You’ve heard of Black Friday, of course. But I doubt you’ve heard of “Black Saturday”….since I just made it up. But I think it’s a great fit for what I want to write about. You hear a lot about Good Friday, as you should. Good Friday is the day we commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. You can only totally understand why it’s called “Good” when you look at it in the context of 1) What it provides for you, and 2) What transpired two days later. 

Jesus’ death on the cross was the one and only thing that could provide us the awesome opportunity to be forgiven of our sins….and delivered from our sinful nature and engage in a relationship with the Father…. in exactly the way Jesus did! The pain and suffering Jesus endured on the way to the cross would’ve ‘done in’ any other human. But Jesus was determined to carry out to the ‘T’ His Father’s plan. So, YES, Good is an appropriate word to use for this Friday!

A wise person would stop to reflect on all that happened on that day and, somehow, give thanks to the Lord. Seems like the least we could do.

Two days later on that ‘third’ day when the women went to His tomb, they were astonished to find that Jesus was gone. The stone had been rolled away (an undeniable supernatural happening!) and two angels were sitting in the tomb. Jesus had risen from the dead! The resurrection; it’s the bedrock foundation on which the entire Christian faith is built. What a day!

But, have you ever thought about the day in between??

I’ve thought a lot about it. I’m sure there are those who have written pieces about that day, but I’ve yet to see them. I think about what might have been going through the minds of the thousands of Jews gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover. Most of them believed that justice had been done in that ‘this imposter’ who made Himself equal with God had been rightly put to death.

 I think about the religious leaders who were obviously gloating over the fact that they, once and for all, did away with Jesus Whose faithfulness was a constant reminder of their full-blown self-righteousness. They wouldn’t have to deal with Him anymore. They must’ve felt good about themselves.

For them…..it was a good day.

But, I think about the eleven who were with Him nearly every day for the past three years. They’d seen Him multiply the food, walk on the water, calm the storms, heal the sick, cast out demons, and even raise the dead. I think about James and John who had left their fishing business to follow this Man. And, Matthew the tax collector who, maybe for the first time in his life, felt valued and loved. I think about Peter who, in not much more than 24 hours’ time, had denied Jesus. They never once saw Him waver in His devotion to them or in obedience to His Father. But, now they’d failed Him at a time when He needed them most. What would they do now? Would they spend the rest of their lives in regret for how they performed? Would they go back to their fishing business or collect taxes? For these men it was a dark, dark discouraging day; the worst you could imagine!

I call it Black Saturday!

Have you ever thought about what might have been going on in the spirit realm? I’m sure the angelic host were totally taken aback when Jesus died on the cross. What did God have in mind? How could He let such a thing happen? They did NOT see this coming! And, to make matters far worse the demonic hordes of hell were celebrating with a deafening noise…..so loud it almost spilled over into the natural realm. Yep, for the angels, it was a dark, dark day! A Black Day!

I call it Black Saturday!

But at just about daybreak on the third day, a tiny little jingling was heard above the hellish and noisy celebration. It almost sounded like keys jingling together. The atmosphere began to change. Light began to break forth. Something BIG was happening….and both sides in the spirit realm knew it. 

…..and there He appeared!!

And in His hand were the keys to death, hell, and the grave! No longer would the Father’s children be intimidated by the fear of darkness or death.

On that day EVERYTHING changed! 

That’s why you don’t hear much about Black Saturday!

Let us learn to live in the ‘finished’ work of Jesus!