Holy Saturday-- The Day He Slept in Death

Brothers and sisters in Christ—

Our Lord Jesus Christ gives the following epitome of everlasting life and the Kingdom of God: And this is everlasting life—to know You, the Only, True God and Jesus Christ, Whom You have sent.  This epitome gives us some insight into the importance of knowing and loving God as the practical priority of our lives. 

     In the context of the Hebrew Bible, the Lord’s description of everlasting life is hardly surprising, when we consider that the same kind of language had been employed for a millennium in Israelite civilization.  The Prophet Jeremiah tells us that the day will come, when: No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.”

     What the Lord means to say from this description is that there is much more to eternal life than survival after death.  The Hebrew word and concept, which the Greek New Testament is translating is pronounced “yada,” and it means “to know by vision or observation.” This very ancient word is the perfect expression of our hope, for we believe that in Heaven we will have perfect vision of our God—the Most Holy Trinity.

     We find that throughout the Scriptures the same word “yada” meaning “to know by sight” is the normal and usual description of our relationship with God. In the Book of Genesis especially, we see that there is a profound conversation, by which God knows and loves us, and we also know and love God in return, just as the Holy Apostle Paul describes in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: “We know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.”

     In the Book of Genesis, God told our father Abraham: “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” Then the Lord said to Abraham: “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years; but I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions.” Then, later, during the sacrifice of his son, Isaac, according to God’s command, the following occurs to Abraham: “Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” … So Abraham called that place “The Lord will see.”

     Everlasting life is much more than mere survival after death. It is truly knowing and loving God.  Well, everlasting life can begin here in this world, as we strive to know God better and better, as we read the Scriptures with attention and devotion, and attend the church services with a desire to really deepen our relationship with God.