Welcome to Holy Saturday, 2024! There has always been a curiosity about what happened to Jesus body during the 40 hour period between his death on Good Friday afternoon and his resurrection on Easter morning.
Some believed that Jesus body rested during the Sabbath, which started at sunset on Friday and ended after dark on Saturday. Saturday was the traditional day of rest while Sunday was the first day of the new week. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ on early Sunday morning, Sunday become known as the Lord’s Day in honor of his resurrection. In the early church, Sunday was considered a festival day with special services and meals.
But many also believe, and there are scriptures that allude to it, that Jesus raided hell on Holy Saturday. He broke down the gates, conquered Satan and his minions and took away his power. While Satan could still prance around like a “roaring lion”, his power was vastly diminished. In fact, they knew that their existence would end when they were thrown into the lake of fire at the end of the age.
Some believe that he released the Old Testament Saints, like Adam, Eve, Moses, the prophets, other heroes and also believers during the Old Testament age. The fresco below entitled “Harrowing of Hades” depicts Adam and Eve being pulled out of Hades by Jesus. This is also the Augustinian view of the event.
But others believe that, while Jesus defeated Satan and took away his power, Jesus redeemed all the human souls that were in hell who wanted to be saved. This approaches a universal view of salvation where as Adam’s sin touched all of mankind, Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross redeemed all of mankind.
Regardless of what actually took place long ago, the important thing is that Holy Saturday is almost as important as Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Why? Because Jesus defeated Satan and took away his power over us.
Happy Holy Saturday everyone! I hope that your celebration is a memorable one. You are loved!
Tony
Short n Sweet! 