Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 51 – 53

• Certainly one of the strangest couple of statements in all of scripture. We don’t really know anything more about this event because no one else mentions it at all.  Not any other Gospel, not Paul, not Jude (even in the midst of the creepy stuff he talks about)!  So all we can do is take it at face value and move on.

Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 54 – 61

• I love this squad, this cast of characters. First, we have Matthew talking about a totally spooky scene…that the dead somehow come out of the graves…and although the timing of that is at the resurrection (which hasn’t happened yet), that eerie account actually goes well with this squad.  Why?  Because the rough and hardened soldier, the centurion comes to life.  He joins women like Mary Magdalene, the formerly demon-possessed woman who followed Jesus from Galilee.  Joseph of Arimathea…
• According to Luke Chapter 23 he was a member of the Sanhedrin, the group who called for Jesus’ crucifixion AND he was a very wealthy man…hold that thought. His buddy Nicodemus, confused and confrontational, conflicted and cowardly, coming to Jesus under the cover of night so as to not be discovered in John Chapter 3…Jesus had repaired all of them!
• Restored them all, settled all of them and in that peace and power, they are now all one association. It is amazing, simply amazing, that the power of the touch of Jesus on a heart will always manifest itself in people of all different types, backgrounds and bents becoming family.  Gentile killer (the centurion), demon-possessed prostitute (Mary Magdalene), harsh religious elitist (Joseph of Arimathea) and even the fearful (Nicodemus)…
• The body of Christ, like the body of Christ actually being the body, should be unifying! Look at this cast of characters!  Proverbs 6 talks about things the Lord hates and among the list is one who sows discord among brethren.  Do you think a week before the cross Joseph of Arimathea would have been anywhere near Mary Magdalene?  But now they are rallied around what Jesus has done! 
• Divisiveness, negativity, ill will, insult and all the like is not permissible within the body of Christ. That’s just all there is to it.  But know this…it is SO easy.  You know what’s hard?  Unifying…gluing…bringing crazy different freaky and fault-ful people together…but here’s the shocker, each of you has the ability, capability and power to do it…what you lack is the worship!
• Here’s your task, starting tomorrow because I can bet that many can’t start today…because it’s already happened…but do this tomorrow…say nothing negative, nothing…, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.” (Oh church, have we forgotten that commandment?  That love thy neighbor thing, yea I really meant that!  HA!)  And at the end of the day, put a little mark somewhere, perhaps on your fridge to show you did it…and then do it the next day and the next…in no time at all you know what will change drastically?  YOU!
• Your attitude, your mood, your mannerisms, your heart, man…if you’re not imparting grace then you are DEPARTING it when you divide the body…and division of the body begins in the abundance of our dark hearts and our mouths simply sell us out!
• A story is told of a couple in marriage counseling and after months of session after session they just were getting nowhere…they just couldn’t see past each other’s It was so seemingly hopeless that they were heading for a split.  And so the pastor told them look, one last thing to try, for the next 2 weeks I want you both to complement each other every day and for the next 2 weeks I want you to not say anything negative in front of or about each other. 
• Sincerely do this…they agreed and he sent them away…they never returned…they killed each other…HA! NO just kidding…they never returned to counseling!  Their hearts slowly changed…healed…got back in line with the heart of God who said “Father, forgive them!  They are SO in sin but they are SO in need!”  Their hearts changed, their faces changed, their affections changed…and it all began with attacking their own divisive hearts!  If you are divisive, defensive, negative, critical and condescending…that ain’t Jesus in you…He brings all kinds of creeps into communication and companionship and complete peace!!
• Back to the scene. Jesus is buried and He is buried by Josepth of Arimathea, a rich man.  Can you be wealthy and be a disciple of Jesus Christ?  Absolutely!  And here’s the thing…this guy wasn’t just wealthy, he was crazy rich!  He had a tomb carved out of the side of a mountain!  I mean, talk about a non-essential!  BUT, notice when it came to the Lord, he gave it to Jesus!  If you have a lot, if you are wealthy, is that a good thing?  Well, is it yours or is it His?  Ultimately rich or poor, a lot or a little, no difference to the Lord…I mean come on…you’re either filthy rich or dirt poor, HA!  Pretty much the same thing…but do you honor the Lord with what you have…that’s the real question.

Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 62 – 63

• Isn’t that just interesting!? Back in Chapter 26, the false accusations against Jesus, one of them was that He would destroy the temple of God and build it again in three days…and they all looked at Him sideways and ridiculed Him…well here it is…they knew the whole time what He was saying.  Isn’t that just interesting…folks can hear, they can even understand, but the truth is, they choose not to believe Jesus…is that your heart towards Jesus?  To you, is He just a deceiver!?  WOW…
• And notice this…look at their statement to Pilate…, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive…” What does that mean?  He is dead.  That’s important because there are numerous heretical thoughts out there including what’s called the “Swoon Theory” that ultimately attempt to explain away the resurrection…but listen, without the resurrection then all is lost…and the truth of the account is that even the enemies of Jesus admitted, stated, witnessed Him dead…
• A funny letter was written to a Christian Magazine on this topic…Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered
• Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus. HA!!

Matthew Chapter 27 Verse 64 

• They’re not afraid of the disciples! They had all scattered.  They’re not afraid of the body of Jesus being stolen!  If the body was stolen and the disciples began to proclaim that He had risen from the dead, what are they going to do?  Prop Him up with strings Weekend at Bernie style!?  Leave Him hidden!?  No one would believe them!
• He is risen? Where is He then?  What they were really afraid of is what if Jesus is the Truth!?  They were really afraid of Him doing exactly what He said He would do…and that fear…which is still prevalent today…there is no quenching it…seal all you want…guard all you want…If Jesus is the Savior then there’s nothing that can stop Him from fulfilling His Word!

Matthew Chapter 27 Verses 65 – 66

• This isn’t Pilate sending them away empty handed…this is him giving them a guard…they did have a way to guard the tomb themselves and they wouldn’t need permission for that…they wanted a Roman guard…the threat of death…and they got it…which, in the end, served to only make that much more certain that God raised Himself from the grave! The tomb was so well guarded that it can be certain that the body wasn’t simply stolen…way to go chief priests…thank you!  HA!
• And I love this…the stone speaks of a material obstacle…the seal speaks of a personal obstacle…the guard speaks of a societal, governmental obstacle…but nothing, nothing can contain or constrict the power of the Lord!