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The Food for Thought Faithcast with Be Rob
Ep. 12- Holy Saturday- Between Cross and Resurrection: The Sacred Silence of Holy Saturday
Between the darkness of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday lies a profound moment often overlooked in our rush toward resurrection. Holy Saturday stands as a sacred pause – a day when Jesus' body rested in the tomb while something extraordinary was happening beneath the surface.
This meditation explores the rich spiritual significance of that silent Saturday. Joseph of Arimathea tenderly laid Jesus' body in a new tomb, where it remained still as the Sabbath unfolded. There's beautiful symbolism here: just as God rested on the seventh day after creation, Jesus rested on the seventh day after completing salvation's work. His declaration "It is finished" was followed by divine rest – not from weakness, but from fulfillment.
The silence of Holy Saturday speaks directly to our modern experience. We all face seasons when God seems quiet, when we're caught between the prayer and the answer, between the pain and the healing. The disciples lived this tension acutely – grieving, confused, unaware that resurrection was hours away. Like seeds growing unseen underground or babies developing in the womb, Holy Saturday reminds us that transformative work often happens in hidden spaces. The ancient belief in the "harrowing of hell" adds another dimension, suggesting that even in death's domain, Jesus was declaring victory, bringing light to darkness.
What makes Saturday "holy" is precisely this – its invitation to embrace waiting as sacred, to find meaning in stillness, to trust that God works even when nothing appears to be happening. The stone that seemed permanent would soon be rolled away. The story wasn't over; it was simply unfolding in ways no one could yet see. Whatever "tomb season" you might be experiencing, Holy Saturday whispers hope: divine silence never equals divine absence. Resurrection is coming.
Join our growing community of believers exploring the full richness of the Christian calendar. Share your thoughts on how Holy Saturday speaks to your own journey of faith.
When we think about Easter weekend, most of the attention usually goes to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Good Friday, the day Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Easter Sunday, the day he rose again in victory. But between those two incredible moments there's a quiet space that often gets overlooked it's called Holy Saturday. At first glance, it might seem like a day where nothing happens, but if you pause and look closer, you'll see that this day carries deep meaning. It's not just a gap in the story. It's a moment of silence filled with purpose. Holy Saturday invites us to understand rest, to lean into waiting and to learn how to trust God when it seems like nothing is moving. So let's take this journey and walk through that quiet day between the cross and the empty tomb, that quiet day between the cross and the empty tomb. Let's uncover why Holy Saturday matters, not just in the story of Jesus, but in our own stories too. After the painful events of Good Friday, when Jesus breathed His last, his body was taken down from the cross. It wasn't left exposed or thrown away like a criminal's remains. Instead, a man named Joseph of Arimathea, someone who had been following Jesus, quietly stepped forward. He went to Pilate and boldly asked for Jesus' body. Pilate agreed and boldly asked for Jesus' body. Pilate agreed. Joseph wrapped Jesus in a clean linen cloth and placed him in a new tomb that no one had ever used before. This moment is found in Matthew 27, verses 59-60. It's a moment of care, dignity and love. Jesus' lifeless body was laid to rest, but not in defeat. It was a holy rest, a divine pause. Now try to imagine the atmosphere. The shouts of the crowd had faded, the soldiers were gone, the sun had set. There was a deep, heavy stillness in the air. The one who had once walked on water, touched lepers and fed thousands now lay silent in a tomb. No miracles were happening in the streets, no teachings are being shared, just quiet prepared. Just quiet stillness, silence. And this silence wasn't meaningless. It was part of the plan. Jesus had declared on the cross it is finished, and he meant it. The work of salvation had been completed. He had paid the price. He had taken on the sin of the world. So now he rested, not because he was weak, but because the work was done.
Speaker 1:Holy Saturday honors that rest. It holds space for that moment when everything had been accomplished, but the next step had not yet been revealed. Yet been revealed. There's something even deeper going on here.
Speaker 1:Holy Saturday was also the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week set aside as a day of rest ever since God created the world. In Genesis, god worked for six days to form the heavens and the earth, and then, on the seventh day, he rested and blessed it. And now Jesus followed that same rhythm. He died on the sixth day, friday, and on the seventh day, saturday, he rested in the grave. This wasn't an accident. It was a mirror of creation itself. Just as God rested after creation, jesus rested after completing the work of salvation. He wasn't just resting from suffering. He was marking the fulfillment of everything that had to be done. Marking the fulfillment of everything that had to be done.
Speaker 1:Even the women who had followed Jesus closely observed this rest. They had watched him die, they saw where he was laid. They prepared spices to honor his body, but they didn't rush. They obeyed the Sabbath. Luke 23.56 tells us they went home and prepared spices and perfumes, but they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Even in their sorrow, they chose to honor God. That's powerful. They didn't skip the rest, they embraced it. They didn't skip the rest, they embraced it.
Speaker 1:This day teaches us something that many of us find difficult Spiritual rest. We live in a world that doesn't like to stop. We're always busy, always trying to fix things or move things forward, but Holy Saturday tells us that there's a time to rest, not because we've given up, but because we're trusting God. Jesus rested, his followers rested, and sometimes we're called to rest too, not from weakness, but from faith. One of the most honest parts of Holy Saturday is the silence. Nothing seems to happen. There are no signs, no supernatural events, no voice from heaven, just quiet. And in today's world, silence can feel awkward or even scary. We're used to noise, to updates, to constant motion. We're used to noise, to updates, to constant motion. But in Scripture, silence is often where God does His deepest work.
Speaker 1:The silence of Holy Saturday isn't a sign that God left the story. It's a pause before the breakthrough. Think about a seed buried in the soil. It looks like nothing is happening, but beneath the surface, life is forming. Think about a baby growing in the womb quiet, unseen and purposeful. Holy Saturday is like that Hidden work, quiet, hope, a still moment before the sunrise.
Speaker 1:For the disciples, this silence must have felt unbearable. Their teacher, their master, their friend was gone. All their hope had been tied up in him and now he was in a tomb. They didn't understand what was coming. They didn't remember or maybe didn't believe his promise that he would rise again. They were grieving in confusion. This part of the story is so real because it reflects moments we all face, moments when we feel stuck, when we feel like God is silent, when we're caught between the prayer and the answer, the pain and the healing, the question and the clarity. Holy Saturday reminds us that these moments are part of the journey. They're not failures. They're not forgotten. They're part of God's rhythm. They're not forgotten. They're part of God's rhythm, especially for new believers. This is a lesson that matters.
Speaker 1:Following Jesus doesn't mean every day will be filled with joy and loud miracles. There will be quiet days, waiting days, days when nothing seems to change, but these days are not wasted. God is working, even in the silence, and the resurrection is on its way. The disciples had no idea what was coming next. They were heartbroken, thinking it was all over, but in just a short time the tomb would be empty. Angels would declare he is not here, he is risen. That's what makes the silence of Holy Saturday so moving. It reminds us that just because we can't see what's happening doesn't mean God isn't doing something incredible behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:There's also an ancient Christian belief that adds a deeper layer to this day. It's known as the harrowing of hell. According to this teaching, while Jesus' body lay in the tomb, his spirit was not inactive. He descended into the realm of the dead not to suffer again, but to proclaim victory. He entered the place where the souls of the faithful waited and announced that the power of death had been broken. In 1 Peter 3, verse 19, it says that Jesus went and preached to the spirits in prison, and many believe this refers to that powerful moment when Jesus declared his triumph even in the darkest places. Think about that. Jesus didn't just conquer sin on the cross, he also stepped into the very heart of death's domain and brought light. He went to the lowest place and opened the gates. That's how complete his victory was. Whether or not everyone agrees on the exact meaning of the harrowing of hell, the message is clear Nothing is beyond Jesus' reach, not pain, not silence, not even death.
Speaker 1:So why do we call it Holy Saturday? Because it is holy in every sense. It's holy because it completes the story of redemption. It's holy because Jesus rested just like God did after creation. It's holy because, in the quiet, god was still at work. And it's holy because it teaches us the sacredness of waiting, of trusting, of letting go and letting God carry the story forward. This day invites us to slow down, to sit in the silence, to resist the urge to skip ahead to Easter morning. It tells us that there is beauty in the waiting, there is value in the stillness and there is power in the pause. Holy Saturday doesn't shout, it whispers. Holy Saturday doesn't shout, it whispers. And if we listen closely, we'll hear it telling us wait in faith, trust in the silence. The stone will be rolled away, the light will break through, jesus will rise. That's why it's called Holy Saturday, because, even when all seems quiet, god is still moving and the story isn't over.
Speaker 2:Hey guys, it's B-Rob, it's the Holy Saturday edition and the story is not over. I'm going to read you a little out of my Bible app devotional it's day seven, it's Holy Saturday. Holy Saturday is marked by darkness and waiting, waiting in grief and hope and with unanswered questions. Now that Jesus has been killed, the priest, the chief priest and Pharisees want Jesus' tomb secured for at least three days. The Roman leader, pontius Pilate, commands his guards to protect the tomb from anyone wishing to enter. They also rolled a stone in front of the tomb's entrance to seal it, meaning they squished a lump of clay or some kind of substance into a seam that would break if the stone was tampered with. They press an imperial Roman symbol into the clay so that anyone looking to disrupt the seal would face the consequences of the brutal Roman government.
Speaker 2:Imagine you are an early follower of Jesus. You have been waiting for the promised Messiah your whole entire life and then you heard the word of Jesus. You have spoken with him and seen his miracles and you have come to believe that he is filled with the unending, indestructible power of God, because he is the promised Messiah, but now he's dead, crucified, murdered. You heard him talking about dying and being raised back into life. But how is that even possible? Was he just another musician, magician? Another wandering sage-peddling false promises? Another wandering sage peddling false promises? Your newly kindled hope in the Messiah would have been snuffed out with Jesus' execution.
Speaker 2:Holy Saturday invites us to experience. It invites us into an experience of darkness, into the questions and the grief that so accompany this life. Where is God? Why do we experience so much pain? We thought Jesus came to rescue us. But what now? Today we sit in painful darkness of Holy Saturday and find rest through knowing that in the darkness of life, god is alive and working. In deep sorrow, god is still there In our waiting. God is not forgetting us or forgotten us. He is loving us and working in his ways to restore life to each of us. The sealed stone will not be able to hold Jesus in place. Death is not the end. John, chapter 19, verse 39 and 40. John, chapter 19, verse 39 and 40. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus. At night, nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes about 57, about 75 pounds. Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it with spices and strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
Speaker 2:This is Psalms, chapter 130, a Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, lord. Lord, hear my voice, let your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy. If you, lord, kept a record of sins, lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you. I wait for the Lord. My whole being waits and his word I put in my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. He himself will redeem Israel for all their sins. That's Psalms, chapter 130. And that's exactly what is happening, folks. So we have to lie and be still and wait for our Lord, because he's coming, he's rising, he is going to rise. Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today, lord. We just give you thanks, lord. We give you thanks for patience, lord. We give you thanks for rest, lord.
Speaker 2:How biblical is it that Jesus rests in the grave on this seventh day before the resurrection, lord? How biblical is that? It reminds me of Genesis, lord. How biblical is that? It reminds me of Genesis, lord. It reminds me of you, lord. God, you are so gracious, lord, you are so patient. Lord, we love you. Lord, it's in Jesus' holy name we pray these things Amen, hallelujah. Thank you, guys. That was the episode about Holy Saturday and just want to give a shout out to Bible Teaching the YouTube channel Bible teaching, for that audio clip that I played at the beginning. Check out their YouTube page. Subscribe to those guys. They do great work. Guys, I love you. We'll see you Resurrection Sunday. God bless you.
