Holy Saturday in the Bible
According to the Bible, Jesus's followers and family held a vigil for him outside his tomb, awaiting his foretold resurrection. Biblical references to the vigil are fairly terse, but accounts of the burial are Matthew 27:45–57; Mark 15:42–47; Luke 23:44–56; John 19:38–42.
"So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid." Mark 15:46–47.
There are no direct references in the
canonical Bible to what Jesus did while the apostles and his family sat vigil, except his last words to Barabbas the thief: "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:33–43). The authors of the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed, however, refer to this day as "The Harrowing of Hell," when after his death, Christ descended into hell to free all the souls who had died since the beginning of the world and allow the trapped righteous souls to reach heaven.
"Then the Lord stretching forth his hand, made the sign of the cross upon Adam, and upon all his saints. And taking hold of Adam by his right hand, he ascended from hell, and all the saints of God followed him." Gospel of Nicodemus 19:11–12
The stories originate in the
apocryphal text "
Gospel of Nicodemus" (also known as the "Acts of Pilate" or "Gospel of Pilate"), and are referred to in passing in several places in the canonical Bible, the most significant of which is 1 Peter 3:19-20, when Jesus "went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah."
In the Catholic church, Holy Saturday is the final day of Lent, of Holy Week, and of the Easter Triduum, the three days preceding Easter.
www.learnreligions.com