The Waiting Game
“Now the next day, that followed the day of preparation the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, Saying, Sir, we remember that the deceiver said, while He was yet alive, after three days, I will rise again.” Matthew 27:62-63
One of the hardest things to do is wait, whether it is waiting for good news or bad news. Most of us humans get fidgety and anxious when waiting. I wonder how Mary Magdalene, the other women, and the eleven disciples fared as they waited for the Sabbath to pass so that they could apply more spices to Jesus’ body as He lay in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea, or at least they thought His body would still be there. This Joseph was believed to be a member of the Sanhedrin which would have made him an automatic enemy of Jesus, but, according to Luke 23:51, he did not consent to the actions taken by the Jewish council regarding the mock trial of Jesus. At some point, he had apparently become a follower of Jesus, but in secret for fear of his peers. However, now he no longer feared them and openly went to Pilate to ask permission to remove Jesus’ body from the cross. Pilate gave him permission (John 19:38).
Another follower of Jesus, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night and to whom Jesus said that one must be born again if he or she is to enter the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3), brought 100 pounds of myrrh and aloes with which to apply to Jesus’ body. He, too, had become bold in his allegiance to Christ. He and Joseph covered Jesus’ body with the spices and then wrapped Him in linen cloth and laid Him in the tomb. Two of Jesus’ women followers, Mary Magdalene and Mary, one of Jesus’ aunts, came after the men had finished preparing Jesus’ body out of a modest respect and honor for Him. Being women who were greatly concerned about details, especially for this One whom they loved so much, they examined the job that the two men had done. They all then left the tomb, Joseph rolled a huge stone across the entrance, and he and Nicodemus left the burial site, but the two women sat down outside the tomb to mourn. Before the Sabbath began at sundown, they returned home and prepared more spices, but they would not be able to return until after the Sabbath, which would be the third day after Jesus’ death. The two of them, along with all the other mourners, had the whole Sabbath day to sit and reflect on the heartbreaking events of the day before. They must have wept a great deal.
While we are privy to the actions of Joseph, Nicodemus, and the two Marys, where were the disciples all this time? We know that Judas was dead by his own doing, but what about Peter, the denier, and the other ten who were all deserters, except that John did return to the cross and stood by Jesus’ mother. Apparently they were “holed up” in what we might call “a safe house” hidden from the religious leaders for fear that they might suffer the same fate as their Leader. Some of the women were there with them, and all they knew to do was to pray. There beloved Leader was dead. Jesus had told His disciples on three occasions as recorded in the book of Matthew (16:21, 17:22-23, and 20:18-19) that He would be killed in Jerusalem, but rise again on the third day. At this point, none of them displayed any confidence in Jesus’ bodily resurrection.
The religious leaders, those responsible for initiating the crucifixion, the execution of which we are all responsible because of our sins, did remember that Jesus claimed that He would rise again after three days, but, of course, they didn’t believe Him. They called Him a “deceiver” when they approached Pilate with their suspicions. What they did fear, though, was that the disciples would steal Jesus’ body away so that it would appear that He did arise, and those who were followers of Jesus would not be easy to control as the rumors spread. In other words, they would not be able to eliminate His influence over the people if the people thought He was still alive. Thus they got permission from Pilate to seal the tomb and put soldiers to keep watch all night. So now they all wait. Tomorrow: The wait is over: a new and glorious day dawns.