Of Dirt and Grace 3-Day Easter Devotional by UNITEDSample

“His body bound and drenched in tears, they laid Him down in Joseph's tomb. The entrance sealed by heavy stone, Messiah still and all alone.” - O Praise the Name (Anástasis)

Aside from John, each of the Gospels describe the burial of Jesus. They mention the man Joseph who gave his tomb as the burial place for Jesus, but other than this, and some other details, they are otherwise “silent” regarding the Saturday of Easter. For these reasons, this day is sometimes referred to as Silent Saturday. Luke 23:54-56 is a particularly interesting insight into the lead-up to this strange day. It says that the “Sabbath was about to begin”, and that the women went home to prepare spices and perfumes, but “rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.”

Despite the horror of Friday, the women still observed the Sabbath command to rest on Saturday. They had heard Jesus’ words from the cross, “it is finished” (John 19:30), but likely they and the other followers of Jesus hadn’t known what he truly meant by this. In many ways, Jesus’ words there on the cross echo the narrative of Genesis when God finished creation. It describes God as having “rested” from all his work and making the day “holy”. (Genesis 2:1-3 NIV)

For centuries, the Church has called Saturday in the Easter Weekend, Holy Saturday. After reflecting on these two passages, it is easy to see why. It was quite literally the Sabbath, and it was being observed in more ways than one. Just as in creation, God was “resting” so to speak from his work, it was finished. The work in Genesis—the original work of creation, and the work at the crucifixion of Jesus—the work of the new creation. Though there are many lessons in the story of Holy Saturday, ones like waiting for the promise, enduring silence, or not losing hope despite daunting circumstances, one that is clear for us in light of these things is to rest in the work of God.

Christ had finished the work; He died for our sins (1 Cor. 15:3); the promise of Sunday was coming; the glory of resurrection was about to spring forth. While the women in this story likely didn’t realize it, they were resting in the finished work of the cross. From our vantage point now, we are invited to do the same this Easter Saturday. We can rest in the finished work of the cross. And maybe in the same way as God did in Genesis, he also (and still does) blessed the day and made it holy.