The Friday When Hope Died

Part 8: It was Friday, and nobody knew what Sunday would bring.

Photo by Vaishakh Pillai on Unsplash

Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph.

So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.  (Mark 15:40-47, NIV)

Mary, Mary, and Salome

As Jesus breathed his last, some of the women were there, watching from a distance. Mark emphasizes that these women had witnessed the entire series of events that had taken place—crucifixion, death, confession of the Roman centurion, removal of Jesus from the cross, and burial. Remember, according to Mark, the men had all left, so the witness of these women forms a crucial part of the early church’s growth and development.

Before we make too much of this, let’s remember that as men, the close disciples of Jesus likely faced harsh consequences should they be caught. There was a reason they did not follow too closely. Women were likely seen as much less threatening, so they were able to stay closer to the action.

Just like Jesus, who made it a personal mission to lift up women above the cultural value they had been assigned, Mark also seems to highlight the crucial role that women played throughout these events. Not only that, but Mark also seems to indicate that these women (and likely others) had been following Jesus as disciples for quite some time, perhaps from very early in his ministry. So, let’s not get things twisted—God did not use these women because the men were unavailable. God used these courageous women because they had been following Jesus all along.

In the same way, when we make it our priority to keep following, we end up in the right places at the right times to do the things good things that God desires for us to do.

Burial

Joseph of Arimathea came to take the body of Jesus and bury it as the two Marys took note of the location so that they could return later. Sabbath restrictions would not allow complete burial preparation before the onset of the Sabbath. The body could be wrapped even if the Sabbath had already begun, while the more thorough washing and anointing would have to wait until Sunday.

The celebration of a week earlier had come to a screeching halt. Judas was dead, the victim of his own grief. Peter has turned his back on his friend. The other disciples are nowhere to be seen. Had they given up? Was their hope dead and buried along with Jesus? Surely, even Jesus’ closest followers were confronted with questions and doubts—

How could we have been so wrong?
What are we going to do now?
Will we ever be able to show our faces again?

Friday night likely brought little sleep.

Throughout Saturday, no one was waiting for Jesus to return. No one was waiting with eager anticipation for a triumphant victory. I wonder if anyone even bothered to go to the temple on the Sabbath.

On Sunday, the first Easter morning, no one was gathered together to worship, pray, and praise God. There was no joy, no peace, no hope. Instead, there was only sadness, uncertainty, anger, bitterness, exhaustion, disappointment, broken hearts, and confusion.

In his unforgettable sermon, Tony Campolo proclaims, “It’s Friday…! if you have heard the sermon, you know what comes next—”…but Sunday’s a’comin’!”

Friday is death, darkness, and despair, but Sunday is new life, new light, and new hope!

We have the advantage of knowing that “Sunday’s a’comin’!” But there was no such knowledge and no such hope for those who had just seen their friend die a cruel death. Nothing mattered. Hope was lost. They had no idea what Sunday would bring.

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This story is part five of an Easter series. Read parts 1-7 using the links below:

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7