Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America

Saturday of Holy Week

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Pastor Dulas under Devotions
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Scripture: Isaiah 52:13-15 (NKJV)


52:13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.


14 Just as many were astonished at you, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men;


15 So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.


Devotion


Holy Saturday is sometimes the forgotten day of Holy Week. Nothing seems to happen. Holy Week began with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. By Thursday evening He is in the upper room and institutes His Supper. Later that evening He is betrayed into the hands of those who would ultimately crucify Him on that Friday afternoon filled with woe. A great deal had taken place during the week, and now …it’s Saturday…it’s quiet…indeed, “It is finished!” It is Saturday, the Sabbath, and Jesus now rests from His labors in the tomb of another.


We already know the rest of this story. He, whose “visage was marred more than any man,” will arise from the dead. As soon as the sun sets and the Sabbath is over, the time for His body to rest in the tomb is over. It’s the beginning of a new day, the beginning of a new creation that is found only in Christ and the forgiveness of sins He secured on the cross. One day our bodies also will rest from their labors. We will be placed in graves that Christ has sanctified by His resting in the tomb. Christ has given us the promise of the resurrection to eternal life with Him.


So on this day when there seems to be a lull in Holy Week, let us not forget this special day. Remember that the Sabbath, a day of rest, was God’s creation, and that our rest is found in Him and His life-giving Word.


We pray: O God, who didst enlighten this most holy night with the glory of the Lord’s resurrection, preserve in all Thy people the spirit of adoption which Thou hast given, so that, renewed in body and soul, they may perform unto Thee a pure service. Amen.


Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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