SATURDAY

First Fairhope

SATURDAY

Matthew 27:62–66

(For a full account of the events of this day as found in the Gospels, see Matthew 27:62–66.)

Less is written about the Saturday following Jesus’s crucifixion than any other in the scope of this week. Yet what makes it unique is that this is the only full day in history where the body of Christ lies buried in a cave.

Yesterday, He was crucified. Tomorrow, He rises from the grave. But what about today? Though we may not make much of this day, when we look at the few verses the Gospels give us about it, we find it was by no means forgotten by the chief priests who had handed Jesus over to death. During his earthly ministry, Jesus repeatedly said he would die in Jerusalem at the hands of the chief priests, yet on the third day rise again (e.g., Matt. 12:40; Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34).

Of course, the chief priests scoffed. But they didn’t forget it. On the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, Jesus’ prediction preoccupies their thoughts such that they simply can’t leave it alone. Matthew 27:62–66 tells the strange story of how they can’t dismiss out of hand the possibility that Jesus might know something they don’t.

MONDAY

MONDAY For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2021%3a12%e2%80%9322/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2011%3a12%e2%80%9319/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2019%3a45%e2%80%9348/.) If Jerusalem was a beehive, with his triumphal entry Jesus had hit it with a stick. You could hear the buzz grow as the anger within got organized. His kingly arrival was a strong declaration about His authority over all the conventions of man. On Monday, Jesus returns for more—this time to declare the failure of God’s people to live up to their covenant mandate to be a blessing to the world. Much of what the Gospels tell us about Monday centers on the theme of Jesus’s authority—both over the created world and his right to judge it. Everything Jesus did, He did with authority. So when He awoke His disciples Monday saying He wanted to go back into Jerusalem to teach, as risky as it sounded it wasn’t surprising. Everyone sensed something stirring, as if Jesus had rounded a corner and His end was coming fast. He was a marked man. (fr. http://thegospelcoalition.org)

TUESDAY

For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2021%3a23%e2%80%9326%3a5/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2011%3a27%e2%80%9314%3a2/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2020%3a1%e2%80%9322%3a2/, https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a37%e2%80%9350/.) If Monday’s arrival in the temple was an all-inclusive, living parable of cleansing God’s house, Tuesday’s entrance is a direct, verbal confrontation with the appointed leadership. After Jesus clarifies He doesn’t regard these leaders as having any authority over Him, He spends the rest of the day right there in the temple to teach the people God’s Word. But Tuesday afternoon is the last time Jesus publicly teaches in the temple as a free man. His words on this day are His closing argument, His manifesto. When Jesus leaves the temple on Tuesday, the chief priests and scribes are “seeking how to arrest Him by stealth and kill him” (https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a1/). But they can’t take His life from Him solely on the strength of the charges they plan to bring—not if He defends himself. But He won’t. Instead, by His silence, He’ll offer up His life for a world of blasphemers and traitors and liars. This was what He has come to do, and as He exits the temple that Tuesday afternoon, He knows He will do it soon. (fr. http://thegospelcoalition.org)

WEDNESDAY

(For a full account of the events of this day, see https://www.esv.org/verses/matthew%2026%3a6%e2%80%9316/, https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a3%e2%80%9311/, https://www.esv.org/verses/luke%2022%3a3%e2%80%936/.) The past several days have been a rush of tension and anger for Jesus’ opponents—and of unflinching resolve for Jesus. Words have been His currency, and He’s spent piles of them. But on the Wednesday before His death, Jesus is still. He is in the home of Simon the Leper, a man known by what’s wrong with Him. During their meal together, Mary of Bethany—Lazarus’s sister (https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a3/)—comes to Jesus with an alabaster flask of perfume. She’s been saving this perfume, worth a year’s wages, for this exact occasion (https://www.esv.org/verses/john%2012%3a7/). She begins pouring it on Jesus’ head and feet, which requires breaking open its container (https://www.esv.org/verses/mark%2014%3a3/). Like popping the cork on a $20,000 bottle of champagne, this was a deliberate act. She is offering Jesus everything she has. By giving her most valuable possession to Him, she is expressing her knowledge that what He’s about to give of Himself is for her. What Mary does is beautiful, and Jesus wants everyone to know it. She is preparing Him for burial. There is honor and kindness in her gesture. Jesus returns the honor by saying history will never forget her act of beauty. And we haven’t.