We Wait

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Holy Saturday.  The Bible is pretty quiet about what went on between the crucifixion and the resurrection.  It's a day when we are traditionally silent....like the whole world is holding its breath.

I've always imagined there is more to the story.  The Bible tells us that when Jesus died the sky grew dark, a great earthquake shook the land and opened the tombs, thus freeing the bodies of the holy ones who had gone before to walk the earth again. If that wasn't scary enough, the temple curtain....the curtain that closed off the Holy of Holies....the curtain no one but the high priest went behind (and him only once a year while tied to a rope so his body could be pulled out if he made a mistake in there)....THAT curtain was torn from top to bottom.

Can you imagine the terror and confusion that must have been going on?  Huge crowds running in the streets, screaming in fear.....what would be the reaction to meeting someone on the street you recognized and knew to be long dead?  Did people hide....trying to escape the wrath of God?  What did they think when the Holy of Holies was opened and exposed?  Did they cower in fear?  Did they run away?

I would think that the people were still talking about it the next day.  They would have been like us, comparing stories, wanting more details, wondering how to make sense of it, would it happen again, why did it happen, had God turned his back on them?  So many questions.  It would have been big news.  Everyone would have been talking about it.  And what about those people raised from the dead?  You couldn't just ignore them walking around.

We know the chief priests and Pharisees were afraid.  They asked Pilate to secure the tomb to make sure Jesus's body remained inside.  They still didn't believe him to be the Messiah, but they were afraid the disciples would steal his body and claim that he rose from the dead.  So, a seal was put on the stone covering the tomb and a guard was posted.

That is where Saturday ends.  The world seems poised on the edge of its seat, breath held.....what will come next?





*The regular Saturday sampling of links will return next week.