Easter Saturday's Silence - Jesus in the Tomb
- Eljoh Hartzer, MTh
- Feb 11
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 20
As Jesus lay in the tomb, silence fell over Jerusalem. It was Saturday and time for the Jewish Sabbath - a day for slowing down and resting in the Lord. Tomorrow, a new week would begin and, they didn't know it yet, but Easter would get a new meaning.
Hint: At the very end of this article is a free worksheet for you to personally and prayerfully engage deeper
This series of articles will cover the key events of Easter in the order that they're celebrated in in the Christian tradition.
Click the following titles to read about the true meaning of Easter and each day of Holy Week:
What happened on Easter Saturday
In the broader story of the Easter timeline, this is right after the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ and before His resurrection. The Gospels do not tell us what happened on this day. Like Holy Wednesday, it is shrouded in mystery. Yet it holds an important truth for those who pay close attention.
On Easter Saturday, let's not rush past the crucifixion sadness or into the resurrection celebrations. A holy tension exists in Saturday that we can only feel if we slow down enough. It's a silent day of waiting...
Yet, at the same time, Saturday is not a passive day. The Scripture tells us that Christ descended into the underworld and had the final victory over death in these hours. It was a spiritual battle for the souls of all mankind - and Jesus won. Keep this in mind when you read about the sabbath below:
How does resting go hand-in-hand with victory? And spiritual warfare?
Journaling Prompts about Still Saturday
Do you tend to rush ahead to the future? Or, are your thoughts more fixed on the past?
List 5 things you can do to practice presencing (the art of becoming present)
Is mindfulness a secular thing? How can we fix our minds on Christ?
What might it look like to practice sabbath? Write about the events filling such a day.
Why did God rest after creating the world? Why is sabbath a part of Jesus' Easter process?
This day in the Gospels
Matthew 27:62-66 (NIV)
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
The other Gospels do not mention anything happening on SATURDAY, for it was a SABBATH.
Understanding this Easter day in the Old Testament
The Bible tells one beautiful story: God's big story. It starts on the first pages of Genesis with the account of how God created the world. He has an idea, speaks it into being, says how good it is- and it is the next day. This pattern repeats a few times until God creates someone different, someone like Him. He bends down, getting His hands dirty, and crafts us from the earth - and then He says "It is VERY good".
After God makes all of this and after it is done, He does something peculiar...
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3
Here, we find the very first mentions of something that would mark the people of God for years to come. They were a people who valued rest. It is even written into the Ten Commandments:
Exodus 20: 8-10 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns."
Now, this is a touchy subject for some Christians. 'Sabbath is part of the Old Law', they say. 'We are not under that anymore; We are set free'. And rightly so. Jesus Himself said the following about the sabbath:
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”- Mark 2:27-28
Yet, let's note those first few words. Sabbath as a practice is an invitation from God to live and work from a place of rest and abiding in Him. It is a gift for man; helping one flourish and live from a healthy place.
Jesus was saying: Don't make it something it's not. Enjoy the Sabbath, Enjoy your God, Enjoy your Life
Live from the place of overflow, life in abundance rather than running on fumes all the time.
What does it look like to start a sabbath practice now?
I highly recommend Practicing the Way's Sabbath Resources
The point for this article with regards to Easter is that Sabbath, Silence, and Waiting was even written into God's ultimate gift to the world - Jesus Christ. There's a beauty here to discover that can only be seen if we slow down and pay attention.
If you've been wanting to dive deeper into the Bible yourself, I want to invite you to consider the following encounter tool:
A Prayer on Silent Saturday
Oh Lord, there where You lay in the tomb - silent, still - a spiritual battle was going on. Help me to also value slowing down so that it might be well with my soul. Amen.
Next up: The following day in Holy Week
Now, we're getting to the good part. After Jesus was laid in the tomb for still Saturday, the women visited His grave on Sunday and found... HE IS RISEN.
Explore other events in the Easter story:
Below is a free printable worksheet PDF to go deeper with today's topic on the Easter timeline:
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