He (Joseph) rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb (Matthew 27:60b-61, NIV).
There will be days in our lives that we will never forget. It may be our day of salvation, wedding day or that dreaded phone call or auto accident. They’re indelibly ingrained into our heart, soul, and mind. Our lives were forever changed from that event.
At the end of some days, we just don’t go to sleep and get back to our normal routine the next day. Pontius Pilate, Caiaphas the high priest, the eleven disciples, the women who followed Jesus, and even the crowd who cried for Jesus’ death had a sleepless night. It was the longest day of their lives. No one sleeps well when one has a heavy heart. The next morning, Jesus wasn’t with them anymore. It can’t
be the same for they either saw or heard about the cruel trial and death of Jesus.
One replays the previous day’s events, wondering if anything could or should have been done differently. Peter’s denial of Jesus and the disciples fleeing at the garden, Pilate with his judgment, the soldiers who had beaten Jesus and nailed Him to the cross, Simon who carried the cross to Golgotha, Joseph and Nicodemus who anointed and entombed Jesus, the women who saw the manner of Jesus being anointed, and the Jewish leaders worried about Jesus’ prediction of rising on the third day. Everyone’s heart was heavy that night and no one could sleep. How could this have happened to Jesus?
Recrimination. Grief and sadness. Guilt. All those feelings and more were unfinished businesses. We all have “unfinished business” in our lives. It may be a conversation that was left unsaid or an action or lack of it hanging over us. There is the desire to “fix” it despite how unlikely that was to happen. We feel helpless and powerless to change or to correct that crisis in our lives. We may feel it is too late like Judas Iscariot. There is no going back at all. The bridge has been burned behind us.
Saturday was the longest day in the lives of those men and women. Our longest day may be another day in the week. We may have “unfinished business.” The longer we prolong it, then the longer the nights and days will be for us. There is no peace in our hearts and mind.
There is going to “the first day of the week” for us. God doesn’t want you to live in the past. He wants you to live in the present and in freedom. If you are stuck in the past, ask God to give you another “first day of the week” whereby the past can be resolved. Look for it. It will come if we are sincere in making the past right before God and others. “Sunday” is coming. It’s coming for you and me as well.
Kingston Tong
April 30, 2022