Sunday's Coming!

For Saturday, March 30, 2024:

Mark 15:43 NLT: “Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honored member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.)”

It was still Friday when Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a believer, asked for Jesus’ body. When a soldier confirmed the death, Pilate granted his request. There was just enough time to place Jesus’ body in Joseph’s tomb, and secure it before the weekend. At sundown, it would be the Sabbath, and no more work could be done.

Nowadays we count a new day when the sun rises. But in the Hebrew culture, a new day began at sunset. So Jesus died on a Friday, day one. His body lay in the grave for the Sabbath, day two. And on Sunday, day three, the tomb was discovered empty. He is risen, just as was prophesied!

But what happened on the Sabbath, the in-between day? The Bible tells us that Jesus went to the place of the dead, Sheol or Hades, not to be confused with the lake of fire or hell. This would be Jesus’ spirit, his eternal essence, as the body had not yet been resurrected. There are many conflicting theories as to what occurred that day, but I don’t find most of them to be credible. Since the second day is the Sabbath, we could simply count it as a day of rest and devotion to Jesus and our Lord. Nothing on that in-between day is a redeeming ordinance. The real action was on Friday when Jesus died for our sins, and on Sunday when the bodily resurrection took place.

It seems that all the bad stuff happened during the previous week, and all the good stuff occurred from Resurrection Sunday forward. S. M. Lockridge gave us a famous sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” Our worldly walk looks much brighter knowing that in spite of all we might think is wrong, God is still in charge, and Sunday’s coming for us all!

Norton Lawellin

Jesus In the City Fellowship