It has been a minute…My last post was December 2021. Talk about writer’s block…am I right?!

In all seriousness, this has been too long coming. I am thankful God is giving me the itch to scratch on the brightest day in Christian history. Today, Christians across the globe stand together in unison to celebrate the Resurrection of the One they call the “King of Kings” and “Lord of Lords;” Jesus, The Christ. 

As I sat on camera for the three services at my home church, Gateway Community, there were pieces of Pastor Carlos’s message that really stuck with me. Much like I felt God’s presence and his revelation of more to the story for the book I’ve been writing on and off (mostly off) for nearly a decade during Good Friday service, I felt the subject matter of Christ’s descending into Sheol (a place often associated with hell in Hebrew lore), searing its way into my heart and mind.

So, here we are.

Good Friday

On Good Friday, we sit in silent reverence for Christ who bore upon himself all of our sins as he was nailed to the Cross; as he suffered unfathomable pain. I’m not talking about the physical pain of crucifixion, although that is understandably where we would go. Christ suffered the pain of being abandoned by his disciples, going through all of the horrific physical suffering knowing his followers were in hiding; knowing that the Devil was given leave to sift them as wheat from chaff. He (Christ) faced derision and utter hatred as he was scourged by 39 lashes that would rip skin from bone and shred muscle, only to be mocked and beaten by Roman soldiers who scoffingly bowed to him after affixing a purple (sign of royalty) garment over his eviscerated body and placing a crown of dried, hardened, nail-like thorns on his head. Then Jesus was completely rejected by the religious elite of his own people in favor of sparing an insurrectionist; Barabbas (literally “son of the father”), taken to a hill known to be a place tied to death; Golgotha (“the place of the skull”), nailed to a cross between two criminals after also being stripped naked and hanged upon a tree, completely humiliated and brought low. 

That’s not the worst of it though. The worst pain he felt was evident when took upon himself all of our sins. In that moment, the Father (God the Father) could not bear to look upon his Son whom he loved above all. In that moment, Jesus felt the greatest pain imaginable. He felt completely alone with The Father’s gaze turned from him. He cried in an agony none of us can fathom,   

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” 

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

“So, wait…you call this ‘Good Friday’”?! “What on earth is “good” about it?” “Sounds to me like your ‘abounding in love’ ‘God’ abandoned his Son when he needed him most.”

We call it “Good Friday” because the suffering Christ faced was not in vain. God did not forsake his Son. As a loving Father, he simply could not bear to look upon the Son he loved in the moment the world’s sin was taken up by Christ. He was still there. He still faced every bit of the scourging, abandonment, and derision the Son faced. He still loved and stood with his Son.

When I think about the scene on Golgatha, not what was seen, but the goings on in the unseen, I imagine the demons dancing around with glee. They must have been jumping for joy (or at least their closest approximation to “joy”) as they watched what they believed to be the end of the one sent to save those the demons worked so diligently to damn for eternity, and sent to condemn them to final judgement. 

Matthew 27:51-53 provides a pretty incredible glimpse into what came as Christ hung on the tree and gave his last breath.

“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs…they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”

Imagine that. You’re just going about your business and all of the sudden there are dead bodies of the saints (for clarification, “saints” often referred to all who believed and followed God’s teachings, not like saints as we think about them from Catholicism), walking through the streets. I mean, the veil in the temple, which was not a small thin sheet, tearing in two would have been freaky enough. So too would have been the earth shaking and rocks splitting, but long sealed tombs being opened and dead saints raising to life…

HUH???

By the way, anyone besides me missed this passage for most of their lives?! Just me? Cool Cool Cool!

Now that we’ve taken that little detour, back to the main route.

What Matthew doesn’t mention here, but the other Gospels do is that the words Jesus uttered in his last breath were the Greek translation “Tetelestai,” which means “it is finished” and “paid in full.”

Check this out. 

Tetelestai was a word stamped on ledgers for debts paid in full. It was also stamped on papers given to a prisoner when they were released denoting that their sentence had been served in full. 

That’s pretty cool but this one is the reference I want to make sure doesn’t get glossed over. 

Tetelestai was a battle cry yelled in triumph; when the battle had been truly and fully won. Maybe I’m alone in this, but I used to hear the words “it is finished.” and think of it more like Christ exclaiming from a place of exacerbation that his task was done. 

NOPE.

Tetelestai was his BATTLE CRY. It was Christ, in his last breath proclaiming that he had paid OUR debt in full; served OUR sentence in full; won the decisive battle for OUR souls in full. 

Now, hear me in this. I am not saying we are all automatically saved and can go do whatever we want. We still have to choose to accept that gift, hard won and freely given. But because of Christ, we have the only path to salvation, and it is free. We only need to accept it.

“So…what does any of this have to do with ‘Silent Saturday’ or for that matter, Resurrection Sunday?”

Hang on baby birds. I’ll feed you. (If you get that reference, we need to be friends)

Silent Saturday

Saturday, the day that everyone assumed was just any other day after burying a crucified loved one, is referred to as “Silent Saturday” amongst most Christian denominations. It refers to day 2 when Christ is buried in the tomb and evil believes it has won.

“Why was it silent? Weren’t there plenty of people crying out in mourning (and triumph) at Christ’s death?” 

Absolutely.

It was silent because Christ descended into Sheol on Saturday. Remember that place I mentioned at the beginning of this longwinded post? I should probably actually start there for anyone reading this who doesn’t know the word “Sheol.” No shade to you if you don’t. I only learned of it about 6 years ago when I started on a journey to understand the “rulers and principalities in unseen realms.” (Ephesians 6:12; see 10-18 for the Whole Armor of God).

Sheol is an interesting place. The closest modern approximation I can find is Purgatory (Catholicism), but that really isn’t close. For the righteous dead from the Old Testament (before Christ came), Sheol was a place their souls went to rest until the coming of the Messiah. Now, the other side of Sheol was the place where the unrighteous dead, fallen Angels; those who rebelled with Lucifer, and those who rebelled against the natural order by taking human wives and procreating to create Nephalim (hybrids) are also believed to be in Sheol; a different section of it (this is my understanding of the difference). So, if you followed God before Christ, this is where your soul rests. If you did not, this is where you and the heavenly hosts and “elohim” or “gods” who rebelled await their final judgement. 

Sheol is also often referred to as “Abraham’s Bosom.” I just love that reference considering Abraham was chosen to be the father of many nations. Back into his bosom humanity went prior to Christ’s resurrection.

Anyway, detour number two and back on the main road we go…

Diving into Silent Saturday, in Colossians 2:13-15 Paul speaks directly about Silent Saturday, although he does not call it that. 

Check this out:

“…having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Paul is speaking specifically about that Saturday when Christ and heaven appeared to be silent. 

“Why though?”

Because Christ was busy…he had work to do.

The moment Christ died he descended into Sheol. From there, he proclaims victory to two groups. The righteous dead are given the “Good News” (the Gospel) directly from the mouth of the Son himself. Christ goes to them proclaiming “Tetelestai!” “Your debt has been paid. Your sentence served. THE battle won.” 

Then he goes to the very gates of hell and shatters them to splinters to proclaim the same message. The difference? Those who erected the gates as defense against Heaven’s armies failed to reckon with the POWER of the One; The Christ. 

As those righteous dead rejoiced, the unrighteous, the fallen angels, and the demons trembled at the sound of our Lord’s battle cry. 

Christ needed to bring salvation to the righteous dead of old, and condemnation and ruin to those who stood against the God-head (3 in 1). 

Resurrection Sunday was coming, regardless. But not before God reconciled his beloved to him, and broke the defenses of his enemies. The enemies who had warred against God’s creation.

Ok, I realize this is longwinded, but if you know me…

A Conversation on Joy and Pain

I do want to end with this. A summarization of a conversation with a man I consider a brother, mentor, and a godly man to emulate.

After service today, I got my third hug this weekend from this brother. Dude can hug! Just saying…

Anyway, we got to talking about the message, and the concept of joy coming from pain. Christ modeled that by enduring the crucifixion, and feeling utterly alone. Pain unimaginable endured for the joy of salvation for his siblings being available through his conquering sin and death.

My brother spoke of the pain he feels in running, but the incredible joy that he feels simultaneously. It is his space to be in conversation with God. It is where God knows he has my friend’s undivided attention. He then spoke of a friend he visited who’d run an ultramarathon, and the joy in the midst of his friend’s pain (foot and joint pain) of being able to wash his friend’s feet, provide relief from his pain, and be a servant to his friend. He quite literally was joy embodied for his friend in a space of pain.

We continued talking about our journeys back to faith, and how although I was saved at 5, my faith was really more my parent’s, family (extended), and the Baptist Christian school I attended faith that was thrust upon me. I found MY faith when I returned to the fold at Gateway, almost 15 years ago. He then asked me what was the moment I found my faith. There isn’t a specific moment, but I shared that losing my mom in December 2013 and Mema (grandmother) in April 2014 feels now like when God started to hit the accelerator for me finding MY faith. In the midst of the worst pain in my life; losing the closest family I had known, I could have taken two paths. One of anger and hatred toward God for taking my family, or one of understanding and faith that 1) God had both of them and was healing them for eternity rather than this fleeting life that is like a vapor (Ecclesiastes…all of it) and 2) God had me.

I walked away from those losses with a promise from God I didn’t even realize he made until years later. 

He took the closest living family I had within months of each other. 

Was I angry? You better believe it! 

Did I also have a supernatural peace from God? That’s a resounding YES! And the biggest reason my anger did not fester and rot.

The promise I have seen God keep and fulfill in far greater ways than I could fathom in my wildest imaginings…That he would multiply my family well beyond what I had lost. I have seen Him do that more and more each year since 2014.

To bring this full circle, after I was led through Grief Share, I was asked to lead others through it. Through pain, and finding my own joy in it, I was able to help others find joy in pain.

Why share this? What does it have to do with anything?

Joy is found in pain, and I believe God allows us to endure pain, just as his Son endured the ultimate pain of crucifixion, so that we may not only find our own joy, but be able to be joy to others. Christ has become joy for all of us, if we simply seek him out and follow his way.

This is all possible because he endured the pain of the cross, descended in triumph into sheol, and rose again becoming CONQUEROR for all of time. He gave us joy through his pain. Now, we pass that joy along in our pain.

Tetelestai…IT. IS. FINISHED. And HE IS RISEN!