The Burial of Jesus

50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.

55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Holy Saturday is the day that is hard to define. It is both a continuation of the sorrow of Good Friday, but it is also filled with the expectation of the Resurrection. The disciples and those who loved Jesus must have grieved and felt the unbearable pain of loss as they tried to make sense of what had happened. It is likely they battled with the hopelessness and shock of the situation, and they may also have grappled with uncertainty as to whether Jesus would rise from the dead as he said he would when they were together in Galilee. (Matthew 17:22-23). In Mark 9:32 it goes on to say, the disciples did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. Considering the brutality and suffering they had just witnessed; it would be easy to understand if the disciples were even more uncertain and confused than they had been in Galilee.

In 2016, on Prayer for the Day, BBC Radio 4, Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester referred to Holy Saturday as an in-between day. She said ‘Yesterday Christians lived the agony of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion and wept at our own brokenness. Tomorrow, on Easter day we will rejoice that life is stronger than death as Jesus Christ’s resurrection is celebrated. But today on Holy Saturday, we live in that ‘in-between place’… And for me, as a follower of Jesus Christ, it is one of the most profound days of the year because it is symbolic of where I live my life: Each present day aware of my past frailty and brokenness – yet knowing that hope is stronger than despair – and that I am loved by God who makes all things new, and that one day there will be no more pain, no more death and no more tears.’

The events after Jesus’ death are well recorded. Joseph from Arimathea who is referred to as a good and upright man who was also a member of the Council but who notably hadn’t consented to their decision and was himself waiting for the Kingdom of God, went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. He took it down from the Cross, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed in a tomb cut in the rock which had never been used before. We learn in Luke 23:55-56, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. They then went home and prepared spices and perfumes, but by the time they were finished it was the Sabbath, so they rested as required by Jewish Law.

It is likely rest did not come easily to the women, but they complied and waited. We can experience the same sensation of waiting on Holy Saturday as we embrace it peacefully as a time of prayer and meditation. We can use it as a time in which to stop and reflect, to take time out of the busyness of the week to prepare our hearts for what lies ahead in the same way the women and disciples did. Traditionally Early Christians fasted, prepared, and renewed their Baptism vows on Holy Saturday. Those vows, taken from the Church of England Website, are listed in the personal reflection section to meditate and reflect upon.

Are these questions you can answer as Easter dawns:

Do you turn to Christ?

Do you repent of your sins?

Do you renounce evil?

Do you believe and trust in God the Father, who made the world….In his Son Jesus Christ, who redeemed humankind… In his Holy Spirit, who gives life to the people of God?

Loving God, in all those places of ‘in between’, give us courage to acknowledge the past and to live the present with hope an expectation Amen

(from Rt Rev Rachel Treweek)