The Saturday in the Holy Week is often skipped over. It is sandwiched between two of the biggest days in Christianity and humanity at that. Those two days are important, but I think there are valuable lessons to be learned from Saturday. Not much is recorded in the Bible about Saturday as the other days of the week, but there are a few moments to takeaway. 

Restless Accusers

“The next day, that is, the day after the [day of] preparation [for the Sabbath], the chief priests and the Pharisees assembled before Pilate, and said, “Sir, we have remembered that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise [from the dead].’” Matthew 27:62-63

This verse shows that Jesus, although dead, is still causing fear that He may rise. They are going about their day, but they are still thinking about Jesus resurrecting. I can’t imagine they slept easy Friday night. The thought of Jesus rising up and proving them wrong must have scared them greatly. These Pharisees were the ones who were so confident that they mocked Jesus and spat on Him, now we see that confidence fading. Even in death, Jesus shows His power over those who killed Him. They are not showing off their victory, rather, they know that it is not over and still fearful of Jesus. This shows the first lesson we can learn from Silent Saturday. Even when people seem to get their way, there is no rest apart from God. You cannot go outside God’s plan and have rest, even if it seems to go great. That rest will fade as all things do, that is, other than God and His plan.

Grieving Disciples

“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, that you will weep and grieve [in great mourning], but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy.” John 16:20

Restlessness is bound to come to all at some point. It hit the disciples and those following Jesus hard. The disciple John just watched his Savior, and probably the man he was closest to, be crucified. Mary has just watched her Son and her Creator be killed. Peter had just denied knowing Christ and then watched his Lord be sacrificed for him. The disciples have just watched their Teacher die, leaving them sheep without a shepherd. This would not be something you can sleep on and be okay in the morning. The followers of Christ just had their world flipped upside down. Jesus knows this and speaks to it in the last supper. He is honest about the coming grief and sorrow, but tells that it will be turned to joy. The accusers’ restlessness has no end in sight, where as the disciples’ is only temporary, soon to be replaced with joy. The great pain they must have felt was sure to pass. As we saw previously, the Pharisees’ plan seemed to work, yet they were restless. The disciples’ hope seems to be lost and yet they are the ones who will have the joy in the end. This shows the second of the three lessons. Do not put your hope in the plans of man, but stay in surrender to God’s, even when all hope seems lost. 

The Restful God

“And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” Genesis 2:2

Finally, we will see where the rest is in this Silent Saturday story. Among the plan that has gone well or the hopeless disciples, there is one more and that is the plan that God set. Jesus may be dead, but He never lost control. Jesus was not absent from Saturday, but like every other day in history, He was holding all things together. We can see His control in that even in His death, He was keeping the law. In the beginning, after God had made the earth in six days, God takes the seventh and rests. A practice comes out of that which is known as the sabbath. It would take place from Friday night to Saturday night and was meant to mimic the day God rested. During the Holy Week Jesus is going out preaching and working very hard and rests on the seventh, which at the time was Saturday. Jesus had completed His work, as He says “It is finished”, and He rests. The plans of the guilty hold no power to the One who set everything in motion from creation. Jesus is the only one who can grant rest and peace. No one else has the authority to grant lasting rest and peace. Even when circumstances of fear and restlessness come, Jesus is above it all and promises perfect peace in those times. All you have to do is trust in Him and accept His sacrifice.