173. Saturday in Holy Week.
Lord Jesus, make it clear to our faith that thou hast
made of the grave a place of pleasant slumber. Amen.
Matthew 27, 57-66. When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathæa, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus’ disciple: he went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
❦
None of the disciples of Jesus had the courage or the strength to inter his body. Shall it, then, be thrown into the valley of Hinnom to be eaten by the dogs? The mere question wounds us and seems sacrilegious. Have no fear; for it is written by the prophet Isaiah that his body would be delivered to a rich man, and that a watch of wicked men would be set to guard his sepulchre. (Isaiah 53). The Father in heaven has caused a rich man, a member of the high council, to hew out in the rock a tomb for himself in his garden near Calvary; and now God puts it into this man’s mind to ask for the body of Jesus and to give it burial in his own new tomb. But the high priests are to fulfill the prophecy in regard to the watch; and thus they are compelled, against their will and in more ways than one, to make more sure our faith in the resurrection of our Lord. For not only does the setting of the watch at the grave furnish proof of the truth of scripture; but all that transpired, with the flight of the soldiers and their lying account of what had taken place, is most conclusive evidence that the Lord is risen and the sepulchre empty.
Set a watch, and seal the stone well; — the earth shall tremble, and your seal be broken, and the stone thrown aside. The situation is changed, and the power is yours no longer. All that you could do was to deliver him into the hands of the governor to be crucified. Now that the soul of Jesus has found rest in paradise, and has vanquished death; now that all the saints in heaven are making ready for the joyous Easter jubilee, your power even over the body of Jesus is at an end. You may seal the grave, if you like; him you shall see no more. Go your ways; and fare well, if you can. Soon you shall hear something, and be forced to step aside to make way for the triumphal car of the Crucified One. You have rejected the precious stone; but he is become the chief stone of the corner. He shall crush you, or you shall be broken on him, if you do not soon wake up and repent.
Gentle Jesus, victorious Hero; thy body lies in the grave from Friday until Sunday! Who can say why thou didst rest so long, or why thou didst not rise again sooner? Who knows what took place in paradise during these three days? Blessed mystery, which thy Spirit shall explain to us in the next world. Certain it is that thou didst not shun or avoid the condition in which the blessed dead now are, and into which we soon shall enter. For thou wast out of the body, as other souls are, and thy body rested as a deserted habitation of God, alone and lifeless in the grave. If thou art become like unto us, we shall become like unto thee; and no fear shall keep us back from the path which thou didst tread; for thou hast sanctified it and robbed it of every danger and terror.
— Wilhelm Loehe
To the unbelievers death is terrible, and the grave full of horrors. They are forced to tell themselves that the dark, cold tomb is the end and all of their course, the comfort and reward for all their labor and their struggles, the unutterably sad and hopeless answer to their longing and groping and questioning. Alas they are forced to go further, and to tell themselves that there is beyond the grave something yet more dark awaiting them because they serve sin. — But rejoice, ye believers! Your grave is the grave of Jesus, and his grave is yours. For was it not for our sin that he died? He died our death, and he slept in our grave; what is our burial, then, but the laying of our bodies to rest in the grave of Jesus? — God give us faith! The grave still seems so dark to me. I am weary and wish to go to rest; but I would like to have another bed. And yet; where could I hope to find a better bed than the one in which thou didst rest, thou who art the resurrection and the life? Praise be to thee, Lord Jesus, for thy burial; for this and for all other benefits! Amen.
Teach us to know that Jesus died,
And rose again, our souls to save;
Teach us to take him as our guide,
Our help from childhood to the grave.
Then shall not death with terror come,
But welcome as a bidden guest,
The herald of a better home,
The messenger of peace and rest.