NOT SO!

“I wanted somehow to make it not so,” said the man, talking about a friend who had died. His words hit home with me. Death stuns and scars us all. We want to undo what can’t be undone. The longing to “make it not so” might well describe how Jesus’ followers felt

after His death. The gospel accounts say little about those awful hours, but they do tell us about the actions of a few faithful friends.

Joseph, a religious leader who secretly believed in Jesus (SEE JOHN 19:38), suddenly found the bravery to ask Pilate for Jesus’ body (LUKE 23:52). Think for a moment what it would take to remove a body from a grisly crucifixion and prepare it for burial (V.53). Think too of the love and bravery of the women who stayed with Jesus every step of the way, even to the tomb (V.55).

These followers weren’t expecting a resurrection; they were coming to terms with their loss. The chapter ends without hope, “Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes [to embalm Jesus’ body]. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment” (V.56).

Little did they know that the stage was set for history’s most dramatic scene. Jesus was about to do the unimaginable: He would make death itself “not so”.

Want more . . . ?

Check out How can I get through my grief? online at ourdailybread.org/lookingdeeper