"Holy WeekEND"

I'm writing on Saturday of Holy Week. For the eight days from Sunday (when Jesus rode a colt into Jerusalem with crowds shouting hosannas) to Sunday (when Jesus rose triumphantly from the grave), we often use the term "Holy Week." Rightly so. I have an old book in my office entitled Eight Days That Changed The World, and that's a great title, because there's something very significant about every day of Holy Week. I believe it's also appropriate to call 3 of the days "Holy WeekEND." Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which society now calls the weekend, is of the utmost significance! Here's what I mean:

"Good" Friday: I've heard people ask "What's good about it?! With all the bad things that happened to Jesus that day, why call it good?" I think they mean "how could anything possibly be good that comes out of the agonizingly torturous death of Jesus on the cross?" What I call the five greatest words in the Bible are found in 1 Corinthians 15:3: "CHRIST DIED FOR OUR SINS." Those five words sum up the Gospel, which of course is the "Good News"! Good Friday is 'good' because it proclaims the 'good' news that God our 'good, good' Father has reconciled us sinners to Himself through the death of His Son, our 'good' Shepherd, giving His life for His sheep--on that 'good' day!

"Holy" Saturday: There's another vintage book (I've had it for over 60 years) called Christ and the Fine Arts. It's a collection of great classic works of art that depict the life of our Lord Jesus. One of the paintings shows the disciples the day after that Friday, with their long faces and slumped shoulders and bewildered expressions; it's called--strangely enough--"Holy Saturday." My dear friend and ministry college here in Columbia, Kenny Anderson, calls it "Silent Saturday;" no word from God is recorded on that day in Scripture, and no word from the believers. And the truth is, all of us have had those days in between Friday and Sunday, when we wonder what in the world is going on. Our hopes have been dashed, our dreams shattered, our hearts broken. But those days could indeed be labeled holy Saturdays, because JOY WILL COME in the morning. Or, as it is often stated, "Sunday's coming!" I'm in a kind of 'holy Saturday' myself today. I am a few weeks out from heart surgery (with a couple of complications added to it), and thank God I'm getting better and stronger every day--but not quite as good or as strong as I thought I'd be by now. Yet I want to truly see this as a "holy" Saturday, knowing Sunday IS coming!

"Glorious" Sunday: Although it's now widely proclaimed "Easter" Sunday, I've tended to stay away from that name; I often call it "GRD"--"Glorious Resurrection Day." But whatever it's called, it IS a glorious day! We used to sing in church a hymn called "Christ Arose." The stanzas were slow and rather mournful as our congregation sang, "Low in the grave He lay...Waiting the coming day...Vainly they watched His bed...Vainly they sealed the dead." But then we practically shouted as we came to the refrain: "Up from the grave He arose (and we boys would repeat, 'He arose')! With a mighty triumph o'er His foes (He arose)! He arose a victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign. He AROSE (He arose)! HE arose (He arose)! Hallelujah--CHRIST arose!" There's no other word that better describes Sunday: GLORIOUS!

I trust you've had a Good Friday where you knelt at the cross in repentance of sins and have received Christ's forgiveness and new life. I imagine you've had your share of dark and uncertain days, yet you can see how they became Holy Saturdays. And I pray you are experiencing the joy of serving a risen Savior who's in the world today, I hope you can affirm, "I know that He is living, salvation to impart; You ask me how I know He lives? HE LIVES WITHIN MY HEART!"

May you be blessed on this good and glorious, holy weekEND.