber, and soul-searching day for the followers of Jesus.
For us, we know that Easter, the Resurrection follows, but for Jesus followers, they had no such understanding. Even if they remembered Jesus saying He would rise again, that He was the Resurrection, they probably had very little hope. We know this by the surprised responses of Peter and John, when they are told of Jesus' resurrection (See Luke 24:11 and John 20:3-9). In fact, John goes so far as saying so - John 20:9 NIV: "(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)"
In summary, it seems this would have been one really dark and hopeless celebration for the followers of Jesus. They were likely together, but had no real hope in the Resurrection. It seems to me that they were like the many of our fellow brothers and sisters who have not experienced the salvation available in Christ Jesus. They might be getting ready to celebrate Easter, but they have no hope in the resurrection, no understanding of the sacrifice that Jesus made, and to them it is likely an empty celebration, where they gather to eat and do little else. There might be celebrations of easter-egg hunts, and candy, but there is little real meaning or life changing understanding.
We, however are called to embrace the days of celebration, to anticipate the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ, knowing that He is the first-born from the dead, giving us hope of real life after death, of eternal salvation and the true forgiveness of sins! Easter is much more than a religious celebration of remembrance, it is the celebration of our daily ability to walk in relationship with God, and a celebration of our coming reunion with Him in Heaven. It is eh defining celebration of our faith, for as Paul says - 1 Corinthians 15:13-14,17 NIV:
[13] "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. [14] And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
[17] "And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins."
Thank God, we know that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead!
Amen!
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