lent day 44

Im glad to be coming to the end of these posts.  It's funny but every time I do a blog ( Advent and Lent) I tend to struggle a bit.   But then again the blogs always coincide with school holidays and three boisterous boys to entertain which is always exhausting.  So its hard to tell what is cause and what's effect!

Today is the day when we think about what Jesus was doing whilst He was dead.   Preaching to the souls lost in the tim e of Noah.  Taking the keys from Satan,  Busting the cords of death and hell.   Im reminded of that very old song by Carman.  ( You really do have to go back a bit to know what Im talking about there :-)  )

SO here's something Ive never thought about before.   Why did Jesus wait?  Why did He leave the disciples grieving and mourning all Friday night, all day Saturday and into Sunday morning?   I suppose if He had risen on the Friday people might have doubted He was really dead.  Although the Romans werent stupid.  They were experts at crucifixion and they knew when it was done and when it wasnt.   But I suppose an instant resurrection would have cast some doubt.   And then the Saturday was the sabbath.    Did Jesus delay His appearing to the disciples in order to keep the sabbath day??  So that the disciples could 'celebrate' sabbath together??   Seems a bit odd.  Until you realise two things.   1) the last time the disiciples were with Jesus was at the last supper - they were eating and praying together.  Judas was with them.  Jesus had broken bread and shared the wine with them just as they were required to do an the sabbath.   As they went through the rituals of sabbath in the upper room they cant but have remembered what Jesus had said to them all only a few days previously.   2) the sabbath prayers recite the goodness of God, His provision, the way He led His people out of slavery, the fact that He is light in the darkness.   http://www.jewfaq.org/prayer/shabbat.htm  How difficult must it have been for the disiciples to recite the prayers and believe in the goodness and the saving power of God in the light of the crucifixion. ?   But perhaps that is exactly the point.  Jesus wanted the disicples to be able to praise God despite it all.  Ignorant of the greater plan could they still praise Him anyway?

Ignorant of the greater plan can we?

We look at the world and the dreadful mess its in and wonder why God is waiting.  As the darkness gets darker it gets harder to see His goodness and saving power.   As nations rage and terrorists reign and the natural disasters wreak havoc we wonder why He seems to be silent.

But Sunday is coming.

And in the meantime our task is to continue to praise Him.  To believe.  Be steadfast.   Because soon and very soon we shall hear the knock at the door.