The Greatest Week in History. Saturday

Transcription

1 1 INTRODUCTION: The Greatest Week in History Saturday A. Texts: Matthew 27:62-66; Luke 23:55-56 B. [S1] Saturday. What comes to your mind when you think of Saturday? C. What Saturday means to many people 1. A day of rest 2. A day to catch up on work (in and around the house) 3. At this time of year, a day to watch football! 4. A day to do fun things go fishing, sleep late, do things with friends. 5. A day to watch cartoons (in the morning) or comedy shows in the evening (like Saturday Night Live) 6. "In Sweden, Saturday is usually the only day of the week when children are allowed to eat sweets, lördagsgodis." -- Wikipedia 7. A day that some look forward to all week. D. [S2] "Saturday in the Park" sung by Chicago contains these words: "Saturday in the park I think it was the Fourth of July People dancing, people laughing A man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs " E. [S3] Saturday of the Greatest Week in History is not like that. 1. It s a quiet day, a somber day -- "Somber Saturday." 2. "Somber" -- very sad and serious F. There isn't much information in our Bibles about the Saturday following the Friday of Jesus' crucifixion. Note two texts: 1. [S4] (Luke 23:55-56 NKJV) And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. {56} Then

2 2 they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. a. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee watched Joseph and Nicodemus closely. They carefully marked the tomb s location in their minds and made plans to return after the Sabbath to add their own spices and perfumes to the burial provisions the two men had made (Shelly 222). b. What a surprise lay ahead for them on Sunday morning (Shelly 222). c. Note: they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. 2. [S5] Matthew 27:62-66 a. (Mat 27:62-63) On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, {63} saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' 1) This passage begins in the most curious way. It says that the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate on the next day, which is the day after the Preparation (Barclay Matthew 374). 2) Now Jesus was crucified on Friday. Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath. 3) The hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday were called The Eve, or The Preparation. 4) We have seen that, according to Jewish reckoning, the new day began at 6 p.m. Therefore, the Sabbath began at 6 p.m. on Friday; and the last hours of Friday were The Preparation. 5) If this is accurate, it can only mean one thing it must mean that the chief priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the

3 3 Sabbath with their request. If they did that, it is clear to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law. If this is accurate, no other incident in the Gospel story more plainly shows how desperately eager the Jewish authorities were totally to eliminate Jesus [and His influence]. In order to make certain that He was finally out of the way, they were willing to break even their own most sacred laws (Barclay ; see also Booth ). b. [S6] Their Request: (Mat 27:64 NKJV) "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first." 1) Jesus had repeatedly said to His disciples that he would be raised on the third day and the public had learned of this (Matt. 12:40; John 2:19; 10:15-18) (Boles 550). 2) It seems that they understood Jesus words better than Jesus own disciples!!! Note: (John 2:22 NKJV) Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. 3) [S7] (Mat 12:38-40 NKJV) a) "38Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." {39} But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. b) [S8] {40} "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three

4 4 days and three nights in the heart of the earth. c) Jesus, of course, referring to His death, burial, and resurrection. 4) They did not admit that they envisaged the possibility that that might be true, but they thought the disciples might seek to steal away the body and say that a resurrection had happened (Barclay 375). c. [S9] (Mat 27:65-66 NKJV) Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how." {66} So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard. 1) Take a guard, Pilate answered (NIV). The verb is in the imperative (Boles 551). 2) The door of these rock tombs was closed by a great round stone like a cartwheel, which ran in a groove. They sealed it and they set a special guard and they made it as safe as they could (Barclay 375). 3) They had not realized one thing that there was not a tomb in the world which could imprison the Risen Christ (Barclay 375)! G. Consider what Saturday was like for Jesus disciples Friday was catastrophic. Jesus -- their Friend, Mentor, Master had been taken from them in a horrible way. They had observed Him suffer six hours on the cross in excruciating pain. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus carefully removed His lifeless body from the cross and placed it in a new tomb. 2. Now the "funeral" is over. And for the disciples all hope has died, too. They are defeated, disillusioned, and discouraged. H. That s not the kind of Saturday WE enjoy, is it?

5 5 1. But we all have some Saturdays like that: the day that follows the loss of a loved one, or some event, even a phone call that changes everything. Our Friday may be the loss of a job or some accident that has impacted our lives and the lives of our families. 2. It s the Saturday after our horrific Friday. It s the day after the funeral. It s the day after the diagnosis. It s the day after being fired or laid off. It s the day after After the shock of death or words that bring despair words like cancer, divorce, terminal, downsizing we find ourselves living with the "what next" of life and we enter the dark void of unknowing. Bruce Epperly 4. [Somber] Saturday is the time in between death and resurrection, fear and hope, pain and comfort. [Somber] Saturday is the valley of grief and uncertainty, for us and for Jesus' first disciples. Bruce Epperly 5. On [Somber] Saturday, we don't know what the future will bring. We don't know if the cancer can be cured or if we will love again or find the position that fulfills our vocation. Bruce Epperly 6. How do you survive THAT kind of SATURDAY, Somber Saturday? I. [S10] To get through Somber Saturday I. [S10A] REMEMBER, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. A. Others -- in fact, ALL of us at one time or another -- go through these kinds of Saturdays. Therefore, others know what you are going through. Sometimes it helps to know that others have -- and even are -- going through similar experiences. You are not alone. B. You are not alone. The Lord is always with you. C. [S11] "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." -- Psalm 23:4 D. God is with us in every situation, in every dark trial, in every dismal disappointment, in every distressing dilemma (Keller 75).

6 6 II. III. E. You will never go through a valley in life by yourself. God has said, I will be with you. F. [S12] (Heb 13:5b-6 NKJV) For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." {6} So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" G. To get through Somber Saturday [S13] REMEMBER, GOD IS STILL AT WORK. A. God s Words are still true. He will keep His promises. 1. Jesus had told His disciples that he would rise again. 2. His enemies seem to have understood what He said better than Jesus disciples. B. Jesus death, burial, and resurrection were all a part of God s plan to redeem mankind. His burial was not the end; it was only a part of the plan! C. [S14] (Rom 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 1. This text does not say, All things are good. It says, All things work together for good 2. All things will include some Somber Saturdays. 3. But God will ultimately work together all things for our ultimate, eternal good. D. To get through Somber Saturday [S15] REMEMBER, SUNDAY S COMING. A. Sunday = RESURRECTION! Their Somber Saturday will turn into a Sensational Sunday! B. [S16] "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." -- Psalm 23:4 C. You will get through this. You can get to the other side.

7 7 D. When you go through a valley of life the scary parts are the SHADOWS. In the darkness you see the shadows on the wall of the valley as you re going through the canyon. E. Remember, there is no shadow without a light somewhere. When you re going through a dark valley, you think the sun has stopped shining. You feel all alone. But anytime there is a shadow it means there is a light somewhere. When you begin to be afraid of the shadows in the dark valleys of life, look for the Light. When you re afraid, don t look at the shadow. Look at the Light. F. Because Sunday is coming, we have HOPE! G. Our hope is based upon the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. H. [S17] (blank slide) SOURCES: Barclay, William. The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2. Revised edition. The Daily Study Bible Series. Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, Boles, H. Leo. A Commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew. Nashville, TN: Gospel Advocate Co., 1967 Keller, Phillip. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, Booth, F.L. The Final Week. Epperly, Bruce. Living through Holy Saturday. April 15, Saturday-Bruce-Epperly html Shelly, Rubel. Falling in Love With Jesus: Studies in the Book of Luke. Joplin, MO: College Press Publishing Company, In life we may acquire some wisdom during our mountaintop experiences, but we learn the deeper lessons in the valleys. It is in the valleys that our faith is tested, tried, strengthened and deepened. You build faith in the valleys of life. Faith is strengthened in the valleys.