Project 119: Mark 15:42-47
|
Today is regarded as Holy Saturday by many liturgical traditions, a day meant for deep reflection on Christ’s death. Although Mark does not tell us what happened on that Saturday, I think this passage about Christ’s burial is actually really appropriate to set the mood for what Christ’s followers were probably experiencing. The man they trusted in, who declared that He was the Messiah, the One they had hoped would deliver them from Rome, died the death of a criminal. His body was flogged and beaten before enduring the horrifying pain of crucifixion. Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the blood-drenched body of Christ, so that it might be washed and prepared for burial before the Sabbath began at sundown. The very Word of God was dead and placed inside of a stone-cut tomb.
The gospel of Matthew tells us that, on that Saturday, a group of soldiers were sent to guard the tomb, lest the disciples steal Jesus’ body and claim that He had come back to life (Matthew 27:62-66). Luke tells us that Joseph and the women who prepared Jesus’ body for burial observed Sabbath rest “according to the commandment” that day (Luke 23:52). But I doubt that it was restorative rest. If you’ve experienced the death of a loved one, you know that the days to follow are filled with different kinds of grief. Perhaps some of Christ’s followers simply felt numb, in total shock. Some may have tried to continue their usual rhythms in a haze, trying to maintain some sense of normalcy. Perhaps others wept openly, as if their hope had died. In many ways, their Hope had died.
We like to skip over this day, don’t we? It’s much easier to move straight from the cross to the empty tomb. Christ indeed has been victorious over the grave, and we will have much to celebrate tomorrow morning when Easter dawns. Our Hope was raised to life, and because of His resurrection, we have every hope in the world that we too will be raised and that death will be defeated. But many days, it feels like we’re living in Holy Saturday too, doesn’t it? Our bodies wear out and break, and people we love die, and there is so much suffering on this side of eternity. In the midst of life's sorrow, we look to the resurrection with eager longing.
Lord, we thank You that Death does not have the last word–that one day, we too will experience the same kind of resurrection You experienced that Easter Sunday. Thank you for meeting us in the brokenness of every Holy Saturday in our lives, and for reminding us of the eternal hope we have in You.
Mark 15:42-47 (ESV):
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead.45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.