Jesus’ Death

Scripture: Matthew 27:57-61 (ESV)

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Devotion:

            Jesus was dead. We have a tough time wrapping our minds around that concept 2,000 years after the fact. Think of how confused, dejected, and sad his close followers would have been at the time. They had followed Jesus. They had seen the miracles he had performed. They had hoped that he would be the one who would defeat the hated Romans and lead Israel to a glorious future.

            All that promise now wrapped in a burial shroud, laid in a tomb, sealed with a stone. Who has not been there with the disciples? A death of a loved one, relative, or longtime friend. All we are left with are the (hopefully many) happy memories of occasions of celebration and happiness.

            I remember the death of one of my favorite Great Aunts when I was a young boy about 5 or 6 years old. I remember the grief and the pain. I had just learned in Sunday School about the resurrection (it was Easter time). I prayed so hard that God would raise dear Aunt Louise and bring her back to us, but my prayers were of course not answered at least not the way I wanted them to be answered. I think many of us have probably prayed for the resurrection of a loved one like this. I felt pain of unanswered prayers in the deaths of my grandparents and parents. I still pray for their resurrection. I know my prayers will not be answered until God is ready to take us all out of this sad, sad, world. So, while my prayers may not carry the expectation of immediate results they are now based on a firmer foundation of faith and a more certain hope of fulfillment.

            So, it was with Jesus’ followers that sad Friday. Praying for the nightmare to end and for Jesus somehow to be restored to them. Their prayers, like my 5-year-old self’s prayers, went unheard and unanswered. Their grief was intense and consolation impossible. Their dreams of a new Israel were now buried and sealed in a grave behind an immovable rock. How could they continue? What hope did they have now that Jesus was dead? There were no answers to these questions of course. At least not yet. Let us take some time today and sit with the hopeless ones. Questions without answers gnaw at our very souls. Let us pray for the consolation of our grief.

Prayer:

            Father God, we pray as ones who have only you to hope in. All our activities seem pointless now. We await a resurrection we are sure will happen, but we are left with aching doubts. We ask only that you reveal yourself to us in our pain and loss. May we find comfort in your presence and in your promise of resurrection. Do not leave us hopeless, Lord. May we seek and find you today. Amen.