This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock,
where no one had ever lain before. Luke 23:52-53
Disclaimer This post may be long, but perhaps less confusing than what’s common. It may not be as exciting, but more promising in what the Bible is providing. We all see through a glass darkly, including myself, but hopefully, this encourages us to search the scriptures and see for ourselves.
Well, we have what is known as ‘Good Friday’, commemorating the day Jesus was crucified as God’s sacrificial lamb, once and for all. Of course, we have tomorrow what will be ‘Resurrection Sunday’ as we celebrate Jesus as The Resurrected Hope, who was the first to be raised from the dead unto eternal life! But I want to talk about the day in between these two, which could be called many things, but for this post, I will call it “Silent Saturday” ...the day in-between”.
It has become common to hear sermons that elaborate and EXAGGERATE what exactly happened on the day in-between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. It is popular to hear how Jesus went to hell, got the keys from Satan and the Old Testament saints then came into eternal life, etc, etc. Though it makes a powerful sermon, it simply isn’t Biblically true.
What does the Bible actually say so that we can understand what happened on that day in between? In other words, Where did Christ go when he died? Well, let’s consider the following.
A) As the prophet Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
B) To the thief on the cross: "Today (literally: this day) thou shalt be with me in paradise (literally: paradise; a park, garden, lush area).
C) ...[Christ] also went and preached unto the spirits in prison. I Peter 3:19. Commonly interpreted as spirits in hell, whom he preached to in his time between death and resurrection.
So was he in the earth, heaven, or paradise?
It can seem confusing, doesn’t it? Some may ignorantly say, well all the above. But the Bible may indicate all the beneath, as in beneath the earth in the literal sense.
Well if Jesus meant to the thief on the cross that on that very day that he would be with Him in paradise, then how was the thief in “heaven” before Jesus got to heaven? Did not Jesus resurrect 3 days later? Did Jesus not tell Mary Magdalene to not touch him because He had not yet ASCENDED to His Father? Hm…
And what about Jesus preaching to those spirits in prison? You know, taking the keys from Satan? Was every person in this prison a person of faith? What about those in Noah’s day or in Sodom and Gomorrah’s day who perished? Or perhaps was Peter not talking about what that verse has been commonly translated?
In context, Peter is paralleling Jesus’ death and resurrection to that of Noah’s day. If we read on, we see that the “waiting” in and of itself in the preparation of the ark, brought about the salvation of eight souls (Noah and his family) as they were saved and spared in judgment by water. In other words, they were contained in the ark, being preserved. Those who die in faith are contained in the grave, preserved for new like when the truth ARK Jesus opens the doors to a new day!
So where does this lead us concerning Jesus on that silent Saturday? It leads us to understand where Jesus said He Himself would be on the day in between, both dead and buried, as He silently remained laid to rest in the earth (grave).
Now death means…dead. Non-moving, non-conscious, non-everything. Jesus was not partially dead. He was dead dead. On the day in-between He was as dead as dead can be. No life was in Him, not even a hint. Hence THE POWER of what He accomplished!
If we say there was some life in Him, then wouldn’t His death be somewhat of a sham? or perhaps could it be the other way around in what has been made common it to be? This is why we must stick with the full counsel of the Bible, the untainted, uncompromising Word of God. Regardless of one’s understanding our faith in Christ is what matters as we all see through a glass darkly until His return. Nevertheless, ignorance is not bliss. So let us continue to search the scriptures and not just one’s footnotes or commentaries.
Two things come to mind.
It is common when someone dies that there is a funeral. It is also common to see the coffin carried across town, which is called a funeral procession. It is a public witness that the individual once alive, is now no longer. There is no greater witness, than a public witness, whether it be by many or a few.
Next, when we consider the tombstone, we often read of one’s birth date and death date. However, the story of their life is found in the dash in between. However, we know of Jesus’ 33-year dash, more specifically 3 1/2 years of His ministry. If we can revert backward, we see between His death date and resurrection date, he has only this 1-day dash. So what can we gather from this “Sabbath Saturday”, this day in-between? We gather that like Noah’s Ark, this TRUE ARK, Jesus Christ was accomplishing much in and of itself while lying there lifeless and immovable.
No, He wasn’t galavanting elsewhere, less we make The POWER of His burial of No Effect or meaningless. It is more powerful for a person who is completely, totally lifeless to come back to life completely, totally, and for all eternity.
It’s called…DEFEATING DEATH! And as Jesus died, was buried, and rose again; so shall we. Though much can be said and many questions may be raised, I’ll end it with this.
Whether saved or not, every night into the morning we practice what awaits us. We practice the death, burial, and resurrection. For those alive when Christ returns, a death of some sort will still occur as mortality shall put on immortality. For there is no need for a resurrection without there being a death. There is no need for a new beginning without their being a putting of death to something.
We go to sleep every night in hopes (by the grace of God) we wake up the next morning. When we sleep, it is a type of death. When we get under our covers, it is a type of burial. But when we wake up, whether to the sound of the TRUMP (sound) of the alarm clock or the brightness of the sunshine, it is a type of resurrection.
Now in between laying down to sleep and waking up the next morning, it is possible to have an active night…in our dreams.
Some people dream and some do not. Some wake up they experience things and some do not. Regardless, while they slept, their body was being renewed, since not being literally or biologically dead. However, it is all a type and shadow of what occurred with Jesus and ourselves, when we died.
Saved or not, we all will rise. But not all will rise to the same fate.
Regardless if we were asleep for 5-8 hours during the night, we are unaware of the concept of time. We do not wake up thinking our sleep “felt” like 8 hours, let alone a 20-minute cat nap. Hence death also is being dead to time, that one will never know how long they were dead in the grave until Christ returns.
The other name for death is SLEEP. Jesus used this term and I think we fall in “grave” error when we mock such use and belief.
So now to lay this post to rest, where was Jesus? He was in the tomb, dead and buried, awaiting by the grace of The Father and the promise of Life Himself to rise again! He died in perfect obedience, as a perfect sacrifice, giving all of Himself so that we don’t have to perish by the grip of sin. Sin has been paid off, it has been defeated by Jesus’ death. Now it is only up to us to come into that full reward! So that someday, when you and I die, are laid to rest in FAITH of Jesus, we too shall rise and ever be with The Lord for eternity!
It’s as simple as that and not as complex.
For the sake of this post being as long as it already is, I did not elaborate further to explain other hard passages, but if we can understand this truth by plain text and interpretation of words, we can begin to understand most of the hard passages as well. But, until next time…Be Blessed and BE BURIED in Christ, the True Ark, and our Saving Grace! And remember, if He is not your Lord, He is not your Savior. So let Him be your everything, as He has first given you His everything! You will discover it to be the most promising sweetest love exchange!