The Day In-between

In Israel, it was a day like no other – the celebration of Passover had begun.

The remembrance of God’s mighty deliverance of their ancestors from bondage in Egypt involved a perfect lamb (one per household), unleavened bread, bitter herbs and covering blood. Each element is significant as God instructed Moses in (Exodus 12) and the people of God, who upon the first Passover did as He had instructed concerning the blood of the lamb, were passed over by the death angel who was to execute judgment on the first born of Egypt.

As they observed the solemn occasion, the Lamb which God had prepared for them, already killed, His blood already shed for their deliverance had been placed in a newly hewn grave near the place where He had been crucified. (John 19:38-42) Meanwhile, the celebration continued; but I wonder what those days were like for those who had followed their friend Jesus for a little over 3 years.

In considering the question, I thought about my greatest human loss to this date – the death and burial of my mother. I remember watching (as it were) the world passing by outside the windows of the chapel where we were remembering her life asking myself, “Don’t you know what is happening here? My mom is gone and you’re all carrying on as if it doesn’t matter!” My world had stopped turning. Grief skewed my mind from seeing anything but my loss. I am sure that it was a similar grief which consumed Jesus’ closest followers the day after He had been brutally killed.

The day in-between is only known to we who have the benefit of hindsight – we know how it turned out but His followers, though they had believed in Him, were not so sure that He would rise on the third day as He had promised (Matt. 17:22-23, Mark 10: 33-34, Luke 18:31-33). For them it was their first full day without Him and their grief was profound. You and I have never longed for Him as they who had seen and experienced Him face to face were longing for Him on the day in-between.