Holy Saturday: When Heaven Held Its Breath

We talk a lot about Good Friday.

We rejoice in Easter Sunday.

But in between those two mountains of glory... lies a valley.

A silent, strange, holy valley.

Holy Saturday.

The day the Savior was silent.

The day the tomb was sealed.

The day heaven held its breath.

And yet, it’s in this pause—this divine “in-between”—that I feel the heartbeat of Jesus as the Good Shepherd in a way I never have before.

The Day Obedience Looked Like Silence

Let’s begin in Luke 23:50–56 (MSG):

“There was a man by the name of Joseph, a member of the Jewish High Council, a man of good heart and good character… He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Taking him down, he wrapped him in linen and placed him in a tomb chiseled into the rock… The women… went to work preparing spices and perfumes. They rested quietly on the Sabbath, as commanded.”

After the horror of Friday—nails, thorns, weeping, blood—the Gospel takes a breath. Joseph of Arimathea steps forward in quiet bravery. The women who loved Jesus prepare burial spices. And then?

They rest.

They obey the Sabbath commandment.

I can’t get over that.

They didn’t rush back in panic. They didn’t try to take control. They didn’t demand answers or skip the process of grief. They simply… waited.

Oh, to obey in the dark!

The First Day Without Jesus

Can we pause and feel that?

This was the first full day that Jesus wasn’t physically present with His disciples.

The One who always knew what to say wasn’t there.

The eyes that had looked at them with eternal love were closed in death.

The hands that had broken bread and touched the leper lay still in linen.

And so, they waited.

But it wasn’t just any wait. It was the most excruciating kind—the kind where your whole world has fallen apart and you’re not sure if hope still exists.

They loved Jesus. And He was gone.

Even though Jesus had promised to rise, it seems like those promises were buried with Him. The Scriptures tell us that the disciples were confused, afraid, and full of sorrow.

“They stood still, their faces downcast.” – Luke 24:17

“They were behind locked doors for fear…” – John 20:19

Have you ever had a day like that? Where you know the promises, but they feel like faded ink on a page? Where grief blinds your memory? Where all you can do is wait for something to change?

Holy Saturday gives holy permission to sit in that place.

What Was Jesus Doing?

And here’s the wild part: While the disciples were sitting in stillness, Jesus was not.

1 Peter 4:6 tells us that the gospel was “preached even to those who are now dead.”

Yes. Jesus was working even in death.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, the Gospel of first importance is this:

“Christ died for our sins…

He was buried…

He was raised on the third day…”

That little phrase—“He was buried”—holds weight. Jesus didn't leap from the cross to the crown. He descended. He entered the pit. He tasted the silence of Sheol.

As He said in Matthew 12:40:

“Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth.”

Theologians call this the “descent.” His soul entered the realm of the dead—Hades, or Sheol—not hellfire, but a shadowy realm of disembodied spirits.

And He didn’t just sleep.

He proclaimed victory. He shook the gates. He robbed the grave.

He descended into death so He could rise out of it—and bring us with Him.

Why This Matters~

This is where my heart gets overwhelmed:

Holy Saturday means that even death is not godless.

“If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.” – Psalm 139:8

“Even darkness is not dark to You.” – Psalm 139:12

“I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever… yet You brought up my life from the pit.” – Jonah 2:6

Because Jesus entered death, we never have to go there alone.

Because He waited in silence, He transformed silence into sacredness.

Because He lingered in the valley, we are never abandoned in ours.

And maybe the greatest beauty of Holy Saturday is this:

Jesus didn't rush.

He rested.

He waited.

He trusted the Father's timing.

Just like His disciples did.

Just like we are called to do.

The Good Shepherd, Even in the Grave

In John 10, Jesus says:

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep… and I lay down My life for them.”

And on Holy Saturday, He proves it.

He doesn't just die for us—He enters the depths for us.

He walks into the valley of the shadow of death, not to avoid it, but to lead us through it.

He lays in the tomb.

He waits.

He holds space for grief.

He fills the silence with divine presence.

No other shepherd does that.

No other Savior does that.

Only Jesus.

A Word for the Weary-

Dear heart, if you’re in a season of silence... if you feel like you’re stuck in a spiritual Saturday...

You’re not alone.

Jesus is there with you.

Waiting.

Working in unseen places.

Filling the darkness with His presence.

Holy Saturday teaches us that waiting is not wasting.

That silence can be sacred.

That the pause has purpose.

That Sunday always comes—but we don’t have to rush to it.

Sometimes, the holiest thing we can do is simply wait and trust.

But Oh—Sunday’s Coming

And when Sunday dawns?

It’s more radiant because of the wait.

More powerful because of the pause.

More breathtaking because we felt the ache of His absence.

Holy Saturday prepares our hearts for the explosion of resurrection joy.

Because now we know:

He didn’t skip the grave.

He conquered it.

And when He rose, He carried us out with Him.

So today, on this quiet, often overlooked day...

Let’s honor the waiting.

Let’s reverence the rest.

Let’s remember the pause.

Because Holy Saturday isn’t just a day of delay.

It’s a day of love that lingers.

And our hearts whisper with anticipation...

“I awake, and I am still with You.”

– Psalm 139:18