He is dead. There is nothing in this world that is as sudden AND permanent as death. Many things happen quickly. There is also an abundance of things that are permanent. But the combination of the two is especially brutal. Death packs the two punch. It kicks you in the gut, removes all hope from your heart, messes with your mind – all while seemingly sucking the life right out of your soul. It drags you down, and you do not get back up. He is dead, and His friends are down for the count. 

One of the hardest parts about being on this side of an experience with death, is the silence. Where there used to be laughter, there is now loneliness. The person you used to be able to talk to about your problems, poses the the very one you now have no one to talk to it about. It begs a lot of questions, and unfortunately, the answers don’t seem to be coming. Silence can be deafening in its own way, when we would give anything just hear something. His friends are longing for just one more sound of His voice today. One more laugh, one more story, one more teaching. But there is only silence, and it is all they can hear. 

They have seen people escape this fate before, but even that isn’t helping now. That was when HE was here. That was through a power that only He possessed – and He is in the ground. There will be no coming back from this – and they are beginning to understand the depth and the gravity of what all that entails. 

Their friend isn’t all that died yesterday – for one it took their dreams. Dreams of a different world, in which God was alive and working. Dreams of a kind of faith that had the power to move mountains and the chance to change the world in all the ways that matter. Dreams of peace where there is war, and humility instead of hubris. But dreams are gone now, and despair is quickly replacing them. 

Also dead, their confidence and pride. Each one had left their home, their family and their very way of life – to give themselves totally and completely to following after Him. They had bet the farm that He was the One. The One who would make them who they were meant to be, and bring them to new heights – and now it seems all He has brought them, is a sense of emptiness and shame. They will have to return to the lives and loved ones they have left behind, with their head hung, their heart hurting, and their proverbial tail between their legs. 

Sudden. Permanent. Silent. Killer of friends, hope, dreams and so much more. Death has come into their world, and ended everything that they believed. They are scattered, afraid, and alone – and the world is a dark and dreadful place. Today is a day of rest, but it feels more like a day spent facing reality. He is not who He claimed He was. He will not be saving them from anyone. He was broken. He was beaten. He was bloodied. He is absent. He is buried. He is gone. He is – dead. 

And the world will never be the same.