Because of His Rest, You Will Rise
Holy Saturday’s Verse:
From John 19:41-42 ESV
“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”
Silence now falls upon the tumult of Good Friday. The cross is empty. His body is removed. He is laid in the new tomb, in a borrowed garden grave where no man had ever lain before. Do not let that fact escape you.
Right there in Lutheran theology, witnesses to the humiliation and substitution of our Lord. The King of Glory who spoke forth the heavens and the earth dies and is buried in a criminal’s grave…a borrowed grave. He who knew no sin became sin for us….even in death. And the garden reminds us quietly of Eden, where death came into the world through Adam’s disobedience. Here in this garden, the Second Adam lies in the tomb so that He might destroy the curse.
This is the sabbath rest of our Jesus. While His disciples hid for fear and the world continued on about their business, Christ’s body rested from its work of perfect obedience to the Father’s will, bearing our penalty and satisfying every jot and tittle of the Law in our place. He died our death that we might live His life.
May we know that today our salvation does not depend on us finishing the work…but on Christ having finished the work. When we find ourselves overwhelmed and entombed by guilt, grief, or doubt…remember, dear Christian, that Jesus lay in the tomb so that your tomb might one day be empty. Because of His rest, you shall rise.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Merciful Father, keep my eyes focused on the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ this Saturday. Prepare my heart for the joyous celebration of His resurrection tomorrow. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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