Arturo …The Guard of the Tomb
At last this horrible
crucifixion was over, so I gathered my men and began the march back to the
guard’s barracks. It had been a harrowing night and day leading up to the
crucifixion of Jesus…and now we all deserved some much needed rest…but alas,
that was not to be.
We had barely made our
way back to the Palace walls when I was summoned by Pilate. He had been
petitioned by a man, a follower of Jesus by the name of Joseph, of the village of Arimathea
We marched back to the
garrison and I set the guards for the rest of our duty and then, I went to bed.
I was dogged tired yet, I could not sleep. I could not get the face nor the
words of this man Jesus out of my mind; “Father, forgive them” and “It is
finished”….what was finished and how could a mortal man endure such pain and
agony and ask that his executors be forgiven?
I finally seemed to
drift into an uncomfortable and fitful sleep when I was abruptly awakened by
one of my men; seems I was being summoned to Pilate’s court again. I dressed
hastily and hurried to the courtyard where I was ushered into the presence of
my liege. Pilate was surrounded by the same yammering mob of Pharisees that had
clamored for the death of Jesus and now they wanted a Roman guarded posted to
keep out his disciples…they were afraid that his disciples would steal his body
within the next three days and make claims that Jesus had risen from the dead.
They listed several times that they say Jesus had made such claims and somehow,
they had convinced Pilate that such a
commotion would be bad for him and the keeping of the peace during the Passover
days.
Pilate gave me my
orders and instructed me to go with 11 of my men to post a full watch over the
tomb…that meant 24 hours of guarding a dead man…and for what…..to appease a
group of malcontents that hated our very existence in their land….but, I had my
orders.
I posted the first
watch and then went over to the hillside there in the garden. I found a grassy
knoll that peered across the valley
of Kidron
I set the mid-watch
and fell asleep for what seemed like only minutes when, I was awakened to the
violent shaking of the ground …it reminded me of that day…just days before at
Calvary when the ground shook and was split open. There was a bright light and
I saw standing before me, a man or some angelic being, clothed all in white. I
turned away for I feared that he had come to take my life. I threw myself on
the ground and felt it tremble underneath my shaking body…it was hard to tell
who was shaking more; me or the ground. I dared not look up in fear that I
might be blinded by such a fearsome light.
Now, I have been in
many great and ferocious battles in my life…and I have been frightened many
times before; but never in my life have I been this terrified of what was about
to happen. Was I about to die at the hand of this man robed in white or was
there some escape from this doom that was set before me?
I lay perfectly still,
hoping that this being might think me already dead….I kept my head still and
lay motionless, afraid to look around. I could sense that my men had deserted
their post and fled in terror at the first sight of this creature. I was all
alone…awaiting my eventual doom….but as I lay there, still and lifeless, I
heard voices ….women’s voices.
I decided to risk it
all; so, I slowly rose to my feet and looked up. The great stone that my men
and I had rolled into the mouth of the tomb was now rolled away…and sitting
upon it was the same man of white brilliance. He spoke softly to a small band
of women…the same women that had been at the foot of the cross of Jesus …I
heard him say that Jesus was not there….that He had risen and was alive and was
going before them and would see them in Galilee…and then he commanded them to
go and tell his disciples that He had risen from the dead….and then, the man,
robed in white, was gone.
I stood there
motionless, as the women peered into the tomb and then rushed by me as they
hurried from the garden. I inched slowly toward the tomb, the huge stone rolled
over twenty feet from the mouth of the grave, and then, I walked inside.
I can hardly describe
what I saw next….nor my astonished reaction….the tomb was empty…except for the
neatly folded linen and face napkin…Jesus was indeed…GONE!
As a soldier, I knew
what this meant….I had failed my assigned duties and I would pay dearly for my
dereliction of duty (and so would my men); but, as a mortal man who was in
complete control of my intelligent faculties, I knew a miracle had taken place.
My men and I had
guarded this tomb with our lives and no one had breached our security…BUT THE
TOMB WAS EMPTY…and I had seen with my own eyes, the stone rolled away and a
being, not of this realm, seated upon it….and he proclaimed, in no uncertain
terms that Jesus was alive…I was left with the same conclusion that I remember
saying at the time of his death…..
Truly, this man was the son of God!
Today, you are faced with the same unequivocal evidence that
the Roman centurion saw as he stood before the cross of Jesus and then later,
as he peered into Christ’s empty tomb….Truly,
this man…this Jesus so despised by the maddening throng….this man of
sorrows… is the son of God.
Now, we may never know, this side of heaven, if that
centurion’s declaration of Jesus as the Son of God sealed his place in God’s
eternal home, but today, you can know
for yourself….if you will accept his blood shed for your remission of sin and
if you will peer into that empty tomb and believe that Christ has been raised
from the dead….then, Easter is your time of thanksgiving and eternal
celebration….Jesus said many times, “He who has ears, let him hear.”
Are you listening today for the voice of the risen
Savior....Pleading, O sinner, come home?
Declaring the Risen Lord….Savior and Friend,
WPQ
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