We had a Good Friday service tonight at our church and in the quiet time of reflection, I got to thinking what it was like for Jesus’ followers between his death and his resurrection. There’s not a lot said in Scripture other than they were basically hiding out together trying to figure out what was next now that their friend and rabbi was gone. I imagine there was a ton of sorrow and grieving. I imagine there was a lot of confusion. After all, Jesus told them that he would die and then be raised back to life, but they didn’t quite grasp what he was saying. They believed he had come to rescue them from the oppression of the Roman Empire, but that didn’t happen. They watched him challenge the religious teachers of the day, yet in the end it seemed as they defeated him by having him crucified.
I have a hard time putting myself in their shoes. On this side of the resurrection, we can celebrate on Good Friday knowing that Easter Sunday is coming. But for them, it was different. They didn’t know the resurrection was actually going to happen. Maybe they hoped it would, but I imagine in their grief they forgot all of his words about the resurrection. It must have been the worst thing they had ever experienced. Hope was crushed and their one futures were very unclear. Could they just return to life as usual before meeting Jesus? I bet they didn’t think so. They knew something was different for them for the rest of their lives for just knowing him. But they didn’t realize that on Easter morning their eternity would be different.
On this Easter weekend, I encourage you to reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the struggle of his followers afterward, and then the celebration when he actually did come back to life on the third day. Let this be a reflective weekend, but let this also be a weekend full of celebration. Because of Jesus’ pain, sacrifice, and resurrection we can have eternal life in heaven forever.
Thank you, Jesus, for enduring the cross. Thank you, Father, for raising him from the dead.
