Last night was our Good Friday Service. We reflected on the crucifixion and death of Jesus and left off with the ceturion declaring Jesus to be the Son of God in Matthew 27:54. 

Today has been called Silent Saturday because Jesus was slient as he lay in the tomb. 

Little is known about what happened between the time he died Friday afternoon and when he rose Sunday morning, but Matthew mentions four different responses to his dead body that are worth noting from 27:57-66. 

The Night Jesus Died (Friday evening):

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

So here we see the first two responses to Jesus’ death: 

1. A rich man named Joseph wanted to honor Jesus and took action. He did the one thing he could do with his wealth - put Jesus in the new tomb he had taken possession of. 

2. The women lingered. They took it in. They didn’t run or hide or flee in fear (the male disciples were likely seen as greater threats and therefore in more danger). They loved Jesus and they wanted to stay near him. 

The Next Day, The Sabbath (Saturday):

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”

Here we have a third respose:

3. The chief priests and Pharisees tried to control and manipulate the situation. They were very afraid that the disciples might try to pull a stunt and did what they could to prevent any rumors of resurrection. 

65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

And now the final response:

4. Pilate appeased the religious leaders and dispatched a guard and put his seal on the tomb (a sign of Roman authority that nobody dare defy). 

 ----

Joseph and the women loved Jesus but did not seem to expect a resurrection. 

The Jewish leaders hated Jesus and remembered he predicted his resurrection. 

Pilate was indifferent about Jesus' claims.

All four of them were used by God in some way to further his amazing story of redemption. Think about it:

Crucifixion victims were often left to rot on the cross or thrown into a ditch. But because Joseph offered to put Jesus in his newly-bought tomb where no body had ever been laid (multiple bodies were sometimes kept in one tomb), and since tombs were a matter of public record, the empty tomb became a big piece of evidence proving he really raised and preventing the accusation that bodies got mixed up.  

If the women did not linger, they wouldn’t have seen where they put Jesus‘s body, and perhaps they would not have been there on the first day of the week to discover the empty tomb.

If the religious leaders did not manipulate Pilate into posting a guard and sealing it, it could be stated later that the disciples stole the body.

And Pilate - poor Pilate just wanted to get through this Passover without a major incident, but little did he know that by posting a guard he was helping to set the stage for the biggest incident the world has ever known. 

Jesus may have been dead, but God the Father was very active behind the scenes, using all these characters - each with their own stories - to tell HIS ultimate story. 

WHERE GOD MAY BE SILENT, HE IS STILL ACTIVE

Joseph and the women were just trying to be faithful to do the next right thing to honor Jesus, while the religous leaders and Pilate were trying to stop the Jesus movement - but none of these characters knew what was really going on. 

God is still unfolding his plan of redeeming the world through Jesus, and you and I are still part of this great story. 

However, there are days when we don’t understand what’s going on. There are days when it’s not quite clear how our hardships fit into his ultimate plan. There are days when it seems God is not answering our prayers. And yet, our God is working behind the scenes to use all things for his glory and our good (Roman’s 8:28-29).

What’s the situation right now that you are frustrated about, confused about, or worried about? 

Where does God seem silent? 

Sometimes all we can do is linger in the presence of Jesus like the women, and then take any faithful steps we can take like Joseph, even if those steps seem insignificant.

But that's when the stage is set for God to surprise us.