The Longest Day
"We are going up to Jerusalem," he said, "and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise." (Mark 10:33-34)
Jesus said these words to His 12 disciples about one week before this endless Saturday between the crucifixion and the Resurrection. It wasn’t a passing comment or whispered under His breath. Mark tells us he took them aside, away from the others. He spelled out exactly what was about to happen. Did any of them remember?
Either way, it must have been the longest Saturday of their lives. For a week, the tension had been building until all of their worst fears came to shocking, fatal climax on Friday night. They ran. They hid. They regrouped. They locked themselves in. And then a whole day of nothing. Silence. The end of the dream. Confusion. Grieving. Fear.
Did any of them remember Jesus’ promise? Everything else He said about His death happened exactly that way. How could they forget that He also said He would rise? What do we forget in our darkest moments when we think God is silent, when we’re tempted to trust Him less with what’s most important, when we’re ready to give up? What are we expecting from Him?
Sunday is coming . . .
Think: Do you ever wonder if God has abandoned you? What evidence of His love do we ignore at those times? What promises do we dismiss when we want to blame Him for letting us down?
Pray: Ask God for rock-solid memories of how He has been there for you in the past and how He has promised to provide for you in the future.
Do: Look up the time of the sunrise in your town tomorrow and write it down somewhere. Next to it, write this: Jesus is alive!
Jesus said these words to His 12 disciples about one week before this endless Saturday between the crucifixion and the Resurrection. It wasn’t a passing comment or whispered under His breath. Mark tells us he took them aside, away from the others. He spelled out exactly what was about to happen. Did any of them remember?
Either way, it must have been the longest Saturday of their lives. For a week, the tension had been building until all of their worst fears came to shocking, fatal climax on Friday night. They ran. They hid. They regrouped. They locked themselves in. And then a whole day of nothing. Silence. The end of the dream. Confusion. Grieving. Fear.
Did any of them remember Jesus’ promise? Everything else He said about His death happened exactly that way. How could they forget that He also said He would rise? What do we forget in our darkest moments when we think God is silent, when we’re tempted to trust Him less with what’s most important, when we’re ready to give up? What are we expecting from Him?
Sunday is coming . . .
Think: Do you ever wonder if God has abandoned you? What evidence of His love do we ignore at those times? What promises do we dismiss when we want to blame Him for letting us down?
Pray: Ask God for rock-solid memories of how He has been there for you in the past and how He has promised to provide for you in the future.
Do: Look up the time of the sunrise in your town tomorrow and write it down somewhere. Next to it, write this: Jesus is alive!
posted by Christopher Lyon at
7:47 AM
1 Comments:
I agree with this completely. I think we often forget those grueling hours between Jesus' crucifixtion and his resurrection. It must have been a terrible time for the apostles who had just lost the most important person they had in their lives. All goodness in the world was gone during that time. It would only be human for them to doubt the Lord's existence just as we sometimes doubt it. The apostles faith however that Jesus was the Son of God kept them going. I believe their attitude is a good example of what we, as christians in 2008, need to keep in mind. God sometimes seems distant, maybe even non-existant, but in the end if we keep our faith strong he will reward us with great gifts this human world could never offer;i.e. eternal life.
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