What a Passover! No, I wouldn't say I understand all these Jewish feasts. I've been in the Roman guard here in Jerusalem for just over two years now.
I know that they call the seventh day the Sabbath - their holy rest day - that was "lesson one" and we dare not forget it! By now, I know the names of their feasts, but don't really understand what they're all about! I haven't cared so much, really. My time will come to an end and they will post us somewhere else in the Empire. I'm here to do my duty - that's it, really! I'm under orders! I do what I'm told!
What a Passover! I've said that already, haven't I? But things turned out rather differently from the other two I've been here for.
The difference was the coming of the Teacher from Galilee - Jesus of Nazareth. Rode into the city on a young donkey a week ago. Bit of a crowd gathered round him. They were singing and shouting - all the pilgrims do. We didn't take much notice. No threat to the pax Romana in this man, we thought.
It was the Jewish leaders who thought they perceived a threat. Don't know why. These Jews - especially their leaders - get rather fidgety at times. They say a new leader will arise sometime, so our commander told us. "Messiah" is their name for him. We keep our eye out for that sort of thing. There must be no king but Caesar!
Don't get me wrong - we did keep an eye on Jesus. We have a tower that overlooks the Temple courtyard and we could see him down there teaching the people. No signs of rebellion or political activity at all. Just teaching - the people seemed attracted to him.
That's probably what got at the Jewish leaders. A few days later they march him up to the Governor and say, "Bad criminal here, sir - says he's the King of the Jews!" Pilate's not been the best Governor over here, they tell me. But he's no fool, either. He could see there was nothing political about this Jesus. Pure jealousy! Nation would be a lot better if they would support whatever sort of King he is! No! I have to admit it - there seem to be some very noble things about the Jewish religion, but I've not formed a very good opinion of the present leaders!
As I said, Pilate's not been the best of Governors, and this was his weak moment. He examined the man, said he was innocent and then didn't do the honest thing and release him. He sensed controversy and wanted the people to decide for him - probably thought that, with a choice between Jesus and that notorious fellow Barabbas, Jesus would get their vote for sure. But no, they called out for Barabbas - they wanted Jesus crucified.
The oddest business this, but we did our job as well as we could. Offered him a special mixture to ease the pain - but he refused it! We all got bits of his clothing - that's one of the bonuses of this grisly job. One of my mates got his cloak - we cast lots for that because it was all woven in one piece.
You know, Pilate got his own back on those Jewish leaders. He got us to nail up the accusation, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews". They didn't like that at all!
Funny day - bit of an earthquake, dark sky… There was something about the man and how he died - our commander said he must be the Son of God.
Then a man came with his friend. He had written authority from Pilate to take down the body. The evening is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath and the bodies must all be down by then.
Soon a few of the Jewish leaders came along. They had a written authority too - for us! We couldn't go off duty after all. We were to go to the tomb, supervise the burial, seal the tomb and keep watch.
Keep watch? I thought to myself. They're really taking care of this one - must think he's going to escape or something!
And that wasn't far off the mark! Jesus must have said something about rising from the dead on the third day. These Jewish leaders thought his disciples might want to make it look as if a resurrection had happened!
Not likely, I thought. Crucifixion is a cruel thing to watch. The sight of it can knock out of you all the energy you've got. After watching that, there's no way anyone would try to stage a resurrection. In any case, the stone is heavy. It is held at the top of a gentle slope with a chock. When the chock is knocked out, the stone rolls down into place and stays there. It would take at least twelve strong men to shift it - even then with difficulty. I hear there are only eleven disciples of Jesus left - not many of them used to hard work. Then there's this rich man and his friend - but they didn't look like outdoor types.
So we watched the body in and the stone rolled into place. We put a big leather strap around the stone and sealed it to the rock with the Governor's seal. It seemed so ridiculous - we have never had to do that before. But then - we are men of duty and always do what we are told.
We were tired, of course, but we have our routines so that a watch is always kept, even if one or two of us at a time need sleep.
Nothing at all happened on the Sabbath day. A few whispers were going around, of course. For three-and-a-half years Jesus had taught and, so they say, healed the sick as well. This was mainly up north in Galilee. The Jewish leaders were relieved to have Jesus out of the way, but quite a number of the common people were very distressed, not knowing what to make of it.
It was early on the first day of the week that it happened - the body of Jesus disappeared! You're wondering how that happened? Quite simple - his disciples stole it! Don't expect too much more detail from me. I am a man under orders - I only do what I'm told.
I just don't know the whole story anyway! But I can verify this - the body was there when we sealed the tomb and on the first day of the week it was gone!
Look, I don't want to tell you too much or I might get into trouble. I was on duty early Sunday morning. I saw two women coming towards the tomb. They were some of the ones weeping near the cross - close friends, I'd say. They were carrying small boxes - probably spices, because the embalming wasn't complete. I could see that they were hoping to gain entry to the tomb.
We're soldiers - duty and all that - but I felt sorry for them. I mean, there's no way we could get them in without a good few more hands! Then there was a flash of light - and I must have fallen over and then dropped asleep! You think there was an earthquake? You felt an earthquake? It woke you up, you say?
No, I can't comment on that. I have no memory of an earthquake. No, we fell asleep! When we came to, the two women were about to leave.
We saw that the stone had been rolled back and chocked. We saw that the body had gone and realised that the disciples must have stolen the body. Really odd, it was. The leather strap was just snapped. No signs of the struggle it must have taken to push back the stone. And the grave clothes - lying as if the body had just disappeared out of them! Rather spooky to see - very cleverly done, really, if they're the ones who did it - and who else?
That's our story and we're sticking to it. We are men of duty and always do what we are told.
We are under our Roman Commander, of course, but the event was so odd we thought it worth our while to tell the Jewish leaders first. They confirmed that the disciples must have stolen the body while we were asleep. So that's it!
There's another reason why we needed their support. Sleeping on duty is bad - "death penalty" stuff. Don't worry, they said, we'll fix it with the Governor!
Well, that's the story the way I tell it. The disciples stole the body - so this Jesus movement won't last. I mean to say, if my Commander had been right, if this Jesus truly had been the Son of God… Just suppose Jesus had come alive… That would be revolutionary - for Romans as well as Jews!
It would mean that this Jesus was all the things he claimed to be. And it might mean something special about his dying too - because, when we crucify, we fix them properly - no one ever revives, no one ever comes back to life! No, it's just too hard to think about.
Do you know one of the things he said on the cross? "Father, forgive them - they don't know what they are doing!" Was that for us, or for the Jews?
A strange business! Perhaps there was something special about his dying. It was certainly different. And - there's no question that he died!
I don't know - I wish I could just forget about it all, go for a holiday on Lake Galilee and get on with life. His disciples stole the body while we were asleep. So there's an end to the matter. I'm a man of duty and do what I'm told.
I don't like being in debt to these crafty Jewish leaders. But, as for this Jesus movement, we'll see!
"The disciples stole the body while we were asleep"? From every point of view that's the most unlikely story. But to admit that Jesus really is alive would mean far more than a loss of face for the Jewish leadership. As the guard put it, "if my Commander had been right, if this Jesus truly had been the Son of God… Just suppose Jesus had come alive… That would be revolutionary - for Romans as well as Jews!"
Jesus is alive all right! Trust him as your Saviour! Acknowledge him as your Lord! Know him as your Friend!
Back to Sermons