The day silence took its time
THE DAY Silence TOOK ITS TIME
Saturday (Mt. 27:62–66)
The events of Saturday are not described in great detail in the Bible. What we do know is what Luke 23:55–56 tells us—that it was the Sabbath day, and the disciples were obeying the command to rest. "As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished, the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law." (NLT)
We can also reasonably assume that the disciples were exhausted, fearful, and grieving during this time. The man that they had come to understand was the Messiah had been brutally and shamefully murdered. Wasn't the Messiah supposed to overthrow the enemy? Saturday was full of unknowns and confusion. immediately withered.
In their book The Final Days of Jesus, the authors depict this situation by saying, "The disciples are reeling from the shock of the previous day's rapid events. They had devoted their lives to following a person who had been brutally and shamefully executed as a criminal. Their hopes for the establishment of God's messianic kingdom lie shattered like so many pieces of broken pottery. They are likely sleep-deprived and terrified of pursuit and prosecution by the Jewish leaders. With their leader executed for fomenting political sedition, they have good reason to be afraid. (2)
The Chief Priests and Pharisees take precautions (Mt. 16:21, 27:62–66; Lk. 9:22).
The Pharisees and the chief priests did something because Jesus said He would come back to life on the third day. “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (Matthew 16:21, NIV)
They may have even had doubts about the likelihood of such an event happening because they did not fully comprehend Jesus' teachings about his resurrection, which only served to exacerbate their emotional state. Still, they counted on Jesus's devotees to do whatever it took to protect the veracity of His teachings, including stealing His body if necessary.
This group went to see Pilate and asked him to put a guard at Jesus's tomb. Pilate granted their request. “The fact that the Jewish leaders send this delegation to Pilate on the Sabbath reveals their perception of the situation—they are afraid as well. Their fear may have been exacerbated by the unusual circumstances surrounding Jesus’s death: the darkness, the tearing of the temple curtain, and the earthquake.” (1)
Matthew's gospel account records what happened during the meeting that took place with Pilate, the high priests, and the Pharisees. Pilate told the Jews to “take a guard” and to “make the tomb as secure as they knew how.” According to Lee Strobel in his book A Case for Easter, “If a prisoner somehow escaped, the responsible soldiers would be put to death themselves, so they had a huge incentive to make absolutely sure that each and every victim was dead when he was removed from the cross.” (2) Despite the Jewish leader's appeal and efforts to keep Jesus body buried, no one could stop what was about to happen. The calm of Saturday was momentary in light of what was to come on Sunday.
What does this mean for us?
The gospel wasn't a backup plan. It was always intended that Jesus would come to Earth and die on the cross. Nothing can stop God from doing what He says He will do.
References Cited
(2) ) Köstenberger, Andreas J., Justin Taylor, and Alexander Stewart. 2014. The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived. Crossway. https://www.christianbook.com/final-jesus-important-person-ever-lived/andreas-kostenberger/9781433535109/pd/535109.
(3) Strobel, Lee. 2018. The Case for Easter: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Resurrection. Zondervan. https://www.christianbook.com/easter-journalist-investigates-evidence-resurrection-ebook/lee-strobel/9780310865858/pd/3876EB
