Matthew the apostle wrote how an angel said to the women who came to visit Jesus' grave, “Fear not: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see him: lo, I have told you. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him. Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me. Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were done”, and in chapter twenty-eight and verse twelve of his book, Matthew wrote how the chief priests and elders, “gave large money unto the soldiers” where we read:
And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel,
they gave large money unto the soldiers,
The verse reads, “And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, ...” Matthew began words, “and when” which means “and at the time and moment” “they were assembled with” or “the chief priests were gathered together and collected alongside” “the elders” which refers to “the advanced in age, seniors and members of the great council or Sanhedrin”, “and had taken counsel” which means “had deliberated and consulted together”. Matthew referred to when the “high priests and the Sanhedrin” met together to “deliberate” after the news from the “Roman guards”.
The verse continues, “... they gave large money unto the soldiers,” Matthew added the words, “they gave large money” or “the high priests and elders granted, bestowed and delivered a good deal and much silver, silver coins or silverlings” “unto the soldiers” which means “to the Roman guards”. Matthew shared how the “religious leaders” paid the “Roman guards” after hearing the news about Jesus.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how the news of Jesus rising from the grave affected the “Roman security team”. Even though they were assigned and commanded to keep a “watch” on Jesus' tomb, Jesus came out anyway. God insured that Jesus would rise from the grave because mankind needed a “Savior” who not only could pay the price of “death” for sins, but also grant “everlasting life” to all who believe by defeating “death” by His resurrection. The “religious leaders” did not want anyone to hear any more of this news, so they “paid off” these “guards” in order to keep them quiet. Still, the world knows “Jesus is Risen”, and all who believe and trust in Him may now be “eternally saved” because of it.
Next time Matthew shares how the chief priests told the guards to say, “His disciples came by night, and stole him away”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment