One of the most telling statements of what we now call "Holy Week" was made by the Pharisees as Jesus entered Jerusalem triumphantly on Sunday. As the crowd waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," the Pharisees, disheartened, and perhaps paranoid at the crowd's adulation for Jesus, responded, "Look how the whole world has gone after him." Perhaps that paranoia persisted, even after they succeeded in having Jesus crucified, for our text today tells us that they went to Pilate and asked him to post guards at the tomb of Jesus, lest his followers "come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead." Pilate granted their request. "Go," Pilate said, "and make the tomb as secure as you know how." The stage was set for what the Pharisees believed would be the secure entombment of this "deceiver," but their actions only positioned one more barrier to be broken down when Jesus, the Christ came out of the tomb alive.
We know little of Jesus' followers activities on the day between crucifixion and resurrection. Their Sabbath was probably spent in hiding, perhaps in shame because of their own betrayal...most likely in shock and grief at the events of the previous thirty-six hours. They probably would not have had the energy or faith to refute the Pharisees's actions, nor dared to hope that something miraculous would come with the next morning's dawn.
Tony Campolo tells the story of an African-American preacher who started his sermon slowly, and in the depths of his vocal register said, "It's Friday." He repeated the phrase again and again, pausing on occasion to expand the theme of hopelessness in such a moment. He continued to build his energy and to raise his voice, however, until finally he proclaimed, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming."
Our lives are marked often by the Friday and Saturday experiences of life. Good seems to have been overcome by evil...truth forever diminished by the lies of the crowd...hopelessness clutching tightly the throats of those who once believed. The Pharisees among us have won. Their victory is now made complete through intimidation and fear. They double the guards and ridicule the dead.
My dear friends, it may be Friday or Saturday...but Sunday's coming...Sunday's coming! The paranoia and fear that so often accompany our sinful ways and motivate our petty actions cannot defeat the Christ...Son of the living God. Stones may be piled on top of stones as barrier to hope, but hope cannot be defeated. Sunday's coming! Sunday's coming! Sunday's coming!
Jim Abernathy
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