Some situations must be endured. There are no quick fixes, easy outs, or immediate relief. From the common cold to grieving the loss of a loved one, there is no speeding up the process. There is only patience and hope.
Jesus was born with the promise of being exalted to be Lord of all, but exaltation doesn’t come immediately after the manger. He must grow in wisdom. Wisdom must endure not only arduous situations but also the normal passage of time. There is no rushing it. Training takes time.
Holy Saturday drives home this truth. When Jesus eats the bitter fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that will move him into his final stage of dominion, his exaltation is not immediate. He must wait in the tomb through the Sabbath day. In God’s infinite wisdom, this is necessary for Jesus’ final training. We might think, “Why not raise him from the dead immediately after his death on the cross?” There are many reasons for not doing that. However, even if we had no other reason, the Father waited to vindicate his Son. Waiting must be vital to growth in wisdom.
Waiting is difficult. We are an impatient lot. Impatience got us into the mess of sin in the first place. We have been impatient ever since. If we are going to be exalted, why not do it now?
Holy Saturday reminds us in yet another way that we must be patient. Growing in wisdom takes time, and God will vindicate us through exaltation in due time. We can’t force the process. We must work through the doubts and fears just as the disciples did between Friday and Sunday. We must wrestle with the fact that God has made promises that he hasn’t entirely made good on. We must endure hardships and questions as the Psalms teach us to pray often in some form or fashion, “Where is God?” Our faith must be tried so that it can be strengthened.
We know the end of the story, so we might be tempted or often do jump ahead to the vindication of Easter Sunday. However, when we do, we miss a crucial part of the discipleship of the church calendar that teaches us that following Jesus is a journey that takes time, and that God doesn’t speed up the process to scratch our impatient itch. Some things must be endured. Good things come to those who wait on the Lord.
