Holy Saturday

Holy Saturday
April 3, 2010

The Lord be with you

Today is Holy Saturday. This is the day our Lord rested in the garden tomb. Tomorrow morning he will burst the chains of death and rise from the grave. As I grew up, the theological significance of Holy Saturday was not explored much in my church. I suspect that was true in most Lutheran churches. I therefore thought that some would appreciate a thought about this day.

Perhaps the chief point about Holy Saturday is that every aspect of our lives was experienced by Christ in order for him to redeem them, to sanctify them. He was conceived, born, baptized, grew-up, died and was buried. His rest in the tomb was the last aspect of his “humiliation,” that is, his complete identification with the human race. It was the last step in him “fulfilling all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15) for us. [You may wonder about marriage as Jesus did not marry. However he did experience family life, which is what marriage is all about, and he did sanctify marriage when he went to the marriage feast in Cana (John 2:1-12).] So on Holy Saturday Jesus sanctifies our rest in the grave, the last phase of our sinful earthly life. From our graves we will, like Jesus, rise in resurrection glory on the believers great “Easter” day, the Last Day, when Christ returns.

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor John Rickert