The day after the crucifixion was a Sabbath, traditionally Saturday– Holy Saturday!
We do not know how the disciples of Jesus spent that day, but undoubtedly they did observe the Sabbath. One can imagine that they were all fearful that the authorities might show up to arrest them wherever they were hiding. The Bible does not tell us where they spent the day but many believe that they did spend it together, perhaps where they had met with Jesus for the last time in the room where they celebrated the Passover and ‘Last Supper.’
The Burial of Jesus
According to John, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had taken the body of Jesus after his death and had hurriedly prepared his body and placed it in a nearby tomb. Remember, the Sabbath was coming quickly at sundown. So they had very little time in order to wrap the body of Jesus and get him in the tomb.
John 19:38-42 (ESV):
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus[a] by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds[b] in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.
Luke tells us that there were women close to Jesus who wanted to take special care of the body. They followed Joseph and Nicodemus to the tomb to see where they placed Jesus. The woman planned to come back on Sunday to do a more thorough job of preparing the body:
Luke 23:55-56 (ESV):
55 The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
The Chief Priests Want the Tomb Guarded
Meanwhile, the chief priests went before Pilate the next day in order to make sure the tomb of Jesus was secured and guarded by soldiers:
Matthew 27:62-66 (ESV):
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard[a] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Reactions of the Disciples to The Death of Jesus
The reactions of the disciples to the report from the women of an empty tomb the next day–on early on Sunday morning, gives us a major clue about how the apostles and rest of the close disciples were responding to the death of Jesus.
Luke 24:11 (ESV):
but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
They obviously did not expect Jesus to be resurrected. This leaves us with the conclusion that the disciples believed it was all over when Jesus died on the cross.
They had believed that Jesus was the Messiah and had given up everything to travel with him for 3 years. They had witnessed him do incredible miracles and healings, even bring back folks from the dead. But now it was over and they feared for their own lives, expecting the authorities to come soon for the rest of them any moment.
They had expected Jesus to take over the nation, conquer the Romans, and eventually become the ruler of the world like the prophets had foretold. But now he was dead and it was all over. Even during Passover and the Lord’s Supper they argued among themselves over who would be the greatest among themselves as the number two ruler on the right hand of King Jesus. But it was all over and what were they going to do now.
Now these silly women were believing that some miracle had happened because the stone was rolled away and somebody had stolen his body.But someone among the disciples observed:
Didn’t Jesus predict his own death a couple of days before Passover? What exactly did he say after all? Does anyone remember?:
Matthew 26:1-2 (ESV):
When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Also, remember when the woman poured all that expensive ointment over Jesus, didn’t he say it was for his soon burial?
Mark 14:8 (ESV):
When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”
Possible Discussion Among the Disciples:
But that can’t be right, who ever heard of the Messiah dying and being buried. We must have been wrong about Jesus—no real Messiah would die.
But weren’t there other times that he said he was going to his death and yet claimed to be the Messiah anyway? I also think I remember him saying something about coming back from the dead in three days?
But that is just crazy, the real Messiah was supposed to bring everyone else back and rule forever. Jesus must not have been the one after all.
We don’t know exactly what the disciples said among themselves after the crucifixion of Jesus, but some of the previous arguments were probably pretty close to their thinking since they quickly rejected what the women reported early the next day early on Sunday morning.
Jesus had predicted his own death and also his resurrection after three day enough that even the Chief Priests were concerned enough to go to Pilate on the Sabbath to make sure his tomb was secure. Yet the disciples were not expecting the resurrection themselves in spite of all of the times that Jesus had told them about his coming death and resurrection.
Passages Where Jesus Predicted His Death and Resurrection
Besides Matthew 26:1-2 and Mark 11:8 listed above, the following are other numerous passages where Jesus taught that he would be killed and resurrected. These teachings were substantially ignored and rejected by the disciples:
Matthew 16:4 (ESV):
4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
Matthew 16:21 (ESV):
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
Matthew 17:22-23 (ESV):
22 As they were gathering[a] in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, 23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
Matthew 20:17-19 (ESV):
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Mark 8:31 (ESV):
And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.
Mark 9:30-32 (ESV):
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
Mark 10:33-34 (ESV):
saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. 34 And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”
Luke 9:21-22 (ESV):
21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Luke 9:43-45 (ESV):
But while they were all marveling at everything he was doing, Jesus[a] said to his disciples, 44 “Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.” 45 But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Luke 18:31-33 (ESV):
31 And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
John 16:32 (ESV):
32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
The Response of the Disciples to This Teaching
It seems so clear to us since we know the entire story and how it all turns out. It should have been plain to his followers after all of the statements he made about his death and resurrection. But their traditions about what the Messiah was ‘supposed to do’ stood in the way and caused them to reject what Jesus had said. Even though he was trying to prepare them for what was really going to happen.
In spite of all of the times that Jesus taught that he was going to die and be resurrected, the disciples certainly did not understand and did not want to accept what he was teaching. They didn’t even dare ask Jesus about it. The one time when one of them, Peter, openly opposed this teaching, Jesus condemned this opposition as coming from Satan:
Matthew 16:22-23 (ESV):
22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord![e] This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance[f] to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
Even during the Last Supper with Jesus they had argued again over their own positions (Who’s the Greatest) in the coming ‘Kingdom’ and that scenario did not include a dead Messiah. They were in shock and in mourning and the report of an empty tomb early next day did not change their mind or mood.
Our Response:
My favorite popular Resurrection Day (Easter) song is He’s Alive, written and performed by Don Francisco and later by Dolly Parton. The lyrics might give us a good clue to the mood and thinking of the disciples during Saturday and early Sunday morning, particularly that of Peter and John:
He’s Alive (Lyrics)
The gates and doors were barred and all the windows fastened down
I spent the night in sleeplessness and rose at every sound
Half in hopeless sorrow and half in fear, the day
Would find the soldiers breaking through to drag us all awayThen just before the sunrise, I heard something at the wall
The gate began to rattle, and a voice began to call
I hurried to the window and looked down to the street
Expecting swords and torches and the sound of soldiers feetBut there was no one there but Mary, so I went down to let her in
John stood there beside me as she told us where she’d been
She said, “They moved him in the night and none of us knows where
Oh, the stones been rolled away, and now his body isn’t there”So we both ran toward the garden, then John ran on ahead
We found the stone and the empty tomb just the way that Mary said
But the winding sheet they wrapped him in was just an empty shell
And how or where they’d taken him, it was more than I could tellPerhaps something strange had happened there, just what I did not know
John believed a miracle, but I just turned to go
Circumstance and speculation couldn’t lift me very high
‘Cause I’d seen them crucify Him and then saw Him dieBack inside the house again, the guilt and anguish came
Everything I’d promised Him just added to my shame
When at last it came to choices, I denied I knew His name
And even if He was alive, it could never be the same
It all changes for them and us forever when Jesus shows up alive on Resurrection Sunday:
He’s Alive (Continued)
Then suddenly the air was filled with a strange and sweet perfume
Light that came from everywhere drove shadows from the room
Then Jesus stood before me with His arms held open wide
And I fell down on my knees and clung to Him and criedThen He raised me to my feet and as I looked into His eyes
Love was shining out from Him like sunlight from the sky
Guilt and my confusion disappeared in sweet release
And every fear I’d ever had just melted into peace‘Cause He is (alive and alive, He’s alive, alive, and alive, He’s alive)
(Alive and alive, He’s alive, He’s alive)
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive, and I’m forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive, and I’m forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He’s alive (He’s alive), He’s alive (He’s alive), He’s alive (He’s alive), and I’m forgiven
Heavens gates are open wideHe’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive, and I’m forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He’s alive
He’s alive (He’s alive), He’s alive (He’s alive), He’s alive (He’s alive), and I’m forgiven
Heavens gates are open wide
He’s alive, He’s alive, He’s alive, and I’m forgiven (He’s alive)
Heavens gates are open wide
He’s alive
Happy Holy Saturday. Tomorrow we celebrate the Resurrection Day (Easter) of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is alive! After nearly 2,000 years He is still alive indeed!