Saturday Scripture Gold with Bibi: He Conquered Death; Securing Our Eternal Salvation!

"Understand, then, the sense in which Christ was made a sacrifice for sin. But here lies the glory of this matter. It was as a substitute for sin that he did actually and literally suffer punishment for the sin of all his elect."  -Charles H. Spurgeon

Holy Saturday is the name given to the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Some Christians recognize Holy Saturday, the seventh day of Holy Week, as the day on which Jesus “rested” from His work of providing salvation. As Jesus died, He called out, “It is finished!” There was no further price to pay; sin had been atoned for (John 19:30).

And what about Jesus' disciples? It's safe to say that the day between Christ’s crucifixion and His resurrection was more than likely a time of grief and shock; as the shakened disciples tried to understand the murder of Jesus, the betrayal of Judas, and the dashing of their hopes.

If you recall, the disciples scattered when Jesus was arrested (Mark 14:50); and on top of this, they spent the first Holy Saturday in hiding because they were afraid of being arrested, too (John 20:19)! Imagine trying to process all of this, as it happened in rapid succession, within the space of only a few days!

Now, normally the Romans would leave the bodies of the crucified victims hanging upon the cross until they rotted, or until the birds and beasts of prey had eaten them. However, it was against Jewish law to leave a body hanging overnight (Deuteronomy 21:22-23). Moreover, Christ was crucified on Friday, the day before the Sabbath (Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31, 42). Since this Sabbath was also during the Passover week, it was a "high day," or more sacred than an ordinary Sabbath day (John 19:31).

The only biblical reference to what happened on Holy Saturday is found in Matthew 27:62-66. After sundown on Friday (the day of Preparation) the chief priests and Pharisees visited Pontius Pilate. This visit was on the Sabbath, since the Jews reckoned a day as starting at sundown. The Jews sought Pilate's permission to remove the bodies of Jesus and the two robbers before the Sabbath day which began at sunset.

Jesus' body lay in the tomb where it was guarded by Roman soldiers all day Saturday, which was the Sabbath. When the Sabbath ended at 6 p.m., Christ's body was ceremonially treated for burial with spices purchased by Nicodemus: "He brought about seventy-five pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes. Following Jewish burial custom, Jesus' body was wrapped along with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth" (Luke 23:52-54; John 19:39-40).

Nicodemus (John 3:1-2), like Joseph of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-51), was a member of the Sanhedrin, the court which had condemned Jesus Christ to death. For a time, both men had lived as secret followers of Jesus, afraid to make a public profession of faith because of their prominent positions in the Jewish community. Similarly, both were deeply affected by Christ's death. They boldly came out of hiding, risking their reputations and their lives because they now realized Jesus was, indeed, the long-awaited Messiah.

While his physical body lay in the tomb, Jesus Christ paid the penalty for sin by offering the perfect, spotless sacrifice. He conquered death, both spiritually and physically, securing our eternal salvation: "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Certainly, without the resurrection of Christ, we would be in pretty bad shape. If Christ had never been raised, “your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17). They (the chief priests and Pharisees) remembered Jesus saying that He would rise again in three days (Matthew 27:63; John 2:19-21) and wanted to do everything they could to prevent that.

As we know, the Roman guards, who were posted by the entrance to the tomb, were woefully insufficient to prevent the resurrection; and the women who returned to the tomb Sunday morning found it empty (Luke 23:55-56; 24:1-3; Mark 15:47; 16:6; Matthew 27:61; 28:5). The Lord had risen!

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3; Romans 10:9; John 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:20;  1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 20:17; Luke 24:36-43

Now, let's pray...

O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for in thy name's sake. Amen

Until next time...

May your week be blessed!

Bibi