The
Greatest Week in History
INTRODUCTION:
A.
Texts: Matthew 27:62-66; Luke 23:55-56
B.
[S1] Saturday. What
comes to your mind when you think of Saturday?
C.
What
Saturday means to many people…
1.
A
day of rest
2.
A
day to catch up on work (in and around the house)
3.
At
this time of year, a day to watch football!
4.
A
day to do fun things – go fishing, sleep late, do things with friends.
5.
A
day to watch cartoons (in the morning) or comedy shows in the evening (like Saturday Night Live)
6.
"In Sweden, Saturday is usually the only day of the week when children are allowed
to eat sweets, lördagsgodis." -- Wikipedia
7.
A
day that some look forward to all week.
D.
[S2] "Saturday in the Park" sung by Chicago contains these words:
"Saturday
in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs…"
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream, singing Italian songs…"
E.
[S3] Saturday of the Greatest Week in History is not like that.
1.
It’s
a quiet day, a somber day -- "Somber Saturday."
2.
"Somber"
-- very sad and serious
F.
There
isn't much information in our Bibles about the Saturday following the Friday of
Jesus' crucifixion. Note two texts:
1.
[S4] (Luke 23:55-56
NKJV) And the women who had come with
Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body
was laid. {56} Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And
they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
a.
“‘The
women who had come with Jesus from Galilee’ watched Joseph and Nicodemus
closely. They carefully marked the
tomb’s location in their minds and made plans to return after the Sabbath
to add their own ‘spices and perfumes’ to the burial provisions the two men had
made” (Shelly 222).
b.
“What
a surprise lay ahead for them on Sunday morning” (Shelly 222).
c.
Note:
“they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.”
2.
[S5] Matthew 27:62-66
a.
(Mat
27:62-63) On the next day, which
followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered
together to Pilate, {63} saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still
alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.'”
1)
“This
passage begins in the most curious way.
It says that the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate on
the next day, which is the day
after the Preparation” (Barclay Matthew 374).
2)
“Now
Jesus was crucified on … Friday.
Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath.”
3)
“The
hours from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday were called The Eve, or The Preparation.”
4)
“We
have seen that, according to Jewish reckoning, the new day began at 6 p.m. Therefore, the Sabbath began at 6 p.m. on
Friday; and the last hours of Friday were The
Preparation.”
5)
“If
this is accurate, it can only mean one thing – it must mean that the chief
priests and Pharisees actually approached Pilate on the Sabbath with their
request. If they did that, it is clear
to see how radically they broke the Sabbath Law. If this is accurate, no other incident in the
Gospel story more plainly shows how desperately eager the Jewish authorities
were totally to eliminate Jesus [and His influence]. In order to make certain that He was finally
out of the way, they were willing to break even their own most sacred laws”
(Barclay 374-375; see also Booth 11.2-3).
b.
[S6] Their Request: (Mat 27:64
NKJV) "Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day,
lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He
has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the
first."
1)
“Jesus
had repeatedly said to His disciples that he would be raised on the third day
and the public had learned of this (Matt. 12:40; John 2:19; 10:15-18)” (Boles
550).
2)
It
seems that they understood Jesus’ words better than Jesus’ own disciples!!! Note:
(John 2:22 NKJV) Therefore, when
He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said
this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had
said.
3)
[S7] (Mat 12:38-40 NKJV)
a)
"38Then
some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, "Teacher, we want to
see a sign from You." {39} But He answered and said to them, "An evil
and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it
except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
b)
[S8] {40} "For as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will
the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
c)
Jesus,
of course, referring to His death, burial, and resurrection.
4)
“They
did not admit that they envisaged the possibility that that might be true, but
they thought the disciples might seek to steal away the body and say that a
resurrection had happened” (Barclay 375).
c.
[S9] (Mat 27:65-66 NKJV)
Pilate said to them, "You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as
you know how." {66} So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the
stone and setting the guard.
1)
“‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered”
(NIV). The verb is in the imperative
(Boles 551).
2)
“The
door of these rock tombs was closed by a great round stone like a cartwheel,
which ran in a groove. They sealed it
and they set a special guard – and they made it as safe as they could” (Barclay
375).
3)
“They
had not realized one thing – that there
was not a tomb in the world which could imprison the Risen Christ” (Barclay
375)!
G.
Consider what Saturday
was like for Jesus’ disciples...
1.
Friday was catastrophic. Jesus
-- their Friend, Mentor, Master – had been taken from them in a horrible
way. They had observed Him suffer six
hours on the cross in excruciating pain.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus carefully removed His lifeless body from
the cross and placed it in a new tomb.
2.
Now the "funeral"
is over. And for the disciples all
hope has died, too. They are defeated,
disillusioned, and discouraged.
H.
That’s
not the kind of Saturday WE enjoy, is it?
1.
But we all have some
Saturdays like that:
the day that follows the loss of a loved one, or some event, even a “phone
call” that changes everything. Our
“Friday” may be the loss of a job or some accident that has impacted our lives
and the lives of our families.
2.
It’s the Saturday after
our horrific Friday. It’s the day after the funeral. It’s the day after the diagnosis. It’s the day after being fired or laid
off. It’s the day after...
3.
“After the shock of death or words
that bring despair – words like cancer,
divorce, terminal, downsizing – we find ourselves living with the
"what next" of life – and we enter the dark void of unknowing.” –
Bruce Epperly
4.
“[Somber] Saturday is the time in
between death and resurrection, fear and hope, pain and comfort. [Somber] Saturday is the valley of grief and
uncertainty, for us and for Jesus' first disciples.” – Bruce Epperly
5.
“On [Somber] Saturday, we don't know
what the future will bring. We don't know if the cancer can be cured or if we
will love again or find the position that fulfills our vocation.” – Bruce
Epperly
6.
How do you survive THAT
kind of SATURDAY, “Somber Saturday”?
I.
[S10] To get through “Somber Saturday”…
I.
[S10A] Remember, you are not alone.
A.
Others -- in fact, ALL of us at one time or another -- go
through these kinds of Saturdays.
Therefore, others know what you are going through. Sometimes it helps to know that others have
-- and even are -- going through similar experiences. You are not alone.
B.
You
are not alone. The Lord is always with you.
C.
[S11]
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort
me." -- Psalm 23:4
D.
God is with us “in every situation, in every
dark trial, in every dismal disappointment, in every distressing dilemma”
(Keller 75).
E.
You will never go through a valley in life by
yourself. God has said, “I will be with
you.”
F.
[S12] (Heb 13:5b-6 NKJV) For He
Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." {6} So we
may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do
to me?"
G.
To get through “Somber Saturday”…
II.
[S13] Remember, God is still at work.
A.
God’s
Words are still true. He will keep His
promises.
1.
Jesus
had told His disciples that he would rise again.
2.
His
enemies seem to have understood what He said – better than Jesus’ disciples.
B.
Jesus’
death, burial, and resurrection were all a part of God’s plan to redeem
mankind. His burial was not the end; it
was only a part of the plan!
C.
[S14] (Rom 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His
purpose.
1.
This
text does not say, “All things are good.”
It says, “All things work together for good…”
2.
“All
things” will include some “Somber Saturdays.”
3.
But
God will ultimately work together all things for our ultimate, eternal good.
D.
To get through “Somber Saturday”…
III.
[S15] Remember, Sunday’s coming.
A.
Sunday = RESURRECTION! Their “Somber Saturday” will turn into a
“Sensational Sunday”!
B.
[S16]
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and
Your staff, they comfort me." -- Psalm 23:4
C.
You
will get through this. You can get to
the other side.
D.
When you go through a valley of life the scary
parts are the SHADOWS. In the darkness you see the shadows on the
wall of the valley as you’re going through the canyon.
E.
Remember, there is no shadow without a light somewhere. When you’re going through a
dark valley, you think the sun has stopped shining. You feel all alone. But anytime there is a shadow it means there
is a light somewhere. When you begin to
be afraid of the shadows in the dark valleys of life, look for the Light. When
you’re afraid, don’t look at the shadow.
Look at the Light.
F.
Because
Sunday is coming, we have HOPE!
G.
Our
hope is based upon the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
H.
[S17] (blank slide)
SOURCES:
Barclay,
William. The Gospel of Matthew,
Volume 2. Revised edition. The
Daily Study Bible Series.
Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1975.
Boles,
H. Leo. A Commentary on the Gospel
According to Matthew. Nashville, TN:
Gospel Advocate Co., 1967
Keller,
Phillip. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1970.
Booth, F.L. “The Final Week.” http://www.padfield.com/acrobat/booth/NT-Y2-Q1.pdf
Epperly, Bruce. “Living through Holy Saturday.” April
15, 2011. http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/Living-through-Holy-Saturday-Bruce-Epperly-04-15-2011.html
Shelly, Rubel. Falling in Love With Jesus: Studies in the
Book of Luke. Joplin, MO: College
Press Publishing Company, 1998.
In life we may acquire some wisdom during our “mountaintop”
experiences, but we learn the deeper lessons in the valleys. It is in the valleys that our faith is
tested, tried, strengthened and deepened.
You build faith in the valleys of life.
Faith is strengthened in the valleys.
“Much of our lives rest in the space
between loss and hope. Our lives are full of Holy Saturday experiences.” --
Christine Valters Paintner
--Sermon by David Sargent
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