"The Silence before Victory"

11 April 09

Holy Saturday

The Silence before Victory

John 19:38-42

38.
Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
39.
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
40.
Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.
41.
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid.
42.
Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Their hopes were dashed, their faith shaken; thier Lord Jesus Christ lay dead. A spear that pierced through His side had ensured that He could not be revived. The fact that thier beloved master was really dead was finally sinking in, as the two men held his bloodied and lifeless body in their hands.

Three years of knowing Jesus had given Jospeh and Nicodemus hope that the Messiah had come. Observing Him from afar, speaking to Him in secret, the two men had grown courageous as they became more and more convinced that Jesus was the Son of God. Though aware that following Jesus would result in their being ostracised from their community, the two men decided to be His disciples, albeit secretly.

Now the Hope of Israel was dead. God seemed strangely silent in the face of His Son's tortured death. Though broken and defeated, Joseph and Nicodemus did what they could to honour their lifeless master.

But God was not silent. Beneath the stillness of death, unseen by the human eye, God had torn down the gates of hell, and plundered Satan's domain. Christ's victory over death and hell would only become obvious the next day. For Saturday, there was just the stillness of death.

There are seasons in our lives when we are faced with God's silence in the midst of the enemy's attacks. The devil and the opponents of all that is fod apprear to have won. We may have dutifully followed Christ; we may even have made sacrifices for the sake of Christ; but the devil seems to have had the upper hand.

In such times, we are called to continue to honour our Lord Jesus Christ. And believe in our heart of hearts that in the apparent silence of God, Christ is working out another mighty vitory.

(Rev Dr Chiu Ming Li,

Senior Chaplain,

Prison Fellowship Singapore)

Commitment:

As you face opposition while following Christ, determine t ohnour Him still. Continue in the hope that even as God appears silent, He is working out a mighty victory for us.

Prayer:

Father, help me to continue to honour you even when things do not go the way I wish them to. Help me to trust you and believe that your mighty works of salvation are often disguised as your defeat. Amen.