Words by Bev Jones
Faith In The Darkness
The day after the crucifixion must have seemed absolutely desolate to those closest to Jesus. This man that they had spent the last three years with, this man who had claimed to be the Messiah, this man that they had given up everything for - this man was dead. There had been no last-minute rescue on the cross, and most of the disciples hadn’t even stayed around until the end. All but one had left Jesus in his hour of need.
As the sky darkened and the temple curtain was torn in two, those who were closest to Jesus abandoned him. Now, the day after, his body lies in a borrowed tomb, and all the claims that he had made appear to have died with him. At that moment of Christ’s death, from wherever the disciples had scattered, it must have felt like they’d been abandoned - that everything they’d given their lives to had just disappeared. That Jesus wasn’t after all who he said he was. How out of control must the crucifixion have seemed? And yet….. As Jesus breathes his last, he says:
Father into your hands I commit my spirit.
Photo by Iva Rajović via Unsplash
Separated by God in that instance, he trusts. Even in the darkest of circumstances - he gave his all - and trusted his God completely. For me, Easter Saturday speaks of all those times that we can’t see God. When we wonder where He is in our darkest moments - but trust anyway.
That to me is about us having faith in a faithful God. A God who will never let us down. A God who will never forget us - even in our darkest days. And when those days become weeks, and that darkness turns from a few bad weeks, into a season of difficulty, when we can’t always see where God is; this day between Jesus’ death and resurrection reminds me that God is there all the time.
At the time of Christ’s death, darkness enveloped the land, the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook, and dead people rose from their tombs. Something significant had happened, even though it must have appeared at the time, to be what Pete Greig refers to as the ‘ultimate example of unanswered prayer.’ In his book, God on Mute, he goes on to say:
'As we mature in Christ we begin to understand that God’s logic is rarely ours and that His path to joy is often marked by suffering. The world is full of people prepared to trust God for promotion, prosperity, healing and popularity… But as we mature spiritually, God asks us to trust Him in the hard times as well…’
Greig, P. 2007. God on Mute Kingsway Publications Ltd, UK
Photo by Time Foster via Unsplash
The day after the crucifixion must have been the hardest of times, and yet the story doesn’t end there. Maybe in fact, it’s just the beginning.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
- Bev Jones
11/4/20