Day 7: The Burial of Christ

Read

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27:62–66

Read also Luke 23:55–56; John 19:39–40.

Reflect

As we continue with our devotions this week, let us take a moment to pray and ask God to speak to us and minister to us in a refreshing way:

Loving and merciful Father,

we are humbled by Your rich generosity

in sending Your only begotten Son so that we could be restored to You.

Deepen our faith and grow our confidence

that we may boldly declare who You are and what You’ve done for us.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

In our culture, the day after Jesus died and was buried in the tomb is known to be a silent one. Many still believe that Jesus is still dead on Black Saturday every Holy Week.

In the Bible, the only specific details we are given for this day is the conversation between Pilate and the guard, wherein they agreed to secure Jesus’ tomb. Other than that, the Scriptures do not offer much on what the disciples were doing or where they were. However, prior to Jesus’ burial, the Scriptures tell us what happened. When Jesus was arrested, the disciples scattered. After He had died, a few followers of Jesus—Joseph of Arimathea, Mary, Mary Magdalene, and even Nicodemus—prepared Jesus’ body with spices and perfume before His body was laid to rest. So, on this day, the rest of the disciples could have been hiding and waiting for the right time to show up and see what had happened to Jesus.

On this Sabbath day, there were two sets of people in the background:

• The religious leaders did not believe in Jesus and made sure that the tomb was sealed and secure. They tried to ensure that Jesus would not be able to come out of the tomb and that His disciples would not attempt to steal His body. While the disciples had seemingly forgotten about His promised resurrection, the irony is that the religious leaders remembered. In our contemporary language, they canceled Jesus and any possibility of Him ever existing again.
• Some of His disciples truly believed and cared for Jesus even though they faced uncertainty because of His death. On that day of rest, they remained devoted to Jesus, staying in close proximity to the tomb.

This day is celebrated by professing Christians around the world in many different ways. Some use it as a day for recreation and fun and may even take Jesus’ sacrificial death for granted. Others have another extreme perspective. Believing that on this day Jesus is still dead, they practice various religious rituals to mourn His death.

Whichever perspective you are coming from, may this day be an opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ death on the cross as the greatest sacrifice to redeem fallen humanity from the kingdom of darkness to His marvelous light. Today, if you have taken Jesus’ sacrificial death for granted, take time to commemorate and remember what He has done for you. If you are mourning, humbly celebrate His willingness to take your place on the cross and express your gratitude for His sacrifice. After all, the cross is the place where Jesus has poured out not just His blood but showed us the full extent of His love and grace. As Christians, we believe that Jesus’ death on the cross brought us forgiveness. In Christ, our sins and shame have been wiped away.

We can have joy even on a day like this because we know that the story does not end with Black Saturday. Sunday is coming, and the tomb can’t keep Him!

Respond

• With which response to the death of Christ do you relate the most? How do you usually spend Black Saturday, and how has that changed in light of the gospel?
• What do 2 Corinthians 5:21 and Colossians 2:13–14 say about what Jesus has done for us?
• How does the truth found in Colossians 3:3 encourage you to live free from condemnation? How does God’s word inspire you to live in obedience to Him?