Silence

Silence.
No verses.
Not a single recorded word.
The body had been sealed in Joseph’s tomb at the end of the darkest of days. The disciple’s hopes had been crushed. The Messiah was gone. The revolution they longed for was over. The new kingdom they had expected had, in the space of a few short hours, become more distant than ever. Everything they had left for this behind now seemed foolish.
The week had started so well. The crowds were welcoming them in. They had been following Jesus for several years, seeing miracle after miracle. Learning as He taught them the ways of the Father. And now it had seemed the kingdom He spoke of was coming. And yet it had all gone wrong. The Jewish authorities had been outraged. Judas had betrayed them. The crowd had turned. The Romans had killed Jesus. Everything seemed lost.
 
We have the benefit of knowing how the story ends. We know Sunday is coming. But that first Easter weekend the disciples didn’t. We have no record of what was going on in their minds. We have no verses that tell what they did on the first Easter Saturday, on the morning after the crucifixion. All we have is silence.
 
Maybe today you are going through a season of silence. A season where it seems God is far off from you. A season where you are questioning if He even cares. But the message of Easter is that even when all seems lost, there is hope! In the darkest of days there is hope! When everything has gone silent there is still hope.
 
For the disciples that first Easter Saturday would have been one of the longest days of their lives, a day full of disappointment, despair and frustration. A day of total silence from God. But the silence didn’t last. The grave did not have the last word.
 
You may be going through a period of disappointment, despair, frustration or silence that is lasting much longer than a day. But the promise of the Easter message is that there will be a day when the silence ends. A day when new life comes. A day of hope and resurrection. A day when every tear is wiped away and instead of silence we will hear the greatest voice of all say “Well done, good and faithful servant”.