Law & Grace - Matthew 28:1-20 Surprise! He's alive! "A Testimony from...

Greetings in the name of the Roman Empire. I am Julius. I have been ordered to come here and to give an account of the events that occurred at the tomb of the man called Jesus. As you well know, this man Jesus, a Jew, had been causing trouble for the leaders in Jerusalem, causing them trouble and disturbance. I remember well the first time that I laid eyes on this man, Jesus.

The Sadducees and the Pharisees brought him before our governor Pontius Pilate, accusing him of claiming to be the king of the Jews and of instigating rebellion against Rome. As a centurion of the 10th Legion serving under Pontius Pilate, I understood there were other politics involved. Something else was behind these charges.

It was also clear to me that the governor himself found no merit in them, but the Jewish crowds were becoming increasingly hostile and we feared another uprising. There had been previous disturbances and Rome was not pleased. I do not know what communications the governor had received, But he was troubled and he seemed desperate to avoid the entire crowd. Trying to pacify the crowds and prevent another disturbance, he ordered that Jesus be scourged.

And I watched as others of my legion led him away. My men and I were still grappling with the crowds in the streets when Jesus was brought once again before Pilate. He could barely stand. And even though the flesh of his back was shredded and hung in tatters from the scourging, the Jewish leaders were unmoved. And to my astonishment, they began to incite the crowd against him.

The situation was extremely serious. The governor tried everything in his power to save the life of this, I believe, innocent man. offering his customary prisoner release, even symbolically, washing his hands of the man's blood, trying to impress upon the crowds the seriousness of what it was that they were demanding, to no avail. I have long trained in the art of killing, to dispassionately take the life of an adversary. The cruelty of these leaders was was unbelievable and it made even my butt run cold.

I can still hear them even now shouting, Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Eventually, Pilate consented and Jesus was led away once again, but this time marked for death. The centurion Valerius Maximus was ordered to carry out the unspeakable sentence that very day. Crucifixion.

I was, as usual, with the governor at Fortress Antonia early on the morning of Dei Saturnai, that's Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, when we were surprised by a group of Pharisees approaching. Our instincts told us that they were up to something. A visit from these men on the Sabbath? Hmm.

Apparently, this man Jesus had been a religious teacher and he had told those who followed him, he called them disciples, that he would be killed and that he would rise again on the third day. This would in turn prove his claim to be the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. The religious leaders feared that some of his followers might come and try to steal the body and then claim that he had been raised and in this way gain still more followers. They asked Pilate to secure the tomb and to post a guard there for a few days time. They were very clever, and they supposed that after the third day had passed, and maybe a few more, they would open the tomb, and they would show all of Jerusalem the stinking putrid corpse of this man, Jesus, putting an end once and for all to his fanciful claims. Seeing an opportunity to gain favor with these leaders, Pilot agreed, and he ordered me to take some of my men and to go with them to secure the tomb and to guard it.

I was happy to go. Guarding a tomb is light work compared with building roads and repairing waterways and waging war. When we arrived at the tomb, we encountered there a man, a wealthy man named Joseph, who I understood came from the city of Arimathea. along with him was an official sent by the governor who had the authority to seal the tomb in the name of the Roman Emperor. We used heavy timbers to move the stone aside as we had orders to account for the body to confirm that it was in fact still there before we took our posts.

Valerius Maximus and his men had done their job very well. This man Jesus was unquestionably dead. Joseph told us that he was the rightful owner of the tomb and that he had purchased it for himself. He also affirmed that everything inside the tomb was just as he and another man, Nicodemus, had left it the night before.

They had left in haste before the Sabbath, but the tomb had really not been disturbed. It is a simple matter to close a tomb. The heavy stone rolls easily downhill back into place. A single man can do it. We watched as pilots officials sealed the tomb with strands of cord held in place with pieces of clay into which the official impressed the insignia of Caesar. Such a simple thing, and yet to so much as lay a finger upon it, warrants death. After the tomb was sealed, I grouped my men into squads and commanded the first watch to take their posts.

The rest of the day, and the early evening were uneventful and time passed easily. Soon, darkness fell upon us. Some hours later, and without warning, the ground began to shake and to heave. I don't recall when the light first appeared, but suddenly, and behind us, this blinding white light. I can only compare with lightning or the sun.

As we turned to look, there, standing in front of the tomb, stood a being of the likes of which I had never seen, a being of unimaginable, incomprehensible power with a terrifying countenance. We watched in shock and disbelief as this being lifted the stone and set it aside as though it were a child's plaything. The strength within his arms and his back were unbelievable, far beyond any mere man. As the stone came away, we saw another of his kind there inside the tomb already.

And how he entered, I do not know. These were not like beings that I had fought in battle. No, these beings were unconcerned, completely unconcerned by our presence. They could have destroyed us, tens of legions of us, as easily as I could crush a beetle under my sandal. It was then that I noticed there, just inside the tomb, where the fish had been, the cloth that had wrapped the body of the crucified man. In that instant, I realized the body was gone.

I have long served the Roman Empire. Many years. Twelve of them in hard battle. I have seen with my own eyes men slaughtered. I've killed many more with my own hand. Fear and I. Fear and I are old friends. But this, this was different. These beings filled me with a fear far beyond anything that I had ever experienced or even imagined. I could not move. My heart pounded in my ears. My men and I trembled in fear like scared little boys, frightened in terror. We became as dead men.

If Caesar wished to bring the power of Rome down upon these beings, he would have to do it himself. In the twinkling of an eye, he vanished from our sight. One of my men, crazed out of fear, threw down his armaments and ran away. I have no idea where he went, and to this day I have still not seen him again.

The others and I, with a look between us, We knew, we knew, any hope of preserving our lives depended upon the Sanhedrin contriving some story to tell Pilate that we, the very essence of military power and might in all of Jerusalem, had allowed a Roman seal to be cast aside and a dead prisoner to escape. The last thing that we would have ever heard would have been mocking laughter right before we were killed. I watched as the soldiers and the others disappeared into the darkness, headed in the direction of the high priest's house. As for me, I remained at the tomb. For all I knew, my life was already forfeit. Without any thought and in shock, I wandered over to a nearby fig tree. I was fighting to regain my composure and struggling to collect my thoughts. Nothing made any sense.

Thieves would not break in. and steal the broken, bloody body of a crucified man and leave behind the finest linens, aloes, and myrrh? No, those would fetch a high price in the marketplace. Friends and family would not desecrate the body of their loved one, not there in the tomb, and not one that they had so lovingly prepared just the day before.

I was pondering these things when I heard the voices of women approaching, weeping and carrying the spices the Jews used to anoint their dead, as is their custom. And I could hear them and I realized as they approached they were crying and calling out His name, Jesus, Jesus. Suddenly and without warning, just as before, that terrible light appeared. at the tomb, and there, sitting, sitting on the very stone that we had sealed and guarded, sat one of the beings. His face was much softer now, and he actually spoke to the women. His voice reminded me. It was strong and clear. It seemed to me almost as music. He said to the women, Do not be afraid.

I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen, just as He said, Come, see where He was laid. Go quickly and tell the disciples that He is risen from the dead, and that He goes before you into Galilee, and there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you."

As the light faded, the women were depressed, and they passed near where I was, and I could see in their faces that same familiar fear that I had felt. But there was something There was joy. These women loved this man Jesus with all of their hearts and minds. Yes, there was fear in their faces, but they were rejoicing.

I was told the Sanhedrin had bribed men that we, the guards, had fallen asleep at the tomb while the disciples stole the body. Asleep. I can assure you the penalty for being found asleep on duty by one's captain, that is, immediate execution, is an extraordinary cure for drowsiness. And if we had been asleep, sleeping like infants, how would we have known disciples would follow the body? And who would believe that the frightened, cowardly followers of this man Jesus would come by night, tear away a Roman seal under penalty of death, roll away a tremendous stone, and then unwrap the body of their loved one there in the tomb before carrying it away? And all this without waking trained, highly trained soldiers of the 10th Legion supposedly sleeping nearby?

I do not know. I do not know what deal they made, the Sanhedrin, with Pilate that night. I do know that my life was spared. It was early morning, and I was still near the tomb. I began to ponder, think about these things that I had seen. I had seen the lifeless body of Christ, or of Jesus, wrapped and prepared for burial, laid in the tomb. I had seen that tomb sealed, and I witnessed it being sealed with the authority of Rome. Indeed, I had even guarded my very own life, hanging in the balance. I had seen beings of indescribable power and beauty open it again, effortlessly. If these beings served Him who was crucified, then who was this man Jesus? And what humanity could bring forth the tears of sorrow and joy that I had seen in the faces of the women. Last of all, I remembered what the being said to the women.

He said, He is not his risen, just as he was. The Sanhedrin, to the very last man, said that we, the guards, had been asleep. They were right. Yes, I was there at the tomb, and I was guarding, and I was performing my duties. Yes, but I was asleep in my spirit.

That glorious morning, as dawn approached, I awakened. For the first time, I, Julius, believed truly this man was indeed who he claimed to be. Jesus the Christ, Son of the living God, raised from death to life. In the years since, Caesarea has become my home. A beautiful port city that sits on the Mediterranean, that basks in the warm sunlight. The centurion, Cornelius there, welcomed me to the church that is his home there.

And my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ have taught me lovingly and with tremendous patience to more deeply understand the nature of the salvation that Christ obtained for me through his death and his resurrection. I now know that he died for me in my place, an old centurion, having taken upon himself all of my sins. As hard as I once fought for Rome, he died for me. In victory, he has claimed me as his own with an adoption of sons that rivals that of Augustus Caesar.

I am a new man, clothed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ through his abundant grace, having all the rights and privileges and spiritual blessings as a co-heir with Christ. I am an eyewitness I attest to you that the tomb in Jerusalem, the tomb that I, even I, Julius, guarded, the tomb of the man Jesus, is now gloriously empty. With my fellow centurion I raise my voice and I too proclaim, truly this man was and is the Son of God.

My brethren, the household of Cornelius, those who are with me at the church at Caesarea, the saints with James, and those saints at Herodium. We salute you, our brothers and sisters in Christ who are the church at Holly Hills. We greet you, and our love is with you. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Amen.