WHY DID THIS HAPPEN? (HOLY SATURDAY)
Holy Week Reading 7: Matthew 26:62-66 and Job 14:1-14

All is quiet. All is calm. The Saturday before Easter reflects upon the day that Jesus’ tomb remained closed. Followers who hadn’t seen the crucifixion, or those who simply thought they had experienced a nightmare, could visit the tomb and see it for themselves. How many came to Jesus’ grave on that terrible day-after? How many came to pay their respects, deliver flowers, or even say a few parting words?

In Scripture, we’re not given much direction on this day, other than the posting of guards at the tomb. These guards weren’t the police, looking after the welfare of the people. They weren’t interested in anything but making sure that the grave was undisturbed, but not out of respect. Rather, out of fear that the body might be stolen.

In the Old Testament, Job is someone that some of us may have reflected upon these last few weeks. Job’s story is a difficult one, filled with the challenges of a good person who fell upon terrible times. Job cried out to God, pleading to God for removal of the bondage, by whatever means necessary. Job asks many of the same questions that we would expect, but primarily, Job wants to know, “Why did this happen?”

Anyone who visited the tomb of Jesus on Holy Saturday was likely familiar with the Book of Job, written hundreds of years before. Did the tomb visitors stand at a distance (protecting themselves) and discuss Job’s life in comparison to the suffering that Jesus experienced? Did the tomb visitors ask the same question, “Why did this happen?”

This question still haunts us today, doesn’t it? We’re suffering and we don’t understand. Like Jesus’ followers, we’ve been scattered. We’re locked away in our places of safety and we stand at a distance looking for answers.

We forget that through Faith, Job is not only restored, but Job is blessed more than he was before the suffering occurred. Jesus, too, is blessed, but this time, the whole world is blessed with Him. Despite the terrible suffering that has occurred through the history of the world, God continues to bless us through Easter. Plagues, wars, and natural disasters of epic proportions have surfaced, yet God’s people continue to survive, grow, and thrive.

Yes, the time of waiting is terrible and our patience is stretched, but God is still God and Jesus still saves all those who profess His name. Easter arrives tomorrow, and with it, so does the vivid reminder of our day of salvation. We will survive, grow, and even excel. We are Easter people! In just a little while, we will be witnesses to God’s awesome power and blessings!

“If we humans die, will we live again? That’s my question. All through these difficult days I keep hoping,waiting for the final change—for resurrection!” (Job 14:14, The Message)