April 14 -The Truth for a Lie

Matthew 28:8-20

Today we read about a plan by the chief priests to fabricate an explanation for Jesus’ empty tomb. This story is only found in Matthew and it was likely included to refute this false explanation for the empty tomb that still lingered in Matthew’s day.

The chief priests and the elders were trying to “exchange the truth for a lie” – an attempt that was pretty weak when you stop to ask a few questions:
· If the guards were asleep, how did they know the disciples stole the body?
· Why would the disciples steal the body? It is clear in the gospel accounts that despite Jesus’       teachings they were not expecting his resurrection.
· And… why did the disciples start preaching Jesus death and resurrection within weeks of the crucifixion and suffer persecution and ultimately death – for a lie?

But don’t we often “exchange the truth for a lie”? In Romans 1:25 Paul writes, “25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” This verse was written regarding sexual immorality, which was certainly a problem in Paul’s day and continues to be in ours. But isn’t it more than that? It seems that the times we are living in are revealing some of the lies that we have exchanged truth for, even if sexual immorality is not one of them. I think each of us could identify a couple of areas where we have “served created things rather than the Creator” – money, jobs, government, possessions, health, ….

Now is a time when we need to be reminded of truth. It is interesting to note that Matthew places his story of the chief priests and guards between two instances that document the truth of Jesus’ resurrection. Matthew 28:9 talks about Jesus meeting the women who went to his tomb. Matthew 28:17 talks about the risen Jesus meeting with the disciples.

Christ has risen!! This is the truth that we all must embrace. He is alive today no differently than he was when he appeared to the women and his disciples and many others after his crucifixion. He loves us and he knows exactly what is happening in each of our lives, especially during these challenging times. Let’s use these times to examine ourselves and remove any lies that we might be serving instead of “the Creator – who is forever praised. Amen.”

A Balancing Act

What a tangle of emotions filled the hearts of the two Mary’s that morning. "So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy..."

 How can one be filled with fear and great joy at the same time? The earthquake stirred up the fear and they clung to each other as the ground shook. Did they feel the vibrations under their feet?  What about the angel who appeared and rolled away the stone? I think I might be shaking in my shoes also.

Afraid yet filled with joy. I can think of lots of things that might cause this dual set of warring feelings.  Like the season when you were expecting an addition to the family; the angst of adding another mouth to feed coupled with the sheer delight of seeing your newborn son or daughter—fear yet joy.

The new job in a faraway land - fear yet joy.  The marriage proposal - fear yet joy. It seems that everything we face and look forward too, every milestone and high point in life has the element of fear yet joy. It is through these milestones we can and should cling to the words in verse 20. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 

Matthew 28:8-20