Dark Sabbath

The Bible is silent about this the Sabbath between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  There isn't a story about the tears shed, the memories shared, the hugs and the hurting hearts.  No one has heard, at least this side of Heaven, about the gentle reminders about His promised return.

This is a dark day, a day when Jesus did some of the most precious work ever.  This is the day when after his physical death He walked through the Valley of the Shadow of Death and He carried all of us.  Every sin, every tear, every wound - He carried them all and didn't drop a single one.

Harried and harassed, He fought death and washed us clean.  From that last breath to the angelic tomb break He fought for us, He carried us.

We used to have to walk through that valley, until Jesus on that dark Sabbath walked it one last time for us.  How wonderful! How amazing. How awesome!


Knowing what we know now, we can see this dark Sabbath for what it really is.  But how was it for the sisters, Mary and Martha or for Mary, the mother of Jesus and the other Mary of Magdalene and the other women who were waiting to tend to him.

Their time was short on that terror filled Friday and they could offer no proper anointing, no proper farewell.  A quick bit of tearful heart broken work before the sun went down.  Then a day to wait.  The longest, darkest day knowing that He was gone.

Even in the middle of our deepest grief we can find peace. I think these people of Jesus were seeking that peace, together.  I wonder how much love the had for each other or how badly they were frightened?  I believe that the Holy Spirit quieted their hearts.

I wonder on that dark Sabbath if the members of the Sanhedrin or Pilate and Claudia or Herod were frightened by what they had wrought?  Or were they rejoicing that another problem was solved?  When did someone find Judas?  Did he lay at the bottom of the hill all day, alone and scavenged upon?  Possibly.  Did anyone mourn that lost soul, besides Jesus?


I wonder about the thief who accepted Jesus at the last moment of his life.  Today you will be with me in paradise!  That was the promise.  What a promise!

Because of our sins, we all shared the same death sentence as those criminals who flanked our Lord.  And yet it was because of those very sins that He choose to pay our price for freedom.  Jesus did what no one else could do - He saved the world from itself. And, wonder of all wonders, He did it willingly and with love.  The ultimate love.  The perfect love.

That dark Sabbath was washed in tears, blood and yet it claimed no victory.  The temple curtain was torn.  The old was passed away.  That dark Sabbath was the last of it's kind.  No more innocent lambs to bleed out, potion out and burn.  The perfect Lamb took all of our places, forever!


It is fitting that the dark Sabbath had no words spoken about it.  It is fitting because everyone needs to catch their breath from the cross to the empty tomb.  It is a huge journey to take, but Jesus no only led the way but He cleared it, filled it with light and love.


Today, as you catch your breath between Good Friday and Easter Sunday think of the quiet darkness of that Sabbath day.  Consider what the silence, the tears and the sense of waiting for something amazing must have been like.  The world waited, the very creation beneath our feet, just as was beneath theirs, held its breath.  Everything was waiting for that light to burst forth victorious!