The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate…So, they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
Matthew 27:62-66
Tis the morning of Sabbath, the holy day of the Jews. The awful day of arrest, trials, mocking, scourging, substitution of Barabbas, sentencing, crucifixion, death and burial of Jesus has passed. The Disciples are in hiding, fearing for their lives, mourning the death of their Rabbi. Of the women who saw Jesus crucified, all were observing the Sabbath but, some were preparing spices to anoint the body of Jesus even though they watched as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus carefully and lovingly cleaned and placed Jesus’ body in Joseph’s tomb, covering His body with at least 100 pounds of spices. The women loved their Lord and wanted to express their love toward Him by adding to the burial spices upon His body. But, that would have to wait until the next morning after Sabbath. God had given the Israelites the 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai. In the Law, God had written that the Israelites “remember the Sabbath day by keeping it Holy.” For centuries, the Jews had observed that commandment strictly and the evil religious leaders of Jesus’ day had added to the commandment so that no one could do anything, even good, merciful deeds that saved lives. So, what were these religious leaders doing on this particular Sabbath? In our verses today, Matthew tells us that these murderers of Jesus were still at “work” for they now feared that Jesus’ Disciples would steal Jesus’ body and claim that He had risen from the grave because they had heard Jesus Himself say that, if His body was destroyed, He would rise in 3 days. These religious men, supposed paragons of virtue and observers of the Law, are consorting with the Roman government, whom they hate, but, now, need their help to “secure” the tomb where Jesus has been buried. Instead of worshipping God, they are continuing to plot against God to prevent God’s plan of Redemption from taking place. Pilate gives them some soldiers to guard the tomb. Christians may think that such evil does not exist in today’s churches. It is naïve to think that way. The greatest danger to the body of Christ today is the same as it was in Jesus’ day – the false “prophet” in their midst. The body of Christ has been infiltrated today by so called learned teachers and preachers who preach and teach a false gospel, which, as Paul said, is NO gospel at all! There is a great apostasy coming as a result of these false teachers and preachers. In the parable of the persistent widow, in Luke 18, Jesus states at the end of the parable, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Jesus’ rhetorical question begs the answer that there will be NO faith found on the earth when He returns. Christians must guard their hearts against such false “prophets” by reading and studying God’s Holy Word, prayer and, communing with one another. Christians need to be meek as lambs and sly as serpents to survive the onslaught of Satan and his demons against the Bride of Christ.
Source: S C Ball April 8, 2023
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