Why the Stone was Rolled Back

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. [Matthew 28:2]

Perhaps a question not many ask themselves, when coming across this verse, is: why did an angel roll the stone back? Consider, for a moment, shortly after the resurrection, that when the disciples were gathered together in a closed room, Christ appeared to them without a problem (Jn 20:26). Why didn't he do the same with the stone? Why was it necessary for an angel to come down and roll the stone back?

Perhaps a few explanations could be considered as to exactly why:

Firstly, the stone was rolled back so that the women, approaching that morning (Mt 28:1; Mk 16:1-2; Lk 24:1; Jn 20:1), might see that Christ was gone, and could be told by the angels to go tell the apostles that the resurrection had occurred.

Secondly, the stone was rolled back to demonstrate the sovereignty of God over the sovereignty of man. The Roman soldiers positioned at the tomb had placed a seal on the stone (Mt 27:66), which served a two-fold function: 1) if the stone was moved back, the seal would be broken, and be prove of wrongdoing if the stone was moved back in place; 2) it was a way of telling potential thieves "Property of the Roman Empire - Keep Out." By the angel coming down and rolling the stone aside, he not only challenged the authority of the seal (as well as the nearby guard), but showed that no power of man on earth is able to stop the will of God.

Thirdly, the stone represented the ultimate separation between those who have passed on and those are still living. Death separated man from God, but in Jesus are men granted eternal life, as the apostle Paul wrote: "for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 6:23). With the rolling back of the stone, the end of that separation was realized, and Christ's resurrection gave hope for those struggling with the pains of death, seeking eternal life.

Fourthly and finally, the rolling back of the stone signified that Christ had been acquitted of all charges laid against him, and was now free to go. For those who killed him, he was guilty of two crimes: from the Jews, blasphemy (Mt 26:65-66); from the Romans, treachery (Lk 23:2). However, for the purposes of God, he was convicted of greater crimes...namely, the crimes of all those who would believe in his name. The apostle Paul wrote that it was "for our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin" (2 Co 5:21), and the prophet Isaiah had foretold that the suffering servant would be "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities," and that the LORD would lay on him "the iniquity of us all" (Isa 53:5-6).

This final point has greater significance, for in being let out and declared free of all charge against sin, God's sheep likewise were cleared of all charges. Christ paid the ultimate price for the sins of his people, and our guilt he took on. Every sin we ever committed, are committing, and would commit, was paid for on the cross, and we were declared innocent in Christ the minute that stone was rolled aside. As we ponder and meditate on Resurrection Sunday, and think of what it means when Christ walked out of that tomb, let us remember that he was the Good Shepherd, and those who did follow, are following, and shall follow him out of that tomb are his sheep.

If you are reading this, and you are outside of Christ, then the Resurrection still has relevance for you. There will come a day when God will judge you for every sin you committed: every lie you told, every curse against your fellow man, every lustful thought, everything you stole, and on and on. For those outside of Christ, the wrath of God abides (cf. Jn 3:36), and their guilt remains. If you have not considered eternity, my friend, then let me exhort you to consider eternity, for when the time comes, there will be no opportunity for second thoughts or pondering - that will be it. Consider seriously, then, the situation you are in, and look to the open tomb of Christ. It shows to you that the resurrection was a reality, and that there will come a time when Christ shall resurrect the dead and bring forth the living for a reckoning. What will you say when all your sins are laid before you?

There is, however, the gift of eternal life available for you. Those who repent and believe and lean upon Christ for salvation shall find a Savior who "is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him" (Heb 7:25). In Christ all your sins shall be atoned, and before God you shall be declared innocent. You shall have peace in the knowledge that you are in Christ, from which no one can snatch you (Jn 10:29). You will be declared as innocent as Christ when he went forth from the tomb, and you shall join him in the company of saints on the day of resurrection. Consider these holy things seriously, for these are serious things to consider. You are being called to repent, and the chance is now for you to see the gravity of your sins and the love of Christ in those who believe.

God bless.

Three Days and Three Nights?

The following is quoted from the Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties.

Matthew 12:40: On which day of the week was Christ crucified?

Matthew 12:40 states: “For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” If the general tradition—that Christ was crucified on Friday of Holy Week, died at 3:00 P.M. (the “ninth hour” of the day), and then rose again from the dead on Sunday at dawn—is correct, how can it be said that Jesus was three days and three nights in the grave? He was interred about 6:00 P.M., according to Luke 23:54. (“And it was the day of preparation [hemera paraskeues] and the Sabbath was coming on [epephosken].”) This would mean that the period of interment was only from Friday night to Saturday night before the Resurrection on the dawn of Sunday; and it would also mean only one dawn-to-sunset day, namely Saturday, had passed. How do we get “three days and three nights” out of two nights and one day? Must not the actual day of crucifixion have been Thursday or even Wednesday?

It is perfectly true that a Friday Crucifixion will not yield three full twenty-four-hour days. But neither will a Thursday afternoon Crucifixion, nor a Wednesday afternoon Crucifixion either. This results from the fact that Jesus died at 3:00 P.M. and rose at or about 6:00 A.M. The only way you can come out with three twenty-four-hour days is if He rose at the same hour (three days later, of course) that He was crucified, namely, 3:00 P.M. Actually, however, He rose “on the third day” (1 Cor. 15:4). Obviously, if He rose on the third day, He could not already have been buried for three whole nights and three whole days. That would have required His resurrection to be at the beginning of the fourth day.

What, then, is the meaning of the expression in Matthew 12:40: “three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”? (NASB). This can only refer to three twenty-four-hour days in part or in whole. That is to say, Jesus expired at 3:00 P.M. near the close of Friday (according to the Hebrew method of reckoning each day as beginning at sundown), which would be one day. Then Friday 6:00 P.M. to Saturday 6:00 P.M. would be the second day, and Saturday 6:00 P.M. to Sunday 6:00 P.M. would constitute the third day—during which (i.e., Sunday 6:00 A.M. or a little before) Christ arose. Christ rested in hades (where paradise, or “Abraham’s Bosom,” still was, according to the indications of Luke 16:22-26; cf. Luke 23:43) for a portion of the three days: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The same would be true, or course, if the Evangelists had been reckoning according to the Roman method, from midnight to midnight.

Why then are three portions of day referred to in Matthew 12:40 as “three days and three nights”? The simple answer is that the only way “day” in the sense of dawn-to-dusk sunlight could be distinguished from the full twenty-four-hour cycle sense of “day” was to speak of the latter as “a night and a day” (i.e., an interval between 6:00 P.M. and 6:00 P.M. of the day following). In other words Friday as a twenty-four-hour unit began on Thursday 6:00 P.M. and lasted until Friday 6:00 P.M. Correspondingly, Sunday began at 6:00 P.M. Saturday, according to Hebrew reckoning (but 12:00 P.M. Saturday according to Roman reckoning). According to ancient parlance, then, when you wished to refer to three separate twenty-four-hour days, you said, “Three days and three nights”—even though only a portion of the first and third days might be involved.

A similar usage is apparent from the narrative in 1 Samuel 30:12, where “he had not eaten bread or drunk water for three days and three nights” is equated in v.13 with hayyom se losah (“three days ago”)—which could only mean “day before yesterday.” But if the Egyptian slave fell ill on the day before yesterday (with relationship to the day on which David found him), then he could not have remained without food or water for three entire twenty-four-hour days. We simply have to get used to slightly different ways of expressing time intervals. (“Similarly the Feast of Pentecost was originally called the “Feast of Weeks” because it fell on the forty-ninth day after the offering of the wave sheaf on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Yet it was known actually as the Fiftieth Day— Pentecoste in Greek.)

Why Men Don't Want a Resurrection

The Resurrection, by Gustav Dore

We are nearing the celebration of Resurrection Sunday, a day which also remembers one of the most debated subjects regarding the Christian religion. What is the debate? Namely, whether or not Christ truly rose from the grave. Men have been at war with the concept of the resurrection since the earliest days of the church, when enemies of Christ suggested that either the entire thing was made up, or that the apostles fabricated it all. Even during the time of the apostles it was an issue, as the apostle Paul wrote: "if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain" (1 Co 15:14).

It continues to this day, with every theory in existence. Some claim Christ was dug up by dogs and eaten. Some claim that the resurrection was just a copy of pagan myths. Some claim Christ just fainted and got better. Either way, many desire to disprove and deny that the resurrection ever took place, and therefore belief and celebration of it is entirely irrelevant in our day-to-day affair.

Why is this? Why do so many protest the resurrection? What is underlying it all? Let's imagine, just for the sake of argument, that the resurrection happened beyond all question. What would that mean?

If there was a resurrection, it means the events around the resurrection are true.

If there was a resurrection, it means that Christ was raised from the dead.

If there was a resurrection, it means Christ truly did appear to the disciples and countless others.

If there was a resurrection, it means Christ truly did ascend to the heavens and sit at the right hand of the Father.

If there was a resurrection, it means Christ's claims of divinity were true.

If there was a resurrection, it means Christ is King and Lord of all.

If there was a resurrection, it means that God exists.

If there was a resurrection, it means that men will one day be held accountable to God for their sins.

...and there, underlying it all, is why men do not want a resurrected Christ...because it means they will have to submit to God and follow Him rather than their own passions. God bless.

Did Lazarus contribute?

Did Lazarus contribute to his being raised? Was he the deciding factor in it happening? That some believe so has often astounded me. I was going to write a post on this, but instead I'll let someone else have a say at it and just engage with any conversation that gets started.

The Circumstances Around Christ's Resurrection

Last Sunday was Resurrection Sunday, celebrating the victory of Christ over death. Oftentimes, in my studies of the scriptures, I have noticed that the gospel writers took great pains to highlight some details regarding the burial of Christ and the circumstances that surrounded his resurrection. While many people (perhaps erroneously) disregard all the gospel accounts as simply one account from long ago, their original readers would have read them as contemporary accounts detailing facts concerning the story of Christ's burial and resurrection. Many of these facts would have directly refuted any early arguments against the resurrection or those who claimed the resurrection did indeed happen. Among these many factors include:

1) The entombment of Christ was approved by the governing authorities. The taking down of Christ's body and his entombment were granted permission by Governor Pontius Pilate himself (Matt 27:58; Mark 15:45; Luke 23:52; John 19:38). This made the burial of Christ a public affair in some respects, rather than the disciples going on their own, without permission, and taking the bodies down, which their enemies could have denied they ever did if only the disciples could make such a claim. With Pilate's open and public permission being attached to the action, no one could deny that it had been done.

2) The management of the entombment was by a well known leader. The taking down and entombing of Christ's body was under the personal charge of a wealthy and respected Jewish leader known as Joseph of Arimathea (Matt 27:57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50; John 19:38). This gave the account some validity, as many would have likely known of or heard of Joseph, and hence would know that the entombment of Christ was no anonymous affair. Even in this day and age, if someone off the street was to pay for someone's burial, it would probably not reach the ears of many. If, on the other hand, someone as rich and well known as, say, Ted Turner had personally paid for someone's burial, many more people would be aware of it. If someone were to try to lie about Ted Turner financing the burial, such a fabrication could be easily disproved by either himself or those who knew him well.

3) The tomb of Christ was a brand new and unique one. It is stated that the tomb they laid Christ in was brand new (Matt 27:60; Luke 23:53; John 19:41). The significance of this was that there was a uniqueness to Christ's tomb - it could not have been lost in the midst of older and equally worn down tombs. Also, we are made aware of the fact that the tomb was located in a garden (John 19:41), which only added to its uniqueness. It is far easier to remember a location with a landmark than it is a location in the midst of nothing extraordinary. This all lessened the possibility that those who went to Christ's tomb on Resurrection Sunday could have gone to the wrong one.

4) There were witnesses to the tomb's location. Joseph did not unilaterally bury Jesus, but rather a large group of people took a part, and hence were eyewitnesses to where the body was lain. Most particularly, all the Gospels make mention of the women - including Mary Magdalene - being witnesses (Matt 27:61; Mark 15:47; Luke 23:55). What is the significance of this? Mary Magdalene and many other women went to the tomb on the third day to find it empty - as it was a brand new tomb and they knew where it was, there was very little possibility that they could have gone to the wrong tomb. If none of the women who went that day had personally seen where the tomb was made, and were simply gathering the location word of mouth, we might have grounds for stating that they could have gone to the wrong tomb and, seeing the stone rolled back, assumed the resurrection had taken place. Instead, they were fully aware of the tomb's location, it was impossible that they could have gone to the wrong one, and it was at the correct tomb that they found the stone rolled back.

5) Guarding the tomb was entrusted to Christ's enemies. That Saturday, the Jewish leaders go to Pilate and warn him that Christ had sworn he would be resurrected on the third day. Therefore, their fear was that the disciples would come, take Christ's body, hide it, and then proclaim to the people that he had indeed been resurrected. They suggested to Pilate (who had been warned Christ was an enemy for secular reasons) that it was in his best interests to make certain this did not happen, as "the last fraud will be worst than the first" (Matt 27:62-64). Pilate then tells them: "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can" (Matt 27:65). Therefore we know that the people in charge of the tomb where not those who had been sympathizers with Christ - indeed, they were entrusted to his worst enemies! This would be the equivalent of the SS being put in charge of the grave for Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The number one priority of the Sanhedrin would not be to see the resurrection happen or to show apathy either way, but instead to make absolutely certain that no one could claim Christ had been resurrected.

6) Roman guards were placed at the tomb. Some have suggested that the guards were actually Temple guards employed by the Sanhedrin, hence Pilate's words of "You have a guard of soldiers" (Matt 27:65). In other words, the governor was saying, "You have a guard of soldiers of your own." However, the words of the high priests to the guards later on ("if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble," Matt 28:14) would not make sense unless they were under the direct employment of the Roman governor, and hence they must have been Roman soldiers entrusted to them by Pilate. The Roman soldiers, at that time, were among the best disciplined and most feared in the world. Most of all...sleeping on duty resulted in death. Pilate had therefore employed the most reliable force in the world to guard the tomb against possible action from the disciples. It's also worth noting that, although popular artwork usually depicts about five or so Roman soldiers at the tomb, the traditional Roman guard was about sixty soldiers - therefore there was very little likelihood that all sixty men could have all fallen asleep at the tomb, permitting the disciples to sneak in and steal the body.

7) Christ's tomb was sealed. Matthew makes mention of the Roman guard placing a seal upon the stone (Matt 27:66). The significance was two-fold: a) if someone moved the stone, the seal would be broken, hence providing evidence of foul play if they were to roll the stone back as if nothing happened; b) the seal was a way of telling potential thieves: "ROMAN PROPERTY - DO NOT TOUCH." This provided a deterrent to any common thief or weak disciple desiring to rob the grave or take Christ's body out.

8) The emptiness of the tomb - and lack of a body - was undeniable to all. On Resurrection Sunday, there was a great dilemma for all parties involved, especially those who might have motivation in regards to the resurrection: there was no body. The disciples did not have a body, and the Sanhedrin did not have a body. If the Sanhedrin had held the body in their possession - or they knew that Christ's body was in the tomb - then they could have easily squashed Pentecost then and there by providing the body (or its location) to the crowd. As it stands, they did not, because even they realized that the body was missing. The body was missing because Christ had, as he had promised, been resurrected from the tomb, to grant life to all those who believe in him.

Resurrection Sunday

And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. [Jonah 1:17]

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." [Matthew 12:38-40]

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen..." [Matthew 28:1-6]

Christ is Risen!

The following is from a Charles Spurgeon sermon.

One more doctrine we learn, and with that we will conclude—the doctrine of the resurrection. Jesus rose, and as the Lord our Saviour rose, so all his followers must rise. Die I must—this body must be a carnival for worms; it must be eaten by those tiny cannibals; peradventure it shall be scattered from one portion of the earth to another; the constituent particles of this my frame will enter into plants, from plants pass into animals, and thus be carried into far distant realms; but, at the blast of the archangel's trumpet, every separate atom of my body shall find its fellow; like the bones lying in the valley of vision, though separated from one another, the moment God shall speak, the bone will creep to its bone; then the flesh shall come upon it; the four winds of heaven shall blow, and the breath shall return. So let me die, let beasts devour me, let fire turn this body into gas and vapor, all its particles shall yet again be restored; this very self-same, actual body shall start up from its grave, glorified and made like Christ's body, yet still the same body, for God hath said it. Christ's same body rose; so shall mine. O my soul, dost thou now dread to die? Thou wilt lose thy partner body a little while, but thou wilt be married again in heaven; soul and body shall again be united before the throne of God. The grave—what is it? It is the bath in which the Christian puts the clothes of his body to have them washed and cleansed. Death—what is it? It is the waiting-room where we robe ourselves for immortality; it is the place where the body, like Esther, bathes itself in spices that it may be fit for the embrace of its Lord. [source]

Out of the Mouths of Babes...

Some months ago I was watching The Mummy (1999) with my younger sister (I say "younger," even though it's only by two years). For those who don't know, the beginning of the film shows the High Priest Imhotep and his lover, the royal Anck Su Namun, killing the pharaoh. As the palace guards arrive, Namun tells Imhotep to escape and remember to resurrect her.

My sister immediately went, "You know you have faith when you believe someone will resurrect you."

A great smile came to my lips. This is the precise faith that so many Christian martyrs gave their lives, and upon which so many Christian faithful pass away with to this very day.