Nougat 8

What a sabbath that must have been! The reality of Jesus death sunk in; memories of His prophetic promises forgotten in light of a sealed tomb. Receive today’s Hply Nougat

“As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27‬:‭57‬-‭58‬, ‭65‬-‭66‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Sealed not once, but twice! And under armed guard. It was not a good Sabbath; not for the following, the family, nor the disciples. Fear might have befriended them – the unholy and unhealthy kind; for if Jesus allowed them to kill Him, was He really the Messiah? What were they to do with themselves?

I suspect that the temple wasn’t appealing any more – it was the religious right who agitated the crowd for His crucifixion. Who knows, as next of kin and disciples – they might be next. For the trumped up charges could easily have extended to them; they declared Him Christ, the Son of the Living God (see Matthew 16). It was no secret. And He named the beloved one her son (see John 19:26-27) … that was so final! If that wasn’t enough, the site was now under protection. Even if one of them wanted to try to resurrect Him, nothing doing. Not possible with that bunch. He was the Christ – why hadn’t He saved Himself?

That must have been a somber sabbath. Not quite business as usual. The desolation. The loneliness. The uncertainty of ‘What Now’? When they left everything to follow Him, they hadn’t bargained on short term employment or temporary purpose. He gave no instructions, in fact His last words were ‘It is finished!’ (see John 19:30)- just before He handed His Spirit to God (see Luke 23:46). Those weren’t the words of encouragement, that was completion! And with Zero instructions on What Next

If only they realized their time was so limited – they’d have listened differently; they’d have taken notes; they’d have asked Who’s gonna be in charge instead of Who’s the greatest; they’d have leased their boats; they’d probably think twice before walking away from every thing; they’d have … but they didn’t!

And so they were stuck on that longest ever Passover sabbath.

A twice sealed tomb in a private graveyard on a public Passover sabbath. Grief stricken and rudderless; what was their fate?

Are we caught in the crosshairs between death and resurrection? We have the benefit of the end of the story. Stay tuned and prayerful …

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May all we seek be found in Christ