Jesus’s existence is not often debated. The fact that He was crucified by the Romans is also not usually a topic of debate. What is commonly debated though is whether or not Jesus was/is the Son of God and if He truly rose from the dead after being crucified.
What’s interesting about this is that where Jesus’s own disciples had not yet really understood what Jesus meant by His words about his death and resurrection (Mark 9:31-32 “For He taught His disciples and said to them, ‘The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.’ But they did not understand this saying, and were afraid to ask Him.”) The religious leaders, however, seemed to grasp His meaning just fine.
And despite the religious leaders’ lack of faith in believing and accepting who Jesus really was, they apparently had quite a bit of faith in Jesus’s words and His disciples’ loyalty to those words. They even took some rather extreme action to make sure Jesus’s disciples were kept from doing anything to compromise the end the religious leaders thought they had made of this Jesus of Nazareth.
Matthew 27:62-66 “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.’ Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”
What’s ironic about this is that the religious leaders’ own fear of the disciples making a false pretense about Jesus’s resurrection means they end up with first-hand accounts from their own posted guard about what happens at the tomb.
Mat 28:2-6 “ . . . there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women [who had come to see the tomb], ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.’”
The tomb is empty! But what now?
We can accept that Jesus existed. We can accept that He died. We can even accept that His tomb is empty, but unless we accept Him as our Messiah and the Resurrected Son of our Living God, this knowledge of an empty tomb still won’t change us, which is exactly what happens with the religious leaders.
Mat 28:11-15 “. . . behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.’ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”
The religious leaders knew it all (Over 500 people witnessed Jesus alive after His resurrection), but instead of exploring the truth, the religious leaders chose a lie and paid others to propagate it.
Lies from religious leaders come in many shapes and size and still happen today. Some are as massive as the lie of Jesus’s empty tomb being a theft instead of a miracle. Other lies are about smaller things but are still dangerous?
Lies like: a day in Genesis might have actually been millions of years (which if true would mean plants somehow survived for years without the sun). Truth: Plants can’t live without sunlight, and God does not lie.
Lies like: God hates homosexuals (which if true would mean that God hates ever person who in anyway sins). Truth: God hates people’s sin (things like lying, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, pride, etc.), but God does not hate the sinners themselves! (Romans 5:8, Proverbs 6:16-19)
Are you buying into and propagating lies? Or are you seeking and speaking the Truth?
Challenge: Which are you? Are you a religious leader, a bribed guard, or a follower of Jesus Christ the Son of God? Seek the Truth! (John 14:6)
When the rocks speak 