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Grand Resurrection
47
am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your
God.’”
John 20:1-17
.
The hours of Saturday night passed silently until the darkest time
of all, just before dawn. And all the while, Jesus lay as a prisoner
of death in the grave. The great stone stood firmly in its place, the
Roman seal remained unbroken, and the Roman guards continued
on duty. Suddenly a great earthquake shook the land at the approach
of an angel from heaven, surrounded by God’s glory. All the soldiers
fell to the ground as if they were dead.
The guards saw Rome’s official seal to the tomb shattered as the
angel rolled away the heavy stone as if it were a pebble. Then they
heard the angel speak at the entrance to the cave: “Son of God, come
out! Your Father calls You.” Immediately Jesus rose, walked out of
the grave, and proclaimed, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
Through the reeling of the earth, the flashing of lightning, and
the roaring of thunder, the eyes of the soldiers remained riveted on
Christ’s radiant face. Was this the One they had seen standing as an
unresisting prisoner in the judgment hall before Pilate and Herod?
the One for whom they’d made a crown of thorns? the One whose
back had been lacerated with a scourge? the One they had nailed to
the cross? the One they had mocked? the One the priests taunted,
wagging their heads as they said, “He saved others; he cannot save
himself.”
Matthew 27:42
[59]
Now in awe and fear, they knew that nothing could hold Him
prisoner of death. If they had piled mountains upon mountains over
His grave, He would still have come out alive!
As the glory of the angels vanished in the first glimmerings of
dawn, the soldiers struggled to their feet, stumbling like drunks, and
headed into Jerusalem, telling the news to everyone they met. As
they were making their way to Pilate, the report came to the Jewish
authorities, and the chief priests sent for the soldiers to be brought
to them first.
Still trembling from the events at the grave, their faces still
colorless, the Roman guards testified convincingly that Jesus had
been raised from the dead. They told the whole story exactly as
they had witnessed it. There had been no time or motivation to
speak anything but the truth. As the priests listened, their faces went
deathly pale. Caiaphas tried to speak. His lips moved, but no sound
