Saturday was quiet and likely a somber Sabbath for many of Jesus' disciples. The gospel accounts surround Saturday with busyness including: requests for Jesus’ body, burial preparations, and an early morning to continue their mourning. However, the silence of Saturday declares several theological and practical implications for us to consider.
1. Jesus was a man. The reason Saturday was so quiet was primarily because Jesus took on flesh. God declared death to be the punishment for sin (Romans 6:23). And though Jesus was perfect and without sin, he took our sin upon himself and was buried in a tomb as the consequence. Jesus was the only legitimate substitute for us, simply because he was the God-man, fully God and fully man.
2. Jesus had to be buried in order to be raised. In order for the victory of Sunday to come, the demise of Saturday was necessary. Jesus paid the full requirement for us to be reconciled with God. This required death and burial. In order for us to understand why one day in the grave was sufficient for Jesus, yet an eternity of punishment is required of those apart from Christ, we must understand the relationship of the buried One to the Judge.
Jesus is eternal and had forever experienced perfect relationship with his Father and the Spirit. At the cross and in the grave, Jesus was abandoned and forsaken by his Father. Jesus suffered more in this abandonment than any single person could ever possibly suffer in the torments of hell. Jesus experienced hell in its fullness for us.
3. Jesus silenced the sting of death. Death is the inevitable doom of humanity. Believers and unbelievers experience physical death as a result of sin. However, the difference between the two is astounding. Jesus remained in the tomb on Saturday to silence the demands of death and the sting that comes from death. This is an obvious implication of knowing the end of the story—Jesus conquers the tomb, death and sin. Though death is still imminent, those united to Christ have no fear or ultimate demise in embracing physical death.
4. Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath. This was the last “Sabbath” held on a Saturday. The direct implications of Sunday changed the course of church history and the Sabbath was fulfilled and declared every Sunday from here forward. Nothing special takes place on Easter Sunday that does not occur on every Sunday. The shift to Sunday in worshipping the Resurrected Jesus has transpired—Sabbath finds meaning and fulfillment in the silence of Saturday.
Saturday is silent, yet successful. Sunday is fast approaching…supremacy will be on full display!
by Adam Viramontes
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