Here are some of the ways we may encounter in our burial-like experiences. What would you add?
I am constructing this book around a cycle consisting of the experience of Jesus in his final days. Symbols for the four parts of the cycle will help readers picture and remember it.
So far I have:
The final part of the cycle is resurrection. I need a good symbol to depict manifestation of Christ (as in the empty tomb).
What ideas can you give me to symbolize this fourth part?
(Please give a comment)
Here is what I have so far:
WAITING.  A most important characteristic of burial-like times is waiting. God consistently asks us to wait past our time table. In so doing, He causes us to realize our own inability to know what to do. He also trains us to listen to His voice and watch for His promptings.
As difficult as these realities are, seasons in the tomb offer the disciple rare intimacy with Jesus. Paul exhorts, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God†(Colossians 3:2-3). When you ponder this truth, you would struggle to find any greater mystery in all of life. Consider its depth. The Bible reveals that God is Spirit (John 4:24a). In God, your soul is hidden with Christ. Why? Because you died to yourself and your rebellion against God. Your soul is safely hidden with Christ in God.
This reminds us of the intimate conversation Jesus had with His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. Using the analogy of the vine, Jesus spoke of a sharing of life that would exceed anything they had so far experienced.
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me†(Jn. 15:4).
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you†(Jn. 15:7)
The Greek word for abide means “to stay, abide, remain.†When you remain with Christ over extended periods, you enter a profound intimacy with Him. From this place of abiding you will bear much fruit (Jn. 15:5) and your prayers will be answered (Jn. 15:7). Your prayers will be answered increasingly, not because you gradually convince God that you are right, but because your prayers change. Your prayers change because your desires have changed. And your desires have changed because you have been to Gethsemane and Golgotha. You have surrendered more of your will to Him, and have sacrificed more of your life to Him. The way of Jesus is conforming your prayers into the prayers of Jesus. No wonder your requests “shall be done for youâ€!
I have symbolized this aspect of the trail with a patch of darkness. When your situation is dark, remember that light and darkness are alike to God. He sees you. By faith, you may come to see Him more clearly in the darkness of your tomb-like season.
Some have called this the theology for Saturday, for that is the full day the Jesus lay in the tomb. Our culture is impatience. Waiting abhorred. Sadness to be ignored through distraction. But this does not fellowship with Christ in His burial. Failing to ponder our burial-like experiences cheats us of some of our most meaningful opportunities to abide with Christ.
The burial of Jesus Christ is often passed over as an incidental detail, a mere pause between His death and resurrection. But it is extremely important. Here are some ways to reflect on it.
 Jesus’ body was buried, confirming loss and spreading sadness.
Obviously Jesus did not conduct His own burial. Passively, His lifeless body was released by Pilate, taken and wrapped by Joseph and Nicodemus, laid in the new tomb, and sealed behind a large stone (Matt. 27: 57-60; John 19:39).
His death dealt the blow of extreme sadness to His followers. Jesus’ disciples experienced the crushing disappointment of their master’s crucifixion. The women who were a part of Jesus’ ministry attended to His corpse by preparing spices to lay in the tomb (Luke 23:56). For them it was a time of grieving the loss of a friend and teacher who had instilled so much hope in their hearts.
Saturday, the Sabbath, was an unwanted rest. The disciples must have sat and stared at the ground. The women tried to stay busy gathering embalming spices. The Pharisees made sure no one tampered with the corpse, so they posted a guard by the entrance to the tomb (Matt. 27:66).
Though Jesus had told His disciples that He would rise again, that expectation seems to have been lost in the trauma of recent events (John 20:9).
Today the disciple abides in Jesus through seasons of waiting, grieving, and hoping.
Like the burial of Christ, the burial-like experiences of the disciple would be easy to discount as a relatively insignificant result of crucifixion. But experience shows this is far from the case. The season following our surrender and sacrifice proves to be a time in which God puts a great deal of attention.
CONFIRMATION OF DEATH. Burial times cause the disciple to confirm the death of that which has been surrendered. Spiritual gains can be forfeited if not reinforced over time. The commitment to put to death a sinful behavior must be followed through by continuing to keep that behavior in the tomb of renunciation.
GRIEF.  Another characteristic of such seasons is grieving the loss of what has died. There is much sadness in the world, and it is the lot of the disciple to experience such loss and feel its pain. One calling of discipleship is lament – to mourn what has broken down and to yearn for what could be.
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This is hard!
About now you may be wondering if this trail is still the one you want to travel! Maybe you think I am selecting only the most difficult scriptures while ignoring all the easy ones. That is a fair assessment. Jesus was harshest with the people in the dominant, religious class. He was much easier on poor people. Is that you? Then take a break from these harsh passages – you already know them from personal experience.
You may have signed on with Jesus before realizing all of these teachings about surrender and sacrifice. Like me in my childhood, you may have just wanted to escape hell and have eternal life. And perhaps you would like to stay at that level – grateful for the hope of eternity but not interested in a fanatical Christian life. That is possible to do; some will be saved but have no or few good works to show for it (1 Cor. 3:11-15).
My counsel to you is to embrace both the comforting and hard teachings of scripture. Jesus does not call you to an easier life but to an abundant one. Not a happy life but a joyful one. You must not leave the trail, so stay moving forward on this one. Take advantage of the many teachers and writers who encourage you along the way. My service to you is to help you get your bearings, reorient your direction, and keep following Christ. Onward then!
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