Saturday. I imagine it was the most difficult day for the disciples.
Friday, even as Jesus was hanging on the cross there was a morsel of hope. I imagine the disciples held there breath like we do at end of a climatic movie. The building explodes. Fire and smoke are the backdrop. You think, no one could have survived that explosion. But then epic music is queued and from the devastation the Hero emerges carrying the child or the damsel in distress. All is right with the world.
But alas, for the disciples, there was no epic music Friday. Their hero did not emerge. Instead their Hero said, “It was finished.” And then he died. Still on the cross. Only devastation remained. Only a tomb and a stone were left to tell the story.
Saturday. The disciples were confused. That is not how it was suppose to end. He was supposed to reign. He was supposed to set them free. He was supposed to be the Messiah. They had seen too much, experienced too much to go back to life as normal. Yet they were too disillusioned, too hurt, too confused to move forward. It was Saturday.
Saturday. Hope had left the building. Confusion abounded. Questions lingered. Fear gripped hearts. We are stunned. Numbed. Depressed.
Have you ever lived through a Saturday season? A season when you looked backwards all you could see was devastation. You saw only the door closed, the provision gone, the promise denied. You thought, “this is not how it was supposed to end.” And when you try to look forward, you fail to see how this devastation can end? You can’t imagine how the Hero will emerge from this mess. It’s full blown Saturday.
If you are in a Saturday Season, allow me to remind you of what the disciples were told but could not comprehend. Saturday doesn’t last always. Sunday comes. The Hero arises with healing, hope, provision in His wings. He rescues the damsel, the pauper, the lonely, the broken-hearted, the weak. Out of the devastation, out of the mess, Beauty arises. And His name is Jesus.
Spoiler alert friends. Sunday comes. Restoration happens. Hope returns. Saturday is a blip. Sunday is forever.
“Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and look at my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Don’t be faithless, but believe.” Thomas responded to him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.””
John 20:27-29 CSB