Holy Saturday

What is truth?

John 18:38-42

This is the most ironic moment in history. The judge faces the Judge. And with ignorance like that of an Apostle, Pilate looks Truth in the face and asks, “What is truth?” But the resounding “I am” we want to hear is overshadowed by the clang of hammer against nail through flesh. Jesus does not overthrow the praetorium with an army of angels; he whimpers “It is finished” and dies.

This is the quietest day of the year. Jesus has descended into hell and is no longer with us. The disciples have scattered, the veil has torn in two, and the tomb is sealed. It looks as if the message Jesus preached was a deception. Maybe we wonder if Judas was right to betray who he saw as a failed insurrectionist. It couldn’t be... could it?

This silence is shocking. It is godforsaken hopelessness. He who we thought would change the world has been captured and crucified. It’s over. Before you pack your bags and head home, sit here in the moment. Feel fully this heavy emptiness. The passion has happened. Christ has suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.

Mourn the dead Jesus of Nazareth, born of Mary. But between sobs, remember his words: “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it” (John 11:4).