Vol. 30, No. 4 -- April 2010
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Escaped!
The story of Jesus' death and burial ends with a discussion between Governor Pontius Pilate and the priests. "Sir," they said, "we remember something that liar said while he was still alive. He claimed, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order to make the tomb secure until the third day..."
"Take some guards with you," Pilate answered. "Go. Make the tomb as secure as you can." (Matthew 27.63-65 NIrV)
When I sign this story, I want to be sure I translate it accurately. The word that gives me a little trouble is "secure." What is the best way to sign "make secure"?
Well, first I need to know what that word "secure" means. Not the English word, but what word did Matthew use when he wrote the Gospel story? When I look up that verse in my Greek New Testament, I see a big word, asphalisasthe, which I don't recognize. I need to check my Greek dictionary to see what that verb means.
The dictionary says that this word means: "guard someone so that he cannot escape." Oh, this is getting funny! Were the priests really trying to stop Jesus from escaping? Yes, in a way. They certainly wanted Jesus to stay in the grave. They explained that they did not want Jesus' disciples stealing His body and claiming that He had risen from the dead. There was no chance of that happening. The disciples were so scared that they hid behind locked doors.
No matter -- Jesus escaped anyway, in spite of the Roman guard, without His disciples' help. His glorious resurrection proved that everything that He said about Himself was absolutely true. His death on the cross fully paid our debt to God, and His resurrection to life conquered death for us forever.
Picture this: All of us are locked in a prison. If you have ever been inside a prison, you know that there are several iron gates between the prisoners and freedom. The same is true in our prison. As we go deeper into this prison, we see that each gate has a name: Sin, Guilt, Death, and Hell.
Now picture Jesus in that prison with us. He did nothing wrong, but He entered our world of sin and death. He took on Himself our guilt and our punishment. He received our sentence. Then on Resurrection Morning, Jesus stood up and walked out of this prison. He broke open each door -- Sin, Guilt, Death, and Hell -- and He escaped.
And here is the really neat part of this picture: Not only did Jesus escape from this prison, He invites us to escape with Him! Come on, people! Let's go! Don't stay behind forever in your soul's prison. That's stupid! Taste freedom now! You can't escape on your own. Go with Jesus. He is your only way out.
When I read Pilate's answer -- "Go. Make the tomb as secure as you can." -- that really sounds like our modern culture, which is still trying very hard to keep Christ in the grave. Movies and TV programs portray Christians as nutty. University professors argue that Christians are wrong and the Bible is evil. And lawyers argue in court that the voice of Christ must stay silent in public discussion. Oh, how hard they try to keep Christ in the grave. But it didn't work for Pilate, and it still won't work today. Christ escaped. The tomb is empty!
~~Pastor Ron
