“Early to Bed, Early to Rise”

Scripture: John 20:1-18

By Resurrection morning, the faithful of Christ were totally confused. The previous week had been a rollercoaster of emotion – first the highs of the entry into Jerusalem, then the confusing actions and teaching of Jesus, then the way that he turned the Passover Seder all round until it was barely recognizable, the arrest, the trial, the beatings, and the crucifixion. They had spent Saturday locked away, struggling with an overwhelming fear that they would be next. They had hardly slept since Wednesday, and if the truth was known, they were afraid to fall asleep, for fear that someone would find them, and that the fate that Jesus suffered would become their own.

Life had been pretty good up until now, even with the strange new teachings that Jesus seemed to be focused on - but now? Nothing was good! Wasn’t Jesus really God? If so, how could he ever allow himself to be so abused and abased? Had these 3 years been a horrible dream or did they actually happen? Some of the followers had left town, seeking safety in faraway places; some had hidden out with friends; some had even retreated to the same upper room that they had used for the Passover meal, and locked the door as securely as they could. Would Sunday be any better than the last 3?

Sabbath was over, and the routine of every day work should be started, but what would their routine be from now on? Jesus had been their guide for 3 years, but now? No one knew. As the men began to stir that morning, there was no hint of breakfast being prepared for them, and then they would remember that the women had probably gotten up early to go to the tomb to finish the work they had begun on Friday. What horrible work to begin the week with! But it had to be done.

And then, the ugliness of the previous week began to raise its head again. The women came running into the house with unbelievable news. Jesus’ body has been stolen! How could this be? Didn’t Pilate post guards at the tomb to keep this very thing from happening? (Matthew 27:62-66) 2 of the men would race to the tomb, and would find nothing there except the grave cloths. The stone had been moved, the guards are gone, the body is gone – what next?

Jesus had been laid to rest just moments before Sabbath began on Friday, and before the darkness had lifted from the holy day, his holy slumber had ended. But what about Saturday – what about Sabbath? It was on the Sabbath that the tomb was sealed and the guards were posted, but what about Jesus? Why did he have to wait?
There is no definitive thought on the “what” or “why” of Saturday. Scripture doesn’t tell us of any Divine actions that day. Saturday seems to be a lost day. In our Thursday morning Bible study at Gibson Corners, we recently read a devotion prepared by Philip Yancey on the significance of Saturday.
He wrote:
Good Friday and Easter Sunday are perhaps the most significant days on the entire church calendar, and yet, in a real sense, we live our lives on Saturday, the day in between. .. Human history grinds on, between the time of promise and fulfillment. It’s Saturday on planet Earth; will Sunday ever come?
Nelson, Thomas, Jesus: Experience the Power and Meaning of Christ, Thomas Nelson, Inc., TN:Nashville, 2011, pg 327

For Israel, Sabbath existed from Friday at sunset until Saturday at sunset. It was a holy day - no work was to be undertaken, the only thing you were allowed to do is to provide for the most basic needs of your animals, and to worship God. That was it. Reflect on the scriptures, reflect on what God had been doing in your life, give him the praise and glory that was due him.
Ancient church tradition tells us that Saturday was the day that Jesus took our sins down into hell and left them there. Granted, there was a lot of sin to deal with, but would it really take God an entire day to deal with them? Wasn’t his death enough to put them away forever?
Personally, and I may be the only one who will tell you this, but I think it may be that Jesus was giving his followers a chance to reflect on the impact that his life had had on theirs, a day to remember all that had occurred in the past 3 years before the next step in their life with him would begin. Maybe, maybe not.

But the point is, what do the past 4 days mean to us? For the disciples and the other believers, they were facing one huge struggle piled on top of another, but then, even though the Lord had given them the entire scenario, they just didn’t get it yet.
For Jesus? I believe that it was a mixed bag – terrible pain, both physical and emotional, but there was also a joy in his knowing just what was to come of his sacrifice. Saturday, for Jesus at least, was a day of rest, reflecting on all that his ministry had taught and brought to the people of earth, and a time to consider how the Father’s plan of salvation was going to play out in his name.
But really - what are these days for us? Are they important to us, or do we simply see them as “in between days”?
Yancey continued in his devotion:
Perhaps that is why the authors of the Gospels devoted so much more space to Jesus’ last week than to the several weeks when he was making resurrection appearances. They knew that the history to follow would often resemble Saturday, the in-between day, more than Sunday, the day of rejoicing.
-Ibid

Jesus went to “bed” early on Friday night, and as soon as Sabbath was completed, he was up and out, beginning to work his plan for humanity once again. But the only one of those first followers to rise early on Sunday were Magdalene and the other women. They had a job to do, and what did it bring to them? They would receive the first glimpse of glory in action. Mary would remain behind at the tomb after Peter and John had left, and she would receive another blessing when she came face to face with the Resurrected Jesus.
She had gotten up early to complete a very unpleasant task, and would remain behind to mourn and ponder the events that were unfolding before her. And in her remaining at the tomb, the Lord would bless her beyond all measure. She wouldn’t know what life after Sunday would bring to her, but for now, she would know exactly what she had to do. She had to tell others that Jesus was alive – that he had risen just as he said he would!

For Mary and the others, Saturday, even though it was Sabbath, had been a lost day. I doubt that there was much worshiping for them - no praise of God, no honor was shown to their Lord, no celebration of his goodness.
What does Sabbath mean for the people of the 21st century? For many, Sunday, our Sabbath, is just a day to play or rest or watch the game on TV - and vegetate. We have lost sight of our relationship with the Lord, and instead of eagerly getting up early to see what he may have in store for us, we prefer to sleep in.

The Almighty has a plan in place for each and every one of us, whether we want to follow it or not. And it isn’t insignificant! Everything that God calls us to do has purpose and glory behind it. It’s a new day for us – a day when the Lord wants to reveal himself to us, a day when he wants us to introduce him to someone new.

In a classic study of evangelism in the early church, Michael Green observed:
“They made the grace of God credible by a society of love and mutual care which astonished the pagans and was recognized as something entirely new. It lent persuasiveness to their claim that the new age had dawned in Christ.”
--Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970).

It’s a new day, friends. The horrors of our past life, those years represented by Thursday and Friday, are behind us; the emptiness of our “lost” Saturday has been filled to overflowing with wonder and promise; and resurrection has become our song of praise. We must see every day as a day filled with possibilities – not the kind that the world looks for, but rather the ones that the Lord has prepared for us as we walk with him in faith.
And when we shift our vision from Friday and Saturday, and rest it squarely on Sunday, we will be up before dawn, too, just as Mary was. And when we rise up early to set our sights on him, the Lord will reveal something new and amazing for our life!