Yesterday was Good Friday (4/2/21) in the Christian faith. Years ago, I was born on Good Friday so I've always held Good Friday dear. In fact, Easter is my favorite holiday. I love every aspect of it. More on that later.
Recently, after studying more about what happened on Good Friday in the Christian faith, I wonder why this particular Friday didn't get the Black Friday title. I won't give you a history lesson here, but even thought the events of Good Friday were necessary for our complete redemption, it certainly wasn't "good" for Jesus. But I suppose it was "good" for us.
I don't like calling anything "black" that has a bad or evil connotation. I am Black, and as a Black woman, with a Black son there is no way that I would have us connote anything that we are with evil. I'll leave that there because that is a whole 'nother blog post.
The day in between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday is often under rated. Contemporarily, the Saturday in between the two holidays are spent in preparation for the Easter celebrations. In a way, there was a lot of preparation going on behind the scenes on the day(s) in between. But consider for a bit how the first followers felt on the day(s) in between. Us contemporary folks are an impatient people because we only observe a day between the death and resurrection of Jesus. However, the Bible says it was three days:
"Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection
31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again." Mark 8:31 ESV (emphasis mine)
Jesus said it would be three days between His death and resurrection. So imagine, He died on a Friday (even that is a guess) and Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were the "in between" time and early Tuesday morning, He arose.
Now, let's think about what it's like to wait for three days and not really know what you're waiting for. Have you ever had to wait for some news that would determine your future? It can be maddening. You have no idea what to expect. You're hoping for good results, you could be dreading terrible results, either way the wait can be laborious.
I'd like to encourage you today that the kind and loving nature of Jesus is that He tells us the outcome and what to look forward to. He said, He would RISE again. That was to tell His followers to be waiting, hopeful and expecting a good outcome. It's like your loved one is leaving, the one you know you cannot live without, saying don't worry, I'll be back. And, I'll be back with gifts! Ok, so maybe He didn't tell you that He was coming back with presents, but that's what happened which make the return ever so much more lovely. How do we parallel this today? If we trust the portion of scripture that says,
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above," James 1:17a ESV and
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 ESV (emphasis mine)
That should give us hope and rest in the wait, right? It doesn't make the wait easy. However, we can know what to expect. This is a hard teaching, because we know that all outcomes are not favorable. Truly, as I write this, I know what it's like to wait for an outcome, but I'm encouraged today because of what Jesus said. He said He would rise again. He said He would suffer, be killed and then rise again. It's like He was saying, "just focus on the part about ending. Yes, I'll go through all this...mess. But then I'm going to overcome it and rise!" It's so full that I cannot contain the full measure in writing.
So today, I have hope. As I sit in a wait, I'm expecting the "rise." The word rise is defined "to move from a lower position, to a higher one." I do not know fully what the outcome will be, but I'm fully expecting to move from a lower position to a higher one! Here is where I rest:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13
This has been my leaning post for many years. I'm sharing it with you as one would share a piece of some very delicious and valuable food. So take, eat! Chew on it like a cow with cud.
If you're waiting to know the outcome of something right now, chew on the thoughts above. Graze and rest until you know the outcome. In the end, chew on the Word that Jesus said He will rise again,(because He did) whatever your outcome, you will come away...satisfied.