(Part 2 of a 3 part series. Click here to read Part 1.)

I can imagine the morning after Jesus was crucified.

His mother, eyes and face swollen from crying all night. His family. His friends. His disciples. All who followed and believed.

The air is heavy and it’s hard to breathe. Even the birds find it difficult to sing.

Is Jesus really gone?

The image of His agony, His bloody body, the things He endured. It’s too much. It’s too hard to grasp. But the nightmare is real and there is no escaping the grim reality of what happened yesterday. Jesus died.

HE DIED! What??

This is certainly not the outcome any of them expected. This is not the way it was supposed to end.

And this morning as grief presses down hard, I can imagine another battle is raging, too. I can imagine the doubt, the fear, the confusion, the questions.

To believe or not believe?

It all seems so impossible. Everything Jesus said feels impossible in this moment. But Jesus is the Son of God! He IS, right? Or is He? Why would God allow this to happen? How could the Son of God be murdered? Nothing makes sense this morning.

As I try to step inside the minds of those who loved Him most and what they were feeling on this day when all seems lost, there’s a strange and familiar parallel. On my darkest days when I feel separated from my Savior, when my own choices and selfishness remove me from His presence, when disappointment and grief grab hold of my heart, doubt and confusion skillfully weave their way into my thoughts and cause me to question everything.

Is Jesus really who He says He is? Can He do what He said He will do? Is God real? Is this possible?

The Pharisees remembered Jesus’ impossible declaration. They remembered He said after three days He would rise from the grave. They mocked and laughed at the craziness but just to be on the safe side they seal the stone to the entrance where He was taken. This way the disciples cannot steal the body and then claim Jesus has risen from the dead.

What will tomorrow hold? Today everything seems unsure and impossible but something happened yesterday. Something beneath the surface of what could be seen with the natural eyes. Those horrific hours of darkness and the earth quaking – what was that? It was as if the earth itself was mourning. And the veil of the temple ripped from top to bottom! Something definitely happened.

Something is still happening. The disciples feel it.

Uneasiness and anticipation sweep over the city and throughout the countryside.

How will anyone sleep tonight?

The third day is soon approaching….

(Luke 23:44-56)

Prayer:

Jesus, help us believe.