This blog post is a little late, but it’s always important to remember what Christ did for us. This blog is of course talking about Easter or Resurrection Sunday, the day where Christians celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the dead. This is perhaps the most important moment in earth’s history, as Christ has won the victory over sin, and broken the chains of death, giving hope to all of us who come to Him, that we too can live a life without sin and have eternal life.
I want to focus a little more on the day before He rose though -that Sabbath. While He was resting in the tomb, everyone else was in worry and dread, but this is an important day to talk about. And what Christ did, that whole weekend, was more than just save the world from sin, He also defeated despair.
Everything about Christ’s death was sad. Even the weather seemed foreboding (Matthew 27:45), and after Jesus died, the veil in the temple was torn, the earth quaked and rocks were split. Of course, His disciples were devastated and His mother was devastated.
Joseph of Arimathea donated his tomb for Christ, he and Nicodemus got Jesus’ body and buried it, but since it was nearly the Sabbath, the day which God has sanctified and set apart for rest, they could not finish preparing Jesus’ body, so they had to wait until Sunday. And how awful that Sabbath must’ve been for Jesus’ disciples! They gathered together, probably in the upper room that they had rented for the Passover and they were very sorrowful that their Master had been killed. All of their hopes for a better life, for a kingdom, power, and glory were dashed. They probably feared that they were going to be arrested and killed next, and I can only imagine their fear and their sorrow.
They weren’t the only ones afraid, however. The priests and Pharisees were afraid that Jesus would rise from the dead as He said, or that His disciples would steal His body. I think they were truly afraid of the possibility that Jesus would rise again. They had seen Him raise Lazarus from the dead, as well heard about others who had been restored to life. So they went to Pilate and asked for a guard so that they could keep Him trapped in the tomb (Matthew 27:62-66). It reminds me of all the people who may try to keep us, or our stories sealed up.
This was the darkest Sabbath of all time, at least for the people of the earth, who unbeknownst to them, had been redeemed and saved from sin. Some of the people who had seen Jesus put to death were also convinced that He was truly the Son of God, the Centurion believed, as did one of the other criminals. Many of the other priests also believed (John 12:42) and as they continued to study the scriptures and allowed their minds to be open to the prophecies of the Messiah, to their true meaning, they eventually became Christians (Acts 6:7).
Something is important to note: Christ had at least three times told His disciples of not only His death but of His resurrection. However, it seems as though they completely forgot about His own prophecy, especially the part that was to offer them hope.
Now after Jesus rose from the dead, one of the places He went was to Emmaus.
Emmaus was a small village, seven miles away from Jerusalem. Jesus purposely went this way so He could meet two disciples of His who were very, very, fervently talking about the events of the three days. This story is found in Luke 24:13-35.
In verses 15 and 16, it says that Jesus drew near with them, but that their eyes were restrained so that they did not know it was Him. I don’t think they even noticed that He had joined them in their journey until He asked them what they were talking about, and why they were so sad.
They told Him everything that had happened the past three days and then Jesus began to “expound” to them the Scriptures that concerned Him. All that time on their journey they did not realize it was Jesus. It was only after they invited Him to “abide with them,” and when He had vanished from them that they realized who they spoke and journeyed with. It was after three days of sorrowing, of darkness, of despair, that they realized that Jesus accomplished all that He said He would do. It was when they looked back on their journey and realized that their hearts burned in them as He talked with them that they realized their Lord had risen.
I think this is so powerful to anyone who is in despair. To anyone who feels like they are alone, without a Savior. However, Jesus walks with us always. We may not see it because He wants to show us something that we would miss if we knew it was Him who went with us. We can trust that Jesus is always by our side, even if we don’t see Him, or don’t feel like He’s there.
There’s also so much hope in His Word. If the disciples had returned to the word and studied the prophecies again, they could come to the conclusion that Jesus was going to rise again, as He said. They could’ve held onto that hope that Sabbath, and enjoyed it and rested with Jesus instead of being in worry.
Jesus has not only destroyed the power of death. He has not only severed the chains of sin. He has defeated despair. Because of what He did for us, we do not have to fear. We do not have to doubt that He’s with us. Even when the dark times come and we don’t see Him, we have this promise:
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed…Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…” 2 Corinthians 4:8,9,16,17.
“Perplexed, but not in despair.” Jesus has defeated despair.