The Resurrection

Were you there when the stone was rolled away?
Were you there when the stone was rolled away?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the stone was rolled away?

                                                  Author Unknown

 

I looked on as the two Roman soldiers, warmed themselves by the fire they had built on the first night of their assignment. One had been sleeping earlier but was now was awakened by the other to take his turn at watching the tomb. Neither had allowed the embers to grow cool. The fire was stoked every hour or so. It gave off much needed warmth on these cool nights, and the light from its flames was a welcomed site in this eerie place.

 

There had been no visitors to the cemetery since they had been here, other than the keepers, who came to make sure the graves of the Pharisees were kept immaculate.

 

The guards had constantly complained to each other about having to pull such a duty. In all their lives as soldiers, they had never before been assigned such a menial task as guarding a dead man; especially one whom everyone seemed to think would get up and walk away. There was also much grumbling about the boredom that had come with the isolation from the other men.

 

As they were talking, the soldier whose shift was ending quickly turned his head in the direction of the tomb.

 

“Did you hear that?” he asked

 

“Hear what”, the other asked while turning his ear to listen.

 

“I could have sworn that I heard the whistling of a dove’s wings”,

 

“That is ridiculous”, “Your lack of sleep is making you much too jumpy.” “And besides, you’re beginning to unnerve me”, the other replied.

 

They both shrugged agreeing that the cemetery was starting to take its toll on them both.

 

As they were talking, I noticed the horizon beginning to take on a light purple hue. Daybreak would not be far away. The cool dampness of the early morning air brought an almost surrealistic calm about the area. A deafening silence had crept in all around us.

 

I noticed an ever so slight tremble to the ground beneath my feet. Thinking it might have been my imagination; I looked toward the soldiers, trying to find their faces in the still unlit garden. I wanted to see if there was any reaction to what I had just experienced. The flicker of the campfire gave only a distorted view, but it was evident by their insistent complaining, they did not sense what I had. 

 

There it was again. Only this time it was more prevalent, and unlike before, this time it had gotten the Romans’ attention. Their chatter had stopped.  So it wasn’t my imagination after all.

 

A few seconds later it came again; this time rumbling as if thunder had found its way beneath the earth and was rolling across the landscape.  Suddenly, what seemed to be a flash of lightning lit the dimly lit cemetery; only it did not come from the sky, but from the direction of the tomb.

 

A slow deep scraping of stone against stone could be heard. I looked in the toward the tomb but found that I could not see. This time it was not due to the darkness but rather the bright light. In fact, this light became brighter and brighter as the stone was rolling away from the mouth of the tomb. It was this point that I lost consciousness. When I awoke, the sky had brightened somewhat, but darkness still hovered in the recesses of the landscape. I looked again in the direction of the tomb. The soldiers were both prostrate on the ground, unconscious. The light of the morning had begun to illuminate the graves in the garden. I noticed the stone that once sealed the entrance to the tiny cave was moved to one side. The opening was clearly visible but the shadows that clung to the interior made it impossible to see inside. 

 

I rose from the ground and stood quiet and motionless.

 

A moment later I heard the rattle of the soldiers’ armor as they began to regain their senses. They looked toward the tomb, then toward each other. I heard them say to each other, almost in unison, “He’s Gone!” In a flash they too were gone. This would need to be reported and very quickly. The body was missing and even though this might mean their own execution they must report what they had seen…or rather had not seen.

 

Only seconds after the soldiers had left the scene,  I saw two apparitions that startled me even more. At first I thought them to be leaves on the morning breeze, yet there was no air stirring. Everything was completely still. In a moment they took on an eerie glow, growing brighter until they were snow white. As I watched, they seemed to flit around the mouth of the tomb for a moment, finally landing on the small ledge on which the body was laid, that had been carved just inside the tomb; one at one end and one at the other. The glow their “bodies” gave off allowed me to see that the body of the man was missing. I could see that the rags he had been bound in for burial were still there. Suddenly the apparitions began to grow in size and their shape began to change until they took on the form of men; men dressed in pure white. They sat there quietly as if waiting for something, or someone.

 

It was then that I began to hear voices approaching in the distance. They were the voices of women. As they approached, I could see they were carrying baskets. I could tell by the aroma that had wafted over to where I stood that the baskets contained some sort of strong herbs or spices,

 

“Who are we going to get to roll the stone back”, one asked

 

“I don’t know, but it would be useless to ask the soldiers for help”, replied the other.

 

As they drew near the tomb, they noticed that the soldiers were gone, and that the stone had been moved. As they leaned over to look inside, they saw the “men” sitting on the ledge.

 

One asked a question, “Why are you looking in the grave for he that lives?” He went on to say, “He is not here anymore, but he has arisen; He is alive! Look in the tomb and see where He used to lay.”

 

The women stood trembling, as if a cold wind had suddenly blown through their souls. It was only a few seconds until the men in white were gone, and they had departed much quicker than they appeared. They were there, and then they were gone!

 

At that moment the women dropped their baskets, turned, then began moving in the direction from which they came; walking at first, but the farther they went the faster they moved, until their gait became a full run. But one remained. She was distraught, that was easy to see. She stood weeping. Suddenly I saw a man standing behind her, asking her why she was weeping so. She answered that someone had come and stolen the body of her Lord and Master. He called her by her name, at which time she made an involuntary movement toward him to fall and touch his feet. He told her not to touch him, at least not at this moment. This seemed to satisfy her. Her tears had been turned to joyous laughter; her sorrow to joy. This could be seen even in her outward expression. A moment later she turned and went the way of the others. When I blinked my eyes, the man was also gone. It was long until, others began to gather at the mouth of the tomb; each one muddled around in what looked like disbelief at what had just occurred.

 

I could only stare at the little cave with bewilderment. My mind began to pour over all those things I had witnessed. Time seemed to be nonexistent. Each event that had taken place was as if it were only seconds ago.

 

It was then that I woke up. It had been only a dream; or had it? I could “remember” all the sights, the sounds, the smells of the events that had just taken place. As the morning shadows grew shorter, the cobwebs began to clear from my mind. I realized that I could never have been there, at least not at “that time”, but there was a time in my life that I was “carried” to that place and by the revelation of the Holy Spirit I came to understand that “He is risen”, and not only has He risen from the tomb, He has ascended to His throne, and has taken His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

 

Sam Everett

The Bible is Timeless

The first words of this glorious old tome were put to parchment over three thousand years ago by a man who spoke with God face to face. His name was Moses. “The Revelation”, which is considered, by many theologians to be the last canonical entry, was written by the Apostle John some twenty centuries ago. Yet today, the Bible remains one of the most printed books in the world.

 

Within its pages lie, not only the recorded history of the biblical ages, but also many of the experiences of our Christian lives in this present time. As Solomon puts it so eloquently, “There is nothing new under the sun”; in other words…there is nothing that we may face today that hasn’t already been witnessed by God’s people in ages past.

 

Let us take into account many of the incidents in our lives today and compare them with the struggles and triumphs of ages past.

 

Are we oft times left distraught over what we consider to be the “hopeless” battles we may be facing? To find strength during these moments of distress, let us travel back to the valley of Elah and look there for the youngest of Jesse. He is not hard to find, for there are only two images on this large open field, and one is dwarfed by the other.  A nine foot tall seasoned warrior of Gath towers over a young shepherd boy. This pagan giant daily curses the true and living God, causing King Saul and his army to cower with fear in their tents. But watch closely as this young man, who with no weapons of warfare in his hand, faces and destroys this Philistine Champion. Look and see as his entire army turns and flees for their lives. Let us listen closely to the words of David only seconds before the titan falls,

 “Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied”.

 

Have we ever felt that crushing sense of loneliness; of being completely isolated? We are not the first to have this impression. Go yonder and peer into the cave where Elijah has hid himself from the wicked Jezebel who is seeking to take his life. God speaks to Elisha and asks why he is there. Elisha tries to make the Lord aware that there is no one left in the land that will stand with him and that he is now alone. The Lord carries Elijah to the top of the mount and after many troubling sights and sounds, He begins to speak softly. Listen intently to what the Lord tells the old prophet?

“Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him”.

 

Does it not often seem that we are overwhelmed by our enemies, with no help on the horizon?  Look to the city of Dothan as the Syrian Army surrounds it borders. They are sent to capture Elisha and bring him to stand in judgment before their king. Despair grips a young servant’s heart as he steps outside the house where he and Elisha have spent the night and looks upon this unsettling sight. As Elisha walks through the door, there is no concern in his eyes, nor dismay in his countenance. He prays a very simple prayer that is immediately answered. Let us listen to Elisha’s words,

 

“LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha”

 

How many of us experience the nagging fear of failure: that terrible feeling that we have let our Lord down. Again, we are not the first.  Let us make a trek back in time to a courtyard outside Pilate’s judgment hall where we find Simon Peter. This “bold” man,  who only hours earlier was so adamant about dying beside his Lord, is now shivering, not only from the cold, but from uncontrollable anxiety.  His fear is so great that we now we hear him cursing and swearing; lying about his acquaintance with the Jesus he loves so much. He has just turned his back on his best friend and is now sobbing with guilt…But wait, we cannot leave him there, let us fast forward a few weeks to the day of Pentecost and there peer into a house within the city where a crowd is gathered. This same Peter is now standing before these Jews of every nation, some of whom demanded the death of his Master. He is reminding them of their crimes against the Messiah. He does this with no concern for his own life or regard as to the status of those to whom he is speaking. Listen closely and we can find that fear is now turned to courage as Peter preaches the Gospel to those who crucified Jesus,

 “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ”.

 

Can we even number the times that we pout about whether or not our Lord still loves us? Let us rehearse the story once more, the narrative of the greatest relationship that has been for all time and shall be through the vastness of eternity; the story of Jesus Christ and His beautiful bride…Let us read of how He chose her, even before the world began. Even though He understood that she would not be faithful, He knew that He always would be.  Even though she would be unfit for marriage to the worst of men, much less to the Holy One of the Heavens, He would take her to himself. He would make her clean.

 

Yes, He chose her and loves her with everlasting, unconditional love; such love that no man can begin to fathom. He chose her while she yet dwelt in the wilderness of sin, and then to prove His love for her, He takes her sin upon Himself and dies for her iniquities upon a cruel Roman cross. Now she is chaste. She is washed pure and white in the blood of her precious Husband. She is the beautiful Church; spotless and undefiled. She is His Bride. She is His Love. She is His Choice.

 

In times of our distress, let us cling to the time honored scriptures, which are documented by a great cloud of witnesses. . Let us look back into their wondrous old accounts and see what lies ahead for us. There we will find the glorious hope that flows down to this world today. There we will find Love, yet indescribable by the human tongue; Love that can only be experienced, yet never put into words. There we can see our lives in events long past.