Resources & Updates

“Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!”

Last year, after Easter services, a gentleman came to me with an interesting question. He said, “Jesus had the last supper on Thursday, died on Friday, and rose from the dead on Sunday. What happened Saturday?”

That’s a great question. Officially, the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is called “Holy Saturday.” It commemorates the day when Jesus Christ's body lay in the tomb after his crucifixion. It serves as a bridge between the sorrow of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday, emphasizing themes of waiting, anticipation, and hope. 

Even though the Bible tells us a lot about what happened on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, the Gospels are silent about “what happened” on Holy Saturday. On Friday, Jesus told the thief next to him that he would be with him in paradise, and when he died, his body was buried in a tomb. People have argued that Peter gives us a hint that Jesus went to the place of the dead to proclaim the gospel of light to saints of old: 

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19 in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, (I Peter 3:18-19)

However, Biblical scholars have argued about the meaning of these words for centuries. (This is one of the verses that inspired the insertion of the phrase, “He descended into hell,” into the Apostle’s Creed.)

I have come to think about “Holy Saturday” as “Silent Saturday,” and each year I get more and more curious about what God was doing during that “silent” time. 

When Jesus died, the whole world went dark for three hours. And then from that evening through Saturday, the disciples hid in fear while everyone else’s lives went back to normal. But, even though the Lord was quiet, I believe that God was up to something.

When a seed is planted in the ground, we lose sight of it but we know that there is a lot going on under the soil. Even as Jesus lay in the tomb, the seeds of resurrection were watered. In the stillness of the grave, God was preparing to bring forth new life and the proof is the Resurrection.

In the same way, I believe that the Lord is at work in the silent seasons of our lives. A silent season is that time following some type of suffering—a season of confusion following a tragedy, crisis, humiliation, or a death. The silent seasons are the times when it seems God is silent and the world has gone dark. We have prayed but have not yet received an answer; after we have suffered and still don’t have relief; when we are afraid for ourselves or the people we love and don’t know what to do. We are hurting, but everyone else goes on with business as usual.

But the Resurrection on Easter Sunday shows us that God is at work even during Silent Saturdays, and the good news is that the Lord is moving in the world, in our lives, in the church, and in the lives of the people we love even when we can’t see or hear what he is doing.

The Bible tells us that in the early days of the church, the Lord was moving ahead of the apostles invisibly, preparing the soil for the seed of the gospel to be received. 

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you… (2 Th 3:1). 

In the same way, I believe that God the Holy Spirit is moving ahead of us --preparing, working, loving and answering prayer. 

We believe in the promises of God, and that He is faithful, but we are waiting for those promises to be fulfilled. On Easter Sunday, it gave us hope for Silent Saturdays. The Lord not only raised Jesus from the dead, He gave us proof that He is the God who keeps his promises. 

Easter Sunday gives us the hope we need on Silent Saturday. There may be a lot of time between pain and relief. There may be a lot of time between the prayer we pray for someone and the time we see God’s answer. But that doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t working behind the scenes and beneath the surface. 

Do we believe that our God brings new life from death—that the Lord is always at work, even when we can’t see what he is doing? Do we believe, as Isaiah wrote, that the Lord will give his people 

… a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. (Is 61:3)

Holy Saturday is a day of hope, because it is a time for us to remember that even in our darkest moments, God is present, working out his redemptive purposes. Does your life feel more like Crucifixion Friday, Silent Saturday, or Resurrection Sunday? Do we believe that Friday was the end or do we believe that He is working on Saturday and that new life is coming on Sunday? 

Praise the Lord for His death on Friday
 Praise the Lord for His resurrection on Sunday
 And praise the Lord for His work we can’t see on Saturday.

Christ is Risen!
Rev. Dr. Bob Fuller