I think we all agree that Good/Bad Friday is the ultimate horror show of the Bible.
A surprise plot twist finds him betrayed by one of his closest confidants, abandoned by his friends, and arrested by corrupt, power-hungry men. The dark villain and mastermind of this fiendish plot, Satan himself, cackles with glee as they nail his shredded body to a cross. And then he dies.
Not the happy ending everyone expected. Least of all his disciples.
If Good/Bad Friday is the horror show of the Bible, then Resurrection Sunday is the ultimate feel good movie. The hero kicks the teeth out of death’s ravenous mouth, delivers the antidote for sin, and paves the way for all who believe to live forever with him in the wonderland of heaven.
He rewards the faithful and punishes the wicked. His triumph resounds with all the bells and whistles heaven can muster – an earthquake, angels, and a vanishing body. No longer bound by the frailty of human flesh, the conquering hero amazes his followers with the ability to read minds, appear and disappear, and walk through locked doors.
But then there’s Saturday. The awful in between.
Our lives are a lot like Saturday. At least that particular Saturday – the one usually overlooked in the middle of Good/Bad Friday and Resurrection Sunday.
If we’re believers, we’re living in that Saturday. We’ve surrendered our right to self-government and independence. We’ve turned our back on the old man who lived for himself and thrown in our lot with Jesus. We’ve irrevocably declared our desire to surrender, submit, and be sanctified.
We’ve died with Christ on Good/Bad Friday.
“ . . . knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin” (Rom. 6:6-7).
And we’ll live and reign with him in heaven forever one day – that’s Resurrection Sunday.
We’ll shed our slimy scales of sinful flesh and don the robes of righteousness Christ has prepared for us. We’ll no longer be hindered by the frailties of our human bodies. No more sickness, pain, sorrow, or death. We’ll receive rewards for the deeds we did for Christ alone – gold, silver, and precious stones – and lay them at his feet. Faith will become sight, and all will be made right.
But in between, we live in Saturday, the netherworld between faith and sight.
We believe Christ died, was buried, and rose again, but we have yet to see him. We spend our time, money, and energy to further the kingdom he promised, but few have seen it this side of the veil. We pray to a Savior we cannot see because we believe he can see us. We wait in confident expectation, hoping to receive the redemption of our bodies and our souls. But our faith isn’t sight on Saturday.
“For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. . .
“Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved.
“But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently” (Rom. 8:20-22, 23-25).
As we live in the Saturday between Good/Bad Friday and Resurrection Sunday, take heart.
It’s Saturday, but Sunday’s coming.
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