Tag Archives: Resurrection

Seal the stone, set a watch but Jesus is coming!

It’s Saturday…You can read the other posts from the Holy Week series Hosanna, Hanging on His Every Word, Because He Lives, No need for the Sword, Did Jesus really sweat blood in the Garden? and The Friday that was Good.  Be sure and come back tomorrow, and we will wrap it all up. Blessed Easter!

There is not much information given in the Word of God concerning the day after the crucifixion.

But then there is Pilate.

He makes another entrance here, and even though we might not gain much insight as to what the disciples and family of Jesus are doing, we get a good look at those that crucified the Lord:

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,  Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.”

Were they really afraid of this teacher? They said they were afraid of His disciples, that they might actually steal the body of Jesus and then present it to the people as if He had risen from the dead. Just like He said He would do.

Pilate was already in. He was in deep. He didn’t originally want to kill this man, Jesus. His wife even warned him of her dream and begged him to spare His life. But Pilate was swayed by the people. He caved, gave them a murderer instead and allowed the crucifixion to proceed.

But now, he cannot afford for anything to go wrong!

 “Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.”

“So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.” Matthew 27:62-66.

 

Seal the stone, set a watch, make it as sure as you can.

There was no rock heavy enough, no amount of guards strong enough, to keep Jesus in that tomb!

Pilate’s attempts were pointless when it came to keeping Jesus from rising again. Even if he didn’t believe it, if he was convinced that the disciples were the ones to try to move the body, it was all out of his hands at this point. God was in control and His Word had already declared that on the third day He would come up out of that grave!

And today, it is the same.

We cannot prevent the Word of God from being fulfilled. Prophecy has come true for hundreds and hundreds of years, and the last few prophecies will come to pass. Jesus will come again for His people, those that have made themselves ready for His appearing.

Are you trying to control things today? It is useless, friend. God was in control at Calvary, at the tomb and at the ascension. He is still in control of the events of this world today. He isn’t surprised by the pandemic, wars or rumor of wars. We can trust Him with our anxiety. Our hope is in Him and Him alone!

What will you be looking for in the morning?

He will not be on the cross or in the tomb.

“Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”   2 Corinthians 4:14.

He came out of the earthly grave so that we, too, could triumph over death, hell and the grave! While we await His second coming, He wants us, YOU, to have a relationship with Him here. He wants YOU to come up out of the grave of depression, isolation, loneliness, emptiness and be set free because of Calvary. 

No matter what the soldiers did to keep Jesus from exiting that tomb, He was coming out anyway. Friend, there is no obstacle that God cannot move out of the way for you as well and this Easter weekend is a wonderful time for a total life change. One that matters for eternity.
Be sure and come back in the morning…He is alive! 

 

For the kingdom

They sang a hymn…

You can read my other posts from this Holy Week here, here, and here!

“And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

I love the beginning of this passage. I don’t believe I had really noticed it before but I am so happy the Lord allowed me to see it today.

They sang a hymn.

Wouldn’t you love to know what the Lord sang with His disciples before Gethsemane? Before standing in front of those that would beat Him and mock Him? Before Calvary? Before “It is finished.”!
It is enough to know they did, even if we do not know the words. There is truly so much strength in song, in praise and worship. This week is one of the best for old hymns. I love the new songs too but I was raised with a songbook in my hands and on Easter mornings I can still recall turning to our favorite pages to sing songs such as He Lives!, The Old Rugged Cross, Jesus Paid it All, and Because He Lives.

But it’s the next part of the text that really spoke to me.

 And Jesus said to them, ‘You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.’  Peter said to him, ‘Even though they all fall away, I will not.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.’  But he said emphatically, ‘If I must die with you, I will not deny you.’  And they all said the same.” Mark 14:26-31 ESV.

You will all fall away.

One of the saddest passages in the Bible! Jesus knew that the disciples would leave Him, yet He went to Calvary anyway.
He knew Peter would deny Him, but He paid the price anyway.
Those that were the closest to Him for the last three years would walk away when He was facing the trial of His life.
The last part of that section says, “And they all said the same.” They all said, just like Peter, that they would never forsake the Lord, they would even die with Him. I believe at that moment they were sincere but when it came down to facing the soldiers, they couldn’t hold up.
We have all fallen away at some point in our lives. We might not have been like Peter and said, “I never knew Him!” but we have failed, just the same.
He knew we would. He knows we will again. Yet on to Calvary He went, enduring the suffering and agony of a crucifixion, the cruelest death anyone could face.
Why? Because He loved us.
Jesus looked ahead, PAST Calvary, to our futures, and endured the cross.

Without Calvary, we would have no hope and no future.

What do you need hope in today? Good Friday (the cross) and Easter Sunday (the Resurrection!). It’s all wrapped up in that weekend, but it didn’t end there. The blood that was shed that day still covers sin today. The price He paid all of those years ago is still good today! We just have to accept it.
Don’t just celebrate the cross…He isn’t on it…and not just the tomb…He isn’t in it!
But celebrate the fact that He gave and came out of that tomb so that we could also have eternal life.
Is it well with your soul? It was all for a purpose, friend, He IS coming back and the signs are all around us…turn to Jesus today!

Blessed Easter!