On this day, often overlooked in the Lenten calendar, Jesus is dead. He was buried in a tomb. He was sealed behind a door, blocked by a stone… a stone so large that once rolled down the slope, rolling it back to open it up would take many men at the risk of their lives. After all, it was more than heavy. There were guards stationed, and it was the Jewish Sabbath.
Silence of the tomb emphasizes the darkness of the grave mankind deserves on account of our rebellion. Yet, God reminds us, as penned by our friend John Kass in his Christmas column, this is our hope:
“And for all those across the world who know what is most important on this special night:
It is that simple message brought to us by that perfect child born in the manger in Bethlehem so long ago.
He is the gift, the only gift. He came to light the world.”
In the bleakest moments of human existence, the last fleeting breath, the bombings and seemingly random brutality at the hands of our fellow man, we have this hope still ablaze in our hearts:
Even a dark tomb could not extinguish the Light of the World!
The grave will not have the final say. Hold on. Today, Holy Saturday, is not a throwaway day. It’s fulfilling Scripture. Hold onto your hope when it’s darkest: Sunday’s coming.
Matthew 27:57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
Prayer Focus: Lord, Have Mercy! Remind us that the Light was never extinguished. His mortality accomplished the very purpose for which You sent Your Son: to purchase men and women for Yourself, those who bear Your Image, and by faith bear the Image of Your Christ. By Your mercy, grant us courage and faith to move beyond the tomb to the Resurrection. Help us to hold on when the world seems darkest. Thank You, Lord, for the Light of the World, our Savior Jesus Christ.
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You can find these “Κύριε, ἐλέησον, ‘Lord, have mercy” devotionals here or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter!
Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:
Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.
Revelation in 40 devotionals for 2022 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.
“Created to Display His Image” explored what it truly means to be made in God’s Image and the profound significance of that fact. They are archived beginning February 22, 2023.
“Seeing His Love with New Eyes” was the topic for 2024 and it explored looking at God’s love beyond the superficial and trite notions of love. They are archived beginning February 14, 2024.
“The Way it Had to Be” explored the conversation in Luke 24 by the men on the Road to Emmaus as they walked with Jesus. They discovered their assumption “This is not how it was supposed to be” was precisely what had to happen and had been predicted throughout the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. These devotionals are archived beginning March 5, 2025.