My Daily Pause

The Angel of the Lord Announcing the Resurrection – 1805 – Benjamin West (1738-1820)

There was something fishy going on there.

Why in all of history has there never been posted a “resurrection watch” on a tomb except this once? (Matthew 27:66) Nicodemus was there (John 19:39) and could verify that Jesus was dead. His word should be as good as any among the Jews.

Whatever the reason, there were now people in place who could be paid to lie, no matter what they had witnessed. (Matthew 28:15-16) The soldiers did so at great risk because they faced death for sleeping on the watch.

That’s how the Jews who never became Christians missed out on the single most important event promised in their heritage. They allowed someone else tell them what to believe despite the evidence they had witnessed throughout Jesus’ ministry. In the process, they missed out on salvation.

The same thing is going on right now.

Many are going to miss out on salvation because they are ignoring the evidence. They fail to give God a second look because of a few lies that someone told them.

Many are going to miss out because even though they believe, they are allowing someone else to guide them. They are willing to trust a teacher but not willing to verify.

Many are going to miss out because they will pick and choose what they hear that reinforces what they want to believe.

We may not encounter people who are actually paid to lie to us, but there are plenty of folks willing to make up stories that fit their agenda. It is up to us to stay diligent. Keep looking at the evidence!

Matthew ends his gospel with Jesus’ command to teach all that he commanded. I infer from that that we should hear all that he taught.

Since it affected an entire nation, I wonder what the Romans bought with that money …