The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Matt. 27:62-64 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, as the sun rose Saturday after “Good Friday,” no one realized the most undeserved death imaginable would yield the greatest return calculable. They couldn’t imagine that…
- Your forsakenness secured our righteousness
- You being “crushed” led to us being cherished
- Your fatal wounding guaranteed our everlasting healing
- Your final breath defeated the devil, and destroyed his works, forever
- Your “termination” before your family and friends, was for their redemption, and the salvation of your every-nation Bride
- Your dead body, “planted” in the tomb, is the “seed” which will yield the garden-world of the new heaven and new earth
Though the priests and Pharisees had the Scriptures, they had no clue. Yet they did remember your promise of resurrection. They weren’t saddened about your death; they were fearful of your life. Having failed to put to death a resurrected Lazarus (John 12:10), they weren’t about to indulge a resurrected Jesus.
O silly, sinful men—they’d sooner hold back the rising of the sun than the rising of the Son. Resurrection Sunday was coming, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it. The silence of Saturday would soon be shattered with the shouts of Sunday: “The Lord is risen! He is risen indeed!” So very Amen we pray, in your triumphant and loving name.