Day 41 - We Wait

Written by: Nathan Boyd

SCRIPTURE FOCUS
Matthew 27:57-67
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

DEVOTION
Today is Holy Saturday. Yesterday, we celebrated and remembered the truth of Good Friday, when Jesus willingly gave his life, dying a humiliating and excruciating death of the cross. Yesterday, the city would have been buzzing and the talk of Jesus’ death would have been the topic of conversation on everyone’s tongue. The dream of Jesus being the long-awaited Messiah had suddenly become a nightmare, and all hope was gone.

The sun sets on Friday and awakes on Saturday morning. However, the scene on the streets of Jerusalem look much different than a few hours before. On this Saturday morning the streets are quiet and everything is moving at a slower pace. Today is the Sabbath, and no work is to be done on this designated day of rest. This meant everything suddenly ceases, there is no anointing of the body, no traveling to get out of the city, no planning meetings for the disciples to determine what would happen next. Everything stops. Everything is quiet. Everyone is still.

The Sabbath is a day that is designed to be kept holy, set aside for a special purpose, a day dedicated to the Lord. The Sabbath is a day of waiting, we refrain from work and we wait on the Lord to work on our behalf. On this Holy Saturday we are challenged to wait with great expectation for Sunday. We don’t jump ahead to the miracle but instead we sit in the stillness of Holy Saturday preparing our hearts for what the Lord is going to do next.

ACTION STEP
While it might be difficult for some families, today slow down long enough to meditate and reflect on the death of Jesus. Don’t immediately jump to the miracle of the resurrection but instead think on the incredible love of Jesus and how he poured out his love through his shed blood on the cross.
 
Over the next few moments the devotional background music will continue to play, spend time quieting your soul to hear from the Lord and reflect on his sacrifice.


PRAYER TIME
Father, today I wait. Help me to love you more as I sit in the stillness of this moment. Thank you for what you have done for me through your sacrifice and thank you for what we will celebrate tomorrow, your resurrection from the dead.