There is an unfortunate truth which abounds in our current culture, people would rather believe a lie, a boldface lie, than the truth, especially if the truth is inconvenient or the truth would cost us in any way, whether it would be money, or in our personal perception of freedoms. Jesus once said:
John 8:32 (NKJV) And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
But knowing the truth is not that simple, at least for some. Case in point, the resurrection of Jesus. Last week we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. Our whole Christian faith is hinged on that fact. Today we will consider, what Paul Harvey use to say, “The Rest of the Story.”
Matthew 28:11–15
There are some lies we know to be lies. Lies we hear every day. Consider some of the great American lies:
The check is in the mail.
I’ll start my diet tomorrow.
Give me your number & the doctor will call you right back.
One size fits all.
Your luggage isn’t lost, it’s only misplaced.
This hurts me more than it hurts you.
Your table will be ready in a few minutes.
Open wide, it won’t hurt a bit.
We have all been lied to , and some lies we know are lies, and we laugh about them. But some lies are a bit more harmful. Many of us have been lied to by people we trust and it can be very painful. And some lies, if believed, will lead people straight into the very pits of hell:
There are many ways to heaven and to God.
The Bible is not the only Holy Book, or
The Bible is an just an old outdated book that is no longer relevant.
There is no heaven or hell. When we die, that is all there is.
Christian are just a bunch of hypocrites and bigots.
People will believe the lie. This is done purposefully and quite deliberately at times. I brought this up 4 weeks ago when I preached about “The Reasons for God’s Wrath.” [1] Evolution was a case in point, even when the evidence is overwhelming:
Dr. George Wald, a Harvard professor and the winner of the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize, stated: “When it comes to the origin of life on this earth, there are only two possibilities—creation or spontaneous generation—there is no third way. Spontaneous generation was disproved 100 years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion: that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds, therefore choose to believe the impossible, that life arose spontaneously by chance.” [2]
Dr Wald and many like him, deliberately choose to believe the lie, despite the evidence.
Today, I want to consider the case of the guards at the tomb and the reaction of the Chief Priests. In the case of the guards, they were eye witnesses of the events at the tomb. They may not have seen Jesus or actually seen His resurrection, but they certainly saw the angel and the supernatural breaking of the seals and the rolling away of the stone. Yet even being there and experiencing what they did, they were bought off, postulated to all who would ask and listen, the lie. I want to examine this event, only recorded by Matthew, then look at how it applies to us.
The high Priests of Israel could not allow the resurrection of Jesus. Too much was at stake, their position and their power over the people.
Matthew 27:62–66 (NKJV) On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 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.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.
The stage was set. The large stone was sealed to the tomb and the guard was set. What could go wrong? Then the unimaginable happened, Jesus rose from the dead. We read this story last week at our Son-Rise service.
Matthew 28:2–4 (NKJV) And behold, 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. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
The guards saw the angel, they saw the stone, seals broken, and rolled from the door of the tomb. And for the sheer fright of the whole experience, they were overcome with fear, and they shook and became like dead men. The women were a little braver and the angle spoke to them, giving instruction to go and tell the disciples.
Matthew 28:11 (NKJV) Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. The women left, doing what they were told to do. The guards, some of the guard, not all of them, went to the chief priests. Where did the others go? Scripture does not tell us. Remember, they failed in their mission to secure the tomb. Now they were a missing body. They probably deserted to avoid the death penalty.
Remember the story in Acts 12 about the Angel who rescued Peter from jail and he was chained to two guards. What happened to the guards?
Acts 12:18–19a (NKJV) Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 19 But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.
The situation at the scene of the tomb was probably no different. The guard had an incredible story to tell, but who would believe them? Perhaps the Chief Priests, who gave them their orders, perhap they might believe them. So some of guard went to them.
"reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened." What is all? They had witnessed a supernatural act. They saw the angel, they saw the stone rolled away. These guards where not ignorant. They knew what was going on. They knew who was crucified. They knew why they were guarding the tomb.
Remember when Jesus met with the two disciples on the road to Emaus? Jesus’ identity was hidden from them and Jesus pretended not to know what had happened. One of the men asked Jesus.
Luke 24:18 (NKJV) Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
How could one be in Jerusalem and not know what was going on? These guards must have known. Even the Centurion and the soldiers who were putting Jesus to death, when they saw how Jesus died, said:
Matthew 27:54 (NKJV) So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Did they become believers and followers of Jesus? We don’t know. Scripture does not say. But these were mighty things to witness.
How did the Chief Priest and the elders of the people take this news? Just a note here. The Chief Priests never denied the resurrection, they just chose to cover it up.
Matthew 28:12–13 (NKJV) When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’
Though they had the evidence right there in front of them, the chief priests chose to ignore it and to cover it up. Their power and their position was more important to them than the truth. “they gave a large sum of money” this phase in the Greek is interesting. We get it, they paid off the guards. But in the Greek "a large Sum" could just as easily been translated "enough." In the Greek the idea behind “a large sum of money” was that they gave them “enough” money. This the key I want to zero in on today. How much is enough? It’s been said that every man has his price. What would it take to buy off me, how much to buy off you? How much money is "enough" to suppress the truth?
If you had witness Almighty God perform a miracle, how much would it take to buy you off so that you would deny what you had seen? How much would it take for you to buy the lie? Apparently there was sufficient money for the guards to lie. And not just lie, but "enough" money to incriminate themselves. “His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept” That lie raises more questions than it answers.
If they were sleeping, how would they know who stole the body?
Is it possible for them all to sleep through a group of men struggling to roll a way a huge bolder from the tomb?
Oh, and by the way, what is the penalty for sleeping on guard duty?
If this story was true, why did they have to be bribed to tell it?
Herein is a lesson for us all, the truth is self-verifying. A lie has to be supported by countless other lies.
Matthew 28:14 (NKJV) And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.”
Now what were the chief priests going to do? The governor, probably Pilate, may have already gone back to Caesarea. And what if he did hear about the guards losing the body of Jesus, and heard they were sleeping on guard duty? Sounds like more lies are required, but more likely, more bribes. Pilate was well know to be susceptible to this form of persuasion. If I was one of the guards, by this point, I would not trust the priests any further than I could throw them. But people 2,000 years ago are very much like people today.
Matthew 28:15 (NKJV) So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
So the guards were bought. They took the money and denied what they saw, and was given enough so that they implicated themselves. If fact it was this story that was still being heard when Matthew wrote this Gospel some 30 years later. It was still being heard well into the second century, even though the story is full of holes.
Let us put ourselves into their place for a moment. Could we have been bought off. Could we be persuaded to repeat a lie?
Many would be quick to say that if they saw the things that they saw and experienced the things that they did, they would be overwhelmed and would be telling the world with joy. The woman did just that. Scripture says they left with Joy. Not only that, Matthew records that the woman actually encounter Jesus a short time and distance later.
But the fact is, despite supernatural events and revelation, some will choose not to belief. Some will be bought off with the temptations of the world. A spiritual experience is not enough. Remember the parable Jesus told of the rich man and the poor man Lazarus? They both died and the rich man went into torment and the poor man Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man cried out to Abraham to send Lazarus back to his brothers to testify. He reasoned that if someone from the dead would come back his brothers would believe. But Abraham said:
Luke 16:27–31 (NKJV) And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Today we have the words of life in our hands. We have Moses and the prophets which is all of the Old Testament and we also have all of the New Testament. What will we believe and profess?
Will we bought off by the trappings of the world? Will the things of the world hold us back from the truth?
Remember the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22). He left Jesus very sad because he had great possessions. What is holding us back from the truth? Or do we cling to the lie which is all the world has to offer? Jesus says that truth will set us free.
[1] www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-reason-for-god-39-s-wrath-doug-fannon-sermon-on-wisdom-238689?ref=SermonSerps
[2] Dennis Gordon Lindsay, Foundations for Creationism, Creation Series (Dallas: Christ for the Nations, 1990).
