Holy Week: Saturday

Saturday is the Sabbath in Jewish custom and is a day of rest so there is nothing recorded happening on this Sabbath, yet so much has been going on in the spiritual realm.

In Revelation 12 speaks of the history of the Jews in a nutshell and speaks of a war in heaven: "Michael and the angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the world of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devils has gone down to you!

He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.'"

This is recorded in Revelation and is believed that John saw what happened when Jesus was crucified. Satan is our accuser, Jesus is our savior who rescued us from the accuser. The accuser can no longer come before God who sits on the throne and accuse us on the earth because he has lost his place.

Through his death on the cross, Jesus, conquered eternal death. Peter wrote in his first letter:

“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being build. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also – not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.” 1 Peter 3:18-21

By this Jesus proclaimed his victory over the enemy, Satan. Then he went into heaven, where God’s throne room where the true spiritual work could be done with his blood of his sacrifice. Hebrews chapter 8 says:

“We have a high priest [by the order of Melchizekek], who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses warned when he was about the build the tabernacle: ‘See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’ But the ministry Jesus has received is a superior to their as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.”

Hebrews chapter 8 continues on with reminding the people of God’s promise of a better covenant to come and this was fulfilled by Jesus.

The fact of the matter is that with his death Jesus conquered our spiritual enemy. With that he took the blood of his sacrifice to the heavenly throne room and offered it there before God. For Christ did not enter a man made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence (Hebrews 9:24). He was the only one who could do this because of sin we were separated from the heavenly throne room and being able to dwell in the presence of the Lord. Jesus satisfied the punishment for sin on our behalf so we could go boldly before the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16).

We can assume that Jesus did all this on Friday following his death which is why we proclaim it as Good Friday. So what did Jesus do on Saturday? It was the Sabbath, so he went into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. It was finished at the cross.

But he has some work left to do, so come back tomorrow and see what it is we have to celebrate on Easter.

Blessings,

Greta