My brothers. As you both know, patience has never been my strong suit. But all this day, I have had to find myself being patient, as I know everything will happen on His perfect time, not on my own. But knowing His timing is perfect, and me waiting on that perfection to come, is not the easiest thing for me. And it finds me watching the movement of the sun, as I look at this passing day.
Slowly, word has come to me of all that has been going on in Jerusalem. The said, of all people, that Joseph of Arimathea pleaded with Pilate for the body of Jesus(Mark 15:42-47). To think that a prominent member of the Sanhedrin would have the courage to approach Pilate for His body, is hard for me to even believe. But I have been assured it is so. It seems that Joseph was silent as the trial proceeded against Jesus, maybe out of fear, the same as we saw with many of His other followers. But in doing what he did, in going to Pilate, he publicly made his beliefs known. And I have to admit, that took true courage, more courage than we would ever see in most men.
As you and I know well, the Romans would normally just leave the body of one who was crucified up to rot, to be eaten by the birds and the animals. But this being the season of the Feasts, and it being the day before the Sabbath, they would have wanted those bodies down. In what I heard told to me, Joseph had Jesus hurriedly removed from the cross and wrapped Him in a linen before the sun set, and the Sabbath was ready to start. And in doing this, he placed the body of Jesus in his own tomb. To think that a member of the Sanhedrin would make such a sacrifice, to give up his tomb for Jesus, is something I never thought I would hear or see.
From Jerusalem, all the way here to Bethany, you can also hear the buzz that has come since the death of Jesus yesterday. Word has quickly spread of what Jesus has promised, that He will rise again on the third day(Matthew 16:1, Mark 10:34, John 2:19). And each time I hear someone say this, I hear them proclaiming the words of Hosea, words that tell us that the Messiah would be raised up on the third day. Word that I still remember our father teaching us, as they say, “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, that we may live before Him. So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.”(Hosea 6:1-3).
And as myself and so many know these words, the Sanhedrin knows the promise of these words even better. Word has also quickly spread that early this morning many from the Sanhedrin approached Pilate, telling him what Jesus had prophesied would happen, and asking him if he would secure the tomb until the third day(Matthew 27:62-66). To think, these men who claimed to be keepers of the Law, would so easily violate the Sabbath law shows all just how corrupt these vipers are. They claimed to be worried that His disciples might come and steal His body, then proclaiming out loud that Jesus had indeed been raised by the Lord God from the dead, just as He said He would. But the Sanhedrin knows, just like all of us, His disciples are in hiding, afraid to show their faces out of fear that what had happened to Jesus will also happen to them. And the Sanhedrin knows that even if they did take the body, there is nothing they could do with it. What did they expect the disciples to do, hold up a dead body and pretend Him to be alive? To do so will prove nothing!
What the Sanhedrin is really afraid of is that Jesus is right, and He is exactly who He claims to be. Because they all know that if Christ is the Messiah, the power they live each day for would be taken from their hands, and would be placed in His hands, exactly where it forever belongs.
Word has spread quickly that Pilate told them that they could have guards, that they are being given the ability to seal the tomb secure, and protection will be set up around it. Several have told me that as the day passed, Roman troops were stationed at the tomb, and that the tomb was indeed sealed. That they took the traditional Roman precautions, placing rope across the entrance to the tomb, and sealing it with wax on both sides of the doorway. Making it very clear to all who might see it, no one was to entered, as Roman authority had been placed over it. And in seeing this, and the troops stationed at it, no one in Jerusalem would dare come near that tomb.
But I know that what God wills, what the Lord plans, not even Rome can stop(Isaiah 14:27). Just as the Lord had a plan in place yesterday on that cross, I know He will soon reveal to us the plan He has in place for that tomb. Just as His death yesterday fulfilled the sacrifice of the Passover lamb, I know that if He is raised up tomorrow, on the first day of this week and on the Feast day, His resurrection will perfectly fulfill the sacrifice of Firstfruit. And just as the new week begins, we will also see the promise of a new life as we place our trust in Him.
If we watch Jesus come out of that tomb, the nation of Israel will not be able to deny that Jesus is really the Promised Messiah. And just as the Sanhedrin’s cruel and self-centered plan to have Him killed will fall apart, I am sure that Satan will also see his plan fall apart. I cannot help but believe that with the death of Jesus, Satan thought he would end the mission of Jesus, and thwart the Lord’s plans. What a shock it will be to Satan if he soon finds out that the death and resurrection of Jesus was a part of God's plan from the very start, I know that over these past few days He has sure changed my plans, just about as much as He has brought a change to me.
It has been hard today to be patient, but somehow there has been a calm in this anticipation of what is coming next that is unlike anything I have ever experienced before. Father always told us, “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength.”(Isaiah 40:31). Maybe this is what true trust is, and what Jesus was talking about when He told us to have faith. Because if this is faith, I suddenly realize how much more I want of it, my brothers.
Meshach
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