Christian Counseling Service -- Devotions

Devotion -- Easter Monday

Monday, April 5, 1999

Matthew 28: 4,12-15
"The guards were so afraid of (the angel) that they shook and became like dead men. ... the chief priests ... gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, 'You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' ... So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed."

Has anyone made a movie about these guards?

Judas, Barrabas, and even the Roman centurion have been portrayed on the silver screen as uncertain, broken men. What about these guards? They, like all of us, were children of God. Jesus longed to be their brother too.

What does being "touched by an angel" do to a human being? Were they anything other than afraid? Of course, on that morning the guards were afraid. They were afraid of the angel. But what about later, at lunch, during the afternoon, as evening came ... I wonder what they were saying to their families and friends. By then perhaps they were afraid for their jobs or even, their lives.

After they told the priests, they decided to accept the lie and make it their own. How could they choose such a mortal path so quickly after their brush with the eternal?

I guess we do it all the time. We are struck dumb and awed by God's touch, beautiful or terrible that it might be, and usually within hours (or sooner) we are hungry, sleepy, afraid, toiling on "the mortal coil." Perhaps the guards were no different, called once again to the rigors of their daily life.

God's offer: to stay within ourselves long enough to find Him there, to acknowledge his power and presence, finally to make a public leap into another life.

Which call is the strongest? That question is what makes those movies about Barrabas and others so gripping. It's a question we answer one way or another every day of our lives.

Devotions Archive

Devotion -- Easter Monday

Monday, April 5, 1999