By Allen White
While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. Matthew 28:11-15
Two days after their problem had gone away for good, the religious leaders’ worst nightmare appeared. Jesus’ body was missing without a trace. Guarded in a sealed tomb, the stone was moved, the soldiers were paralyzed, and Jesus was gone. This was no ordinary grave robbery.
In their heart of hearts, these men hoped this was a prank. But, the sick feeling in the pit of their stomachs betrayed the truth. Jesus was alive.
Pride overcame reason. The bottom line was simply if Jesus was resurrected, then they were sunk. Their stature, their wealth, and even their lives were at stake. Would the Romans arrest them for killing an innocent man? Or, more likely, would the crowd they worked into a frenzy against Jesus rise up against them? After all, they had just murdered the Messiah, and now He was back. Their reputations and everything else was on the line.
Now their version of reality was completely detached from the truth. Since they couldn’t change the facts, they had to change the perception. Perception is reality, right?
They paid off the Roman soldiers, who also had a considerable amount of pride at stake. How could they have let their dead prisoner walk away? How could they have all slept while a small group of unarmed disciples carried the body away?
The soldiers collected their hush money, then spun a new version of the events. “Those tricky disciples stole the body.” I’m sure a number of them called in sick that day.
Who are you in this story? Are you the soldiers who were easily persuaded to forget the supernatural and pursue financial gain? Are you the religious leaders who couldn’t fit God into their reality, so they denied reality? You can’t be Jesus. His role is taken. What would you have done with this situation?
What are you confronted with in your own life and you think, “Well, that can’t be true.” How are your behaviors and attitudes reflected back to you through other people? Do you like what you see? Are you prepared to allow God to transform you, or would you prefer to keep your head in the sand?
God wants to do a work in you. If you are willing to encounter the Truth, He will set you free. If you’re set on denying reality, prepare for an exhausting, uphill climb.
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