We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and depend on Holy Spirit to guide and direct us…not lies that seek to bring chaos and division. A conspiracy by the Jewish religious Leaders sought to stop the Good News of the Resurrection from reaching the masses.
By planting the seed of distrust many Jews did not believe. God knew this would happen and had already put into action the plan of salvation to the whole world.
The unity of Holy Spirit binds the Body of Christ. We need to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. In our peace the world catches a glimpse of the good news that will change their life.
The Lord is our Rock (Psalm 28:1).
God is our Rock. When our circumstances are uncertain, His steady and faithful hand will hold us as we trust Him.
The Lord is our Shield (Psalm 28:7).
Sometimes we see His protection; other times, He works in ways we cannot see (Isaiah 55:8-9).
The Lord is our Shepherd (Psalm 28:9).
As God's children today, we, too, can trust God's promise to provide everything we need (Philippians 4:19).
God's people are His flock: His most valued possession (John 10:11-18).
Jesus, God's Son, demonstrated this love through His sacrifice on the cross. In this way, the Good Shepherd made way for His flock to live with Him in heaven for eternity. The Lord is our Shepherd, and He guides, protects and provides for His flock now and forever. First5
When I get out of the way of my own thinking, I am at peace.
When I get out of the way of my doing, I am enough.
When I get out of the way of my being, I become all I am;
the Divine expression of God's amazing grace.
ML Gallagher
Matthew 28:12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day. The New King James Version
Jesus commissions His disciples to spread the good news and make disciples throughout the whole earth. Faithlife Study Bible
Besides being a lie, this was a very weak explanation. If a guard was found sleeping at his post or if a prisoner escaped, the guard would be put to death. It may have been possible for one soldier to sleep, but it is highly improbable that all of them slept at the same time. Also, sleeping people do not make good witnesses: If they were asleep, how did they know what happened? Until this day refers specifically to the time of the writing of Matthew’s Gospel; however, this explanation is current even today. The NKJV Study Bible
What wickedness is it which men will not be brought to by the love of money! The priests undertook to secure them from the sword of Pilate, but could not secure these soldiers from the sword of God’s justice, which hangs over the heads of those that love and make a lie. Those men promise more than they can perform, who undertake to save a man harmless in doing a wilful sin.
But this falsehood disproved itself. Had the soldiers been all asleep, they could not have known what passed. If any had been awake, they would have roused the others and prevented the removal; and certainly if they had been asleep, they never would have dared to confess it; while the Jewish rulers would have been the first to call for their punishment. Again, had there been any truth in the report, the rulers would have prosecuted the apostles with severity for it.
The whole shows that the story was entirely false. And we must not charge such things to the weakness of the understanding, but to the wickedness of the heart. God left them to expose their own course. The great argument to prove Christ to be the Son of God, is his resurrection; and none could have more convincing proofs of the truth of that than these soldiers; yet they took bribes to hinder others from believing. The plainest evidence will not affect men, without the work of the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
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