Guard Duty
Matthew 28:1-10
There
is a small detail in Matthew’s telling of the Resurrection Story that often
escapes attention. It is tucked away in
verse 4: “For fear of him the guards
shook and became like dead men.”
How
ironic it is that Roman guards—placed there to eliminate any chance of the
disciples stealing the body of Jesus and then claiming resurrection (Matthew 27:62-66)—actually become the
only first-hand witnesses on record to the resurrection. In a further ironic twist, the religious
leaders end up bribing some of the soldiers to get them to spread a story that
the disciples had come in the dark of night to do exactly what the Roman
soldiers had been placed on guard duty to prevent (Matthew 28:11-15). Never
mind that the soldiers in question would have to admit that they had fallen
asleep at their post. It seems a rather
strange tail. That shows the length that
fear and deception will drive us.
But
think about the experience that those guards went through. To be there on the scene when the angel of
the Lord came and rolled back the stone.
“His appearance was like lightening, and his clothing white as snow” (v. 3).
Who
has lived to witness such an event and survived to tell the tale! But they were conflicted—conflicted by their
loyalty to the emperor, their interest in self-preservation, and their own
personal greed that was fed by the bribes offered by the religious
leaders. They may have been scared to
death by the event that they witnessed, but in a spiritual way, they had died
long before.
The
angel took on the duty of standing watch at the tomb and of greeting the two
women that came at daybreak to grieve.
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid.” In contrast to the soldiers, the angel told
the women to not be afraid, and proclaimed the message that echoes throughout
the intervening centuries: “He is not
here; for he has been raised, as he said.”
(v. 6). The angel invited the women to see for
themselves—the tomb was empty. He commissioned
the women as the first evangelists—“Go and tell his disciples.”
The
women reacted very differently than the guards.
They were left, running with “fear” but also running “with great joy” (v. 8).
They now were on guard duty, but of a very different kind. We often think of “guards” as keeping someone
closed up, in prison. But it also can
mean a relationship of trust, a duty of care.
In this sense of the word, the guard becomes a custodian. The women now had custody of the Good News of
the Resurrection. They were entrusted to
deliver the news to the disciples, together with the instruction to go on to
Galilee to meet the Risen Lord. They
followed the angel’s direction and left, bearing the news that they had
received from the angel. On their way,
they encountered the Risen Christ—Jesus himself met them and greeted them.
Their
news was no longer a second-hand report; they now had first-hand information
that Christ was alive! No more hearsay
evidence for them. The news that they
carried was their own first-hand report.
The Risen Christ was direct proof that God had power over death
itself. That was the news that they
guarded with their lives, with their witness, as they ran to meet the disciples.
Since
that first Easter morning, the news of the Resurrection has been handed down
from generation to generation, announcing at the break of dawn that Christ is
Risen. We who are present this morning
are the custodians of that news. What
will we do with the news that has been entrusted into our care?
Will
we, like the Roman guards be paralyzed with fear? Or will our testimony be corrupted by a world
that can’t see the Risen Lord?
Will
we, like the women, react with a mixture of fear and joy—fearing that it is too
good to be true and yet too good to keep to ourselves?
But
the biggest question of all: will we be
open and alert to the many ways that the Resurrected Christ meets us on our
journey? Will we permit our spiritual
eyes to be opened, giving us the vision to see what the world cannot? And how will we respond? Will we, like Mary Magdalene and the “other
Mary” fall at his feet, take hold of his feet, and worship him?
We
are on guard duty this morning with the greatest news that the world has ever
heard. Christ is alive! He is alive in you, and He is alive in me! We are custodians with this news. What will you do with the news? Let’s spread the word! Alleluia!
Copyright
© 2014 by Thomas E. Frost. All rights
reserved.
[1]
Preached at Sunrise Service on Easter Sunday at Cunningham United Methodist
Church in Palmyra, Virginia.
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