Worst Saturday

Published: April 11, 2020, midnight

b'It was the worst Saturday ever.\\nThe sun had come up, and the birds were still singing just like any other day. But to Jesus\\u2019 disciples, the whole world had been destroyed. Jesus had died on a cross.\\nThe disciples were alive, but their hope was gone.\\nOf course, their people had felt this sorrow before. Several hundred years earlier, a savage empire had invaded Jerusalem, sacking the city, taking the people captive, and destroying the temple. That day, too, was like the end of the world.\\nBut the prophets had said there would be a restoration. They had said God had promised to save His people from sin and death and restore them to the land. The disciples had thought\\u2014had known\\u2014that Jesus was the promised King who would restore the kingdom.\\nAll the signs were there. He had performed miracles, spoken and taught with authority, and even raised the dead.\\nNow He couldn\\u2019t do any of those things. What is more, they had lost a friend and the only One who would teach them. Had they misread the signs? Was God angry with them for having followed a false teacher? Or did God even remember His people and His promises?\\nThey didn\\u2019t know that the next morning, the story wouldn\\u2019t just be continued, but ended. That Jesus would win so unexpectedly and decisively. That He would fulfill all the promises made to His people. That He would do what was literally impossible\\u2026and rise from the dead. \\u2022 Kevin Zeller\\n\\u2022 Have you ever felt like your whole world was destroyed?\\n\\u2022 What sorts of resurrection promises can you find in the Old Testament of the Bible? \\n\\u2022 Read John 11:25, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Peter 1:3-5. Because of Jesus\\u2019 resurrection, what hope do we have as Christians?\\nFor as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man [Jesus] will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. Matthew 12:40 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nLuke 24:1-8'