Jesus had made it very plain from the beginning…He had predicted His death & resurrection not once, not twice, but three times to His disciples.( Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22, Matthew 20:17-19) And with each time He gave more details…and with each time the Disciples struggled to grasp what He truly meant. This day would find them hiding out from the public eye. Afraid that the Jewish Leaders would be so emboldened from the death of Jesus that they would come looking for them to execute also. So there they sat…shell-shocked from the last 24 hours as they watched in horror as their beloved Master was brutally beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross to die. And as time drug on that day, fear gave way to doubt as the shouts from the crowd still rang in their ears as they taunted Jesus to “Come down from the cross and save Yourself!” Oh, how they had secretly wished He would do just that, for they had seen Him raise others from the dead…but could Jesus do it for Himself? But fear & doubt had been plunged into hopelessness when Jesus uttered those last three words from the cross, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) For they could only believe that it was a cry of defeat rather than a shout of victory & completion. And so they waited…trying to hold out hope of the promised resurrection.
Safetypinlove 