No One Could Contain the Christ

Have you ever tried to keep something contained that just would not be contained? When I was younger, I owned a German Shepherd dog named Lady that we kept in our backyard. When Lady got older and bigger, she was able to jump our fence and get into the street. In order to keep her contained, we had to buildher a special pen in the backyard. Soon, however, Lady began to dig out from underneath the pen. After we fixed this problem by putting wire along the places where she dug out, Lady began climbing out of the pen. We then put an electric wire up around the top of the pen, but at times,she still was able to get out. It seemed hopeless for us to try to keep her contained.

Have you ever thought about how much effort the Jewish and Roman officials put forth when trying to keep Jesus' body contained in the tomb after His burial? On the day after Jesus' burial, the chief priests and Phari-sees requested that Pilate make the tomb of Jesus "secureuntil the third day lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead'" (Matthew 27:64). Pilate responded by saying, "Make it as secure as you know how" (27:65).

The Jews remembered Jesus' prophecies about how He would rise from the grave after three days, and they were determined to keep His body entombed. They placed a seal on the large stone that was rolled against the door of the tomb to make sure that no one bothered it. [This seal was probably a wax stamp of Roman authority that let everyone know what a serious crime
it would be to tamper with the tomb.] Also, a number
of soldiers were placed outside the tomb in an attempt to keep the body of Jesus contained inside.

Fortunately, for all humanity, those who tried so hard to keep Jesus contained in the tomb failed. Jesus rose from the grave very early on the first day of the week. He defeated death without the help of any earthly friend or foe. Today, Christ Jesus lives on to make our lives better. Let us thank the Father above for His Son Jesus.

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