We have all faced awful days. Thankfully, most of them are not consecutive! How devastated would we be if we had three awful days in a row? That is exactly what happened to Jesus’ disciples during what we call “Passion Week” or “Holy Week”. For three and a half years, they had believed Jesus was going to overthrow the Roman government, but during that special week, they saw those dreams shattered. But, always remember what happened the first day of the next week!
Thursday, the day Jesus told them, “One of you will betray me.” It happened as they were celebrating the anniversary of their deliverance from 400 years of slavery – they were leaving Egypt and heading toward the Promised land. But before the meal was complete, Jesus began telling them that all would desert Him before the day was done. Jesus was not going to be the Ruler they expected; He was going to be executed by the hated Romans. And Jesus was right – later that very evening, Jesus was arrested and sentenced to die!
We all experience crises. Circumstances often pile up against us. Some deal with our employment, or maybe it is a serious illness. It could be relational – rejection by our spouse, or parents, or our children. Often it seems like much more than we can handle, and we think, “Tomorrow has to be better!”
Friday, the day Jesus said to all, “It is finished!” Thursday was bad, but Friday’s despair was much worse. Helplessly, the Disciples watched their Master hang in agony suspended by the nails in His hands and feet. All their eggs had been in this one basket! They had left all to follow Jesus, and now He was gone – dead!
Taking up arms against the Romans would now be senseless! Attempting to destroy the oppressors would serve no purpose! Who was going to lead them to victory – Jesus was dead! Who would rule the new kingdom – Jesus was placed in the garden cave! Their “would be” king was buried in a borrowed tomb, not even owning one of His own! Once more, evil had triumphed over good, and they were now forced to continue living and dying in captivity!
Saturday, the day Jesus was silent! Totally unknown was the future of these followers of Jesus, Who they believed to be the Christ! Do we go back to fishing? Do we return to our old lives? We thought we had a new lifestyle under the promises of Jesus – we do not want to go back, but what do we do?
Sometimes we wonder when we will find another job and if it will pay our grocery bills. We often can not feel the direction of the Lord in a mate selection or in direction for our lives. Are our children going to grow up to be good citizens? Is there going to be another “Carla” this summer? Is the car going to make it another year? We feel like we are in limbo! What are we going to do next?
Sunday, the early morning light showed Jesus’ tomb empty! Where have they moved His body? Where will we place His tombstone? We thought last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday was bad, and now the week is starting like the last week ended!
But, I believe it may have been some of the angels who announced His birth that stood by His empty tomb and reported, “Why would the living be among the dead? He is risen!” God was in control all along – the Disciples just did not know it. Death has been defeated, and Jesus was fully alive!
We can not blame the Disciples for being defeated during the most devastating three days of their lives, because they truly did not know the full meaning of Sunday! There will be times when Jesus’ disciples continue to experience crises. But these can no longer defeat them. Now we know that He Lives! Our risen Lord goes with us. In the worst situations, God has everything under His loving control. No longer do we live in uncertain limbo. We have a clear life mission – to help share the Good News of Jesus and God’s Kingdom through words and deeds. We live on “this side of Resurrection”!
Living for Sunday does not mean that we are to deny our circumstances and pretend everything is fine. We will continue experiencing stresses, despair, and times when the future is a big question mark. But, we never have to be defeated because we can see our circumstances from the perspective of Easter Sunday! God is in control of our lives and will accomplish His purpose in our lives as we allow Him!
This is why we Christians celebrate every Sunday – we treat every First Day of the Week as if it is the end of the “last three days of last week”! This is why Christians come to church on Sunday – to celebrate that circumstances do not control our lives, because we know “Sunday is on its way”! Jesus, Who triumphantly conquered death, hell, and the grave, still has the answers for our every-day lives. He continues to lead us and take care of us as He did for the Disciples in the three and a half years before Resurrection Sunday! Therefore, whether we are experiencing a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, let us live every day like it is Sunday!
