Have you ever just sat and thought about Jesus? I mean literally just sitting and pondering about His life on this earth and in eternity, His many miracles and lessons He taught, His way of loving, serving, and teaching with compassion and authority, His many sufferings and sacrifices because of and for you and me, or about those things He did that are not recorded in scripture like what was His first word, was He an early walker or did He crawl for quite some time, or we know He “went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.” (Acts 10:38), but what about that more good that isn’t written in scripture? (John 20:30,31; John 21:25) 

There are so many aspects of Jesus that we could sit and ponder for several days and probably much longer. Lately, the aspect of Jesus that has been on my mind is what was it like those days between His crucifixion and His resurrection for Him. We can read about His gruesome death, the pain He endured, the beatings, the betrayal, and the mocking He endured. We can read about His resurrection, the empty tomb, who found it so, who He met along the way, who He ate with and what He ate,  and who He talked with. We can even read about Him ascending to heaven. 

We know to some degree of what His mother and some of His followers were doing in between.  If we have ever lost anyone that we have loved so dearly and spent so much time with, we understand in the smallest sense of what they were feeling and doing. The tears, the heartache, the grief, the moments of disbelief that they are gone, and the “now what?” thoughts. But what about Jesus during those moments in between His death and resurrection? We know from scripture that death is a separation of the body and the soul (Ecclesiastes 12:7; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; James 2:26). I suppose our death, what happens to our body and soul, would be the same for the body of Jesus. He became flesh and dwelled among us (John 1:14). He “passed through the heavens”, so He could “sympathize with our weaknesses” because He was “tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:14-16). He walked this earth in a body like ours and knows what this earthly life and death is like. 

So what would that “reunion” of sorts been like? Would His Father be anxiously waiting for His return like the father in Luke 15? Would those who make up the “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12 be giving Him hugs and high fives for accomplishing His mission? Would the angels have rejoiced in heaven for having Him back home after 33 years on earth? Would Jesus have felt a sense of peace knowing that the suffering was over for Him? How about a sense of relief that He accomplished all that He set out to do? Could you just imagine the biggest smile on His face for finally making it back home and seeing His seat at the right hand of God again? 

But He didn’t sit down yet because He loved us so. If He did, He didn’t linger because He loved us so. He could have stayed, but He loved us so. He did not have to be reunited with His earthly body one more time, but He loved us so. He didn’t have to step out of Heaven again, but He loved us so. He didn’t have to do any of it, but He loved us so. And honestly, that just adds one more layer to why I love Him so. 

I suppose one day if I’m still pondering what happened between Jesus’s death and resurrection I could ask Him, but I truly doubt it will be on my mind that great day. 

By: Kristina Odom