*Post updated January 2023
Holy Saturday
This is a devotional for you and your family to use during the Holy Triduum or three Holy Days, which include Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. We will walk with Jesus in His last days and see Him as our Kind King.
We will read Scripture, reflect on Jesus’ kindness, reflect on our own hearts, and receive suggestions for putting our minds and bodies in a place where we can actively walk with Jesus to the cross.
For more content and ideas to observe the Holy Triduum check out our 2019 HOLY WEEK DEVOTIONAL!
Read:
Mark 15:33-47 & Deuteronomy 10:12-22
Reflect:
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord you God with all your heart and all your soul?” Deuteronomy 10:12
Jesus, our kind King and suffering servant, has done what the Father requires. He has kept His eyes on God in a way that Adam, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, and all of our forefathers in the faith could not. Where sin, doubt, weakness, and distrust caused them to turn from the Father, Jesus has remained steadfast. Because of His righteousness, He bears our shame in a way that all the sacrifices of lamb, goats, cattle, grain, wine, and oil could not.
On Holy Saturday, Our kind King bears our shame in the tomb.
We know He will rise again tomorrow, but today we mourn His undeserved death. We wrestle with the truth that Jesus does His Father’s will, which the prophets and the law pointed to, and the result is that His body lays in the tomb.
As our king is laid in the tomb, we are invited to imagine ourselves as witnesses of Jesus’ death. In Mark 15:33-47, Jesus’ death and burial is a public spectacle. His bloodied body is not hidden from view. His bleeding hands and side ooze as Joseph of Arimathea lowers our Jesus from the cross. Mark mentions multiple witnesses to Jesus on the cross. There is no one left untouched by Jesus’ death, then or now.
Can you imagine this scene in Mark 15:33-47 from the eyes and heart of the criminals, the centurion, the crowds, the disciples, the women who followed from Him from Galilee, or even Mary, the mother of Jesus? Which witness are you?
Most of these witnesses have moments of great faith and moments of disastrous rebellion, unbelief, or betrayal. Today, we may have moments where we feel like each of these witnesses. Still, Jesus bears their shame and He bears our shame.
How does Jesus bear your sin? Your betrayal? Your mocking and testing? Your distrust?
It is not easy to admit that we are of “unclean lips” and that Jesus’ blood reveals the stains that are on our hearts. Even Jesus’ beloved disciple John says in 1 John 1:8-9, “If we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
But, in the mystery of the cross, the same blood that shows the sin in our hearts also makes us clean.
Psalms We Say Together:
If you are doing this devotional with more than one person, choose one person to lead the Psalm reading with the first astricked * verse, then the group can follow with the bolded verse.
PSALM 31: 1-4, 15-16
O Lord, open our lips. *
And our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge;*
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
Incline your ear to me; *
make haste to deliver me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, *
for you are my crag and my stronghold;
for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, *
for you are my tower of strength.
My times are in your hand; *
rescue me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
Make your face to shine upon your servant, *
and in your loving-kindness save me.
Practical Practices for Your Heart, Body, Mind, and Spirit:
1. Journal- Which of your hopes are in the tomb?
2. Prepare your home for Easter.
3. Traditionally, this is a day of fasting. If you have never fasted before, check out our resource on the “5 Do’s and Don’ts of Fasting”
4. Light candles in the evening to represent Jesus’ coming resurrection
Move in Worship:
#435 BE STILL & BE LOVED: A LOVING-KINDNESS MEDITATION (1 JOHN 4:19)
“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
In the comments below, share about the hopes and promises you are waiting for God to fulfill.
Gabrielle Wenos is a Revelation Wellness Instructor (Platoon 21) who joyfully writes and manages the blog for Revelation Wellness. She is passionate about Jesus and loves to share liturgical mind/body/soul practices that bring her closer to Christ.
Did you know the Easter season is the Christian’s biggest celebration of the year? The day Jesus, the Lamb of God, rose from the grave is the day the changed the entire history and future of the world. The resurrection of Jesus is the event our faith hinges upon!
So, if Easter is so central to our faith, how do we celebrate it? And how does Lent fit in?
Learn about Lent and Easter and their traditions, read devotionals, and find other resources to help you deepen your faith through these seasons!
6 Responses
ThanK you gabrielle. This is anointed teaching. It touched my body, soul and spirit. Absolutely beautiful; moved me to tears. Love and Blessings on this Holy Saturday, TarA
Oh thank you for sharing, Tara. God is so good.
04.11.2020, the devotional is written so very truly and it is so wonderful to hear from Gabrielle Wenos, Instructor,, We love because He first loved us. Is so very great. Sincerely, Luann
I’m so glad it blessed you, LuAnn! Sunday is coming!
Gabrielle, your post here and for Good friday were an encouragement to me. Thank you for writing with such a kind perspective, acknowledging the brokenness in the world and the hope.
Do you think Rev wellness will do the little way next month too? I missed the sign ups
Thank you Kathryn! I am not sure if we will do The Little Way next month, but there are lots of other challenges you can start anytime. Check them out here: https://69e9ef5477.nxcli.net/challenges/