When we think about Easter, we think about the Resurrection; we are far removed from the events leading up to it, and we already know how the story ends, so there is no suspense, no uncertainty, no waiting. But for the disciples, who were actually living through the experience, the events of Friday–the arrest of Jesus, His interrogation and execution–must have seemed like a final “no” from God. On Saturday, they were not looking forward with joyful anticipation to what would happen Sunday; they were fearful and grieving. They were left wondering how things had gone wrong, why God had allowed things to end as they had, and what would happen next.
They were waiting in silence.
We all have our own periods of waiting in silence. Whether it is healing, a job, a broken relationship, or something else, we all experience seasons where we need something, where we pray fervently for God’s intervention, and seemingly receive no response.
But just because God is silent, it doesn’t mean that He is not working on your behalf. When a seed is planted, before a sprout breaks through the surface of the earth, it seems as if nothing is happening. But below ground, out of sight, much is happening. Without that period of waiting, if the seed does not begin to grow underground, there is no harvest.
The Saturday of Silence was a period of waiting, but it was also the Sabbath: a period of rest. In Genesis 1 we read about the creation of the world; God works for six days, bringing order out of chaos, and then rests on the seventh day. Not because he was tired, but because the work was finished; the Sabbath rest was a celebration of a completed creation.
On Good Friday, Jesus’ last words were “It is finished” (John 19:30). He then entered the tomb at sundown, just as the Sabbath began. Just as God rested after creating the world, Jesus rested after re-creating the world; His death was the planting of the seed of redemption, ending the “old world” of striving and the Law and beginning a “new world” of grace and salvation. The heavy lifting, the work of salvation, was over.
A period of wait and silence is not a sign of God’s absence or inactivity. Sometimes, it is a sign that He is working behind the scenes on your behalf, but sometimes it is a sign that God has already accomplished the victory for you, and its manifestation is only a sunrise away. While Jesus’ body rested in the tomb, the “work” of defeating death was reaching its climax. By resting in the tomb, Jesus reminds us that we cannot “work” our way out of the grave or “earn” our way to Sunday.
Sometimes, the only thing for us to do is to rest.
Of course, the Sabbath, the Silent Saturday, eventually ends; the sun rises, and the women who arrive at the tomb to tend to Jesus’ body find that it is empty. Imagine how great their joy, and that of the disciples, is when they learn that Jesus has been resurrected. Likewise, our period of waiting and rest will come to and end. We too will be triumphant at last, and like the disciples, we will be amazed at what God has done for us.
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