And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

So, what did the followers of Jesus do after he was pulled down from the cross on Friday, through that long Saturday before Resurrection morning? I try to put myself in the shoes of those men and women, even for a brief moment, to better understand, and I can only come up with this.

They were FREAKED out and TERRIFIED.

John The Apostle, along with Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ mother Mary, were the ones at the crucifixion of Christ according to the Bible and would have been able to relay back to the others on Friday night and Saturday what the horrific scenes were like. So, while they rested on the Sabbath, the thoughts ricocheting through their minds must have been of immense sorrow and fear for their own lives.

Here for the better part of two or three years, they had watched their teacher not only heal people just with a touch of His hand but with a mere thought, as Christ did with the servant of a Centurian in Luke 7:1-10…

After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion[b] heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Christ also had calmed the sea while they traveled by boat and commanded Lazarus, who had died, to walk out of his tomb. They witnessed this with their own eyes and knew firsthand there was nothing that Jesus could not do. Yet, if the Jewish elders had worked with the Romans to torture Jesus in the way that He was and He died, how would any of them fare with that same treatment?

I would have been scared out of my sandals, and I have no problem admitting that.

Hindsight is 20/20, of course; now, we can look at Scripture and say, “Why didn’t they heed His teachings that these things must happen, so that He could redeem us all?” I believe, mostly, because they were in awe of who they were breaking bread with each and every day and also, when you are busy living life, you miss some of the small things. With all the luxuries we have today, as opposed to our brethren from 2,000 years ago, we still miss things we have no business missing, and it happens every day.

That is just part of us being human.

That Saturday before the Lord exited that tomb had the Apostles doubting everything they had seen and been taught. Their friend and mentor, and our God, had been taken away in a manner none of them could have believed; they were scared, angry, depressed, and thought they were next. The 24 hours of that Holy Saturday must have been the longest day — and one of much trepidation — and thankfully, they made it through to the next morning. Jesus arose to conquer sin and redeem us, if we so choose, with just believing He is who He claimed.

The Risen Son of God.

I thank God the Father for His son’s Resurrection on Easter Sunday and that those Apostles who spent a Saturday long ago in fear were the first to rejoice in Christ’s redemption of us all. Thankfully, they went forward to leave for us the Gospels, which teach us what occurred so long ago.

I hope you have a Blessed Easter Sunday and embrace our savior’s rising from the grave to give us eternal life.