Just Wait and See

Saturday, the Sabbath, the day after Calvary. They rested according to the commandment.

Jesus had been crucified. His body was in a borrowed tomb, placed there with love and tenderness by a man who had begged Pilate for the honor of tending the body. I can picture this man, Joseph of Arimathea, taking the limp, bloodied, and torn body of His Savior from the cross, and carrying Him wrapped in a linen cloth with hurried tenderness to make sure He was buried before the Sabbath.

What love and compassion Joseph must have had for the Savior. So few remembered, or perhaps they didn’t understand, Jesus’ promise to return. I wonder, when Joseph secured that tomb did he realized that Jesus wouldn’t need it for long?

Even if Joseph didn’t know, we do.  We know He’s not going to be there tomorrow.  We know that He will come out of that tomb, and with perfect compassion, mercy, and grace, He will help His followers understand.

But still, Saturday was the day they waited. And the thing is, we are waiting, too.

Just as His followers ached with grief on the day after Calvary, our hearts ache with longing for His return.  We want to see Him face to face. We want to hear His voice. We want to feel those scars with our own hands- those scars that make us His.

Many in that day followed Him because they believed He fit their political or religious or social agenda. Many respected His teaching, many were amazed by His miracles. They looked no deeper than their own needs and desires.

Do we love Jesus like that? Do we drift away when prayers go unanswered? Do we tire of seeking Him, of following Him in obedience? Do we go from the highs of getting what we had hoped for to the lows of wondering why He isn’t responding? 

Do we shy away from the thought of serving our Savior like Joseph of Arimathea? Do we cringe at the thought of the messiness and inconvenience of loving Him? 

How do we love Him on Saturday? Today is the day for our hearts to be waiting in humble adoration. It’s the day that we whisper His name, “Jesus,” as the most dearly loved One in our lives.

Today is the day that we search our hearts for His, that we search the skies for His return. 

Because we know what’s going to happen tomorrow. 

Just wait and see.