Luke 23:56; Matthew 27:62-66: The people celebrate the Passover as commanded in Scripture. A guard of Roman soldiers is placed at the entrance of tomb until the third day is passed, lest Jesus’ body be stolen.

A dark quiet. Dreams dashed. Confusion. Mourning. An empty cross. A tomb holding the body of the Son of God.

Everything they knew about God and Jesus must have been in question. Did they have the faith to trust that He would return like He said He would?

What would you have been thinking on that Saturday?

Luke 22:66 to 23:25: Jesus before the chief priests and scribes at the Court of Caiaphas; then taken before Pilot (possibly at or near the Antonia Fortress on the north side of the Temple Mount);

The Antonia Fortress is in the middle of the photo, on the north side of the Temple

 then taken before Herod (possibly at Herod’s Palace, south of the Jaffa Gate);

The Jaffa Gate today, the main entrance to the Old City

 then sent back to Pilot where He is finally condemned to death and beaten by the Roman guards.

There is no sin that is not covered by the blood of Him Who died for me.

a room at the historical site of the Antonia Fortress, which today is about 20 feet underground; possible location where Jesus was beaten by the Roman soldiers

Luke 23:26-49: Jesus carries the cross to Golgotha and is crucified and dies, taking on the full wrath of God in our stead

Look for the eyes of the skull just to the right of the middle of the photo

Luke 23:50-56: Jesus’ body is taken down from the cross, wrapped in a linen shroud, and laid in a stone tomb

the entrance to the tomb is in the top right of the photo

Luke 22: 7-38: The Upper Room, Passover meal, the First Communion, Washing the Disciples’ Feet

walking the steps up to the place of the historical Upper Room

Luke 22:39-53: The Garden of Gethsemane

Matthew 26:36-46 (Gethsemane means “olive oil press”; He was crushed for our iniquities)

Luke 22:54-62: Peter denies Jesus in the courtyard of Caiaphas’

Caiaphas’ house (court)

Luke 22:63-65: Jesus is held overnight at the court of the High Priest and mocked and beaten

prisoners were lowered by rope into the dungeon

Jesus was kept down in this dungeon overnight after He was beaten and mocked

Psalm 118:6-9

Matthew 10, particularly verses 26-33. Those verses are better understood against the backdrop of the entire chapter: tho man will do his worst to me, he ultimately has no power over me because he cannot touch my soul, the very center and worth of my being.

Only God has this power to give life and take it away:

The Son, who put himself on a cross, surrendering himself to that torture literally every step of the way, even giving up his last breath; who was willing to and broke the eternal fellowship with the Father and Spirit, in order to descend into Hell for several agonizing hours and days on our behalf;

The Father, who was willing to reject his Son as He cried in agony for Him to find another way; who called his Son out of Hell and back to life; who will send His Son back to earth to redeem his people and send the rest to their deserved judgment;

The Spirit, who is in us and with us, our Counselor and Advocate; who gives us words to say when needed; who gives us courage and love that we can never muster on our own; who ministers to us moment after moment with almost no recognition from the very ones he is ministering to;

Fear these Three. Don’t fear mere mortals who have forgotten that their lives are but a vapor and that their power is like fog that rolls in and out at a whim.

Fear God and pray compassionately for those who are blind to their own precarious and prideful position before the Maker of the Universe; pray that they will see themselves as His, not as their own.