Widely Circulated

By Shirley Mitchell

“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

In Matthew 27:62-66, the chief priests and Pharisees went to Pilate to ask that an order be given for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. They said, “We remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ” Annas, Caiaphas, and the chief priests were concerned that Jesus’ disciples would steal the body and tell people that He had risen from the dead. They believed with the power of Rome behind them that no one would take that deceiver’s body. Isn’t it interesting that they remembered Jesus’ statement more than the disciples did, and even took action on it!

Pilate granted their request. I’m sure he realized that he needed to protect himself from any disturbance caused by a raid on the garden tomb. He told the Jewish leaders to make the tomb as secure as they knew how. He gave them a guard to be posted continuously at the tomb.

Tradition says that the centurion assigned by Pilate to lead the Roman guard was Petronius. He was trusted by the Emperor of Rome to guard the tomb faithfully and carry out his duty. A Roman guard ranged in size from four to sixteen soldiers. If it were sixteen men in overnight duty, then they were four groups of four men each. Each group of four men stood watch for three hours during the night while the other men slept. They were well-trained and well-equipped fighting machines. Each soldier was equipped with a six-foot pike, a sword, and a dagger.

The tomb was sealed with the Imperial Seal of Rome. It was the official stamp of the procurator and would be a crime if anyone broke it. Anyone attempting to vandalize the sepulcher and move the stone from the tomb’s entrance would have to break the seal and be subject to punishment by Roman law. The sealing was performed by stretching a cord across the stone and fastening it to the rock at either end by means of sealing clay.

The precautions and security measures taken by man could not stop the Resurrection. When Jesus rose from the grave, there was a violent earthquake, for the angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone of the tomb. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. According to Matthew 28:4, the guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The seal was broken. The stone was rolled away. The body was missing. No stone, no seal, and no Roman guard could keep the Son of God in the grave.

Matthew 28:11-15 tells us that the guards went to the Jewish religious leaders first. If they had gone to Pilate, then they would have been executed. Negligence for any reason would be punishable by death so they sought the religious leaders for protection.

The religious leaders knew that the tomb was empty and needed an explanation. They devised a plan and tried to do damage control. The soldiers were instructed to say they were asleep, and the disciples stole the body. If the soldiers had really fallen asleep, then their payment would have been death, not a large sum of money. Falling asleep on watch duty would have cost them their lives.

This fabricated story by the chief priests was widely circulated among the people. However, the empty tomb and the appearances of Jesus transformed the disciples from men who ran away and hid to men who proclaimed the truth of the Resurrection no matter what the cost. Because of the change in the frightened band of disciples to bold, powerful witnesses, the truth about the resurrection was widely circulated, too. Unlike the religious leaders, they had nothing to gain by fabricating a lie. They faced hardship, beatings, prison, and even martyrs’ deaths. They stopped at nothing to tell the world that Jesus was alive.

My friend, does this not impress upon you that we have a story to tell, too? It is not a fabricated story. It may cost us something from this world, too. But gosh, don’t you have the heart for the greatest story ever told to be widely circulated, too? Join me in rejoicing and sharing our Savior’s story and circulate it widely!

Pray with me: Almighty God, man did everything they could to keep Jesus in the grave. They guarded it and sealed it. But not even the most powerful army in the world could keep the beaten and crucified Son of God in the grave. We know who opened the tomb. You demonstrated Your power and Your might. You sent the angel to roll back the stone so the world could know that the tomb was empty. We praise You for Your awesome power and plan.

We ask for the story of Your Son’s resurrection to be widely circulated throughout the world today, into every tribe, tongue, and nation. Flood us with belief and empower us with Your Spirit so that we must share with others the greatest story ever told. All of this we pray in the Name above all names and the Name that one day every knee will bow, including those of the religious leaders and soldiers, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Copyright ©2011 Christ Compels Ministry