In Matthew 27:64-66 we find the word “sure” (meaning certain) three times:
“Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure.” “Make it as sure as you can.” “So they went, and made the sepulchre sure.”
The repeated claim by some that Christianity is “dead and buried” masks a hidden uncertainty, which is that “as sure as sure can be” may not be sure enough; that every new believer, every life transformed, is proof that “Christ has risen indeed.”
If some are “as sure as sure can be” that the age of miracles is past, how come they’re happening today everywhere in the world? If they are “as sure as sure can be” that God doesn’t heal the sick today, those who pray for the sick and unprejudiced physicians know different. If they are “as sure as sure can be” that the gifts of the Holy Spirit were only for believers who lived in the time of the Book of Acts, there are at least half a billion believers around the world whose experience proves otherwise.
For as sure as Christ rose from the dead, nothing has been able to prevent countless people from experiencing the power of God. Expressing itself in countless forms and cultures, the Church (by whatever name) is growing at an amazing rate, and is spreading the message of Christ everywhere.
Imagine this Jerusalem scene: the church is filled with holy fear because of God’s judgement on Ananias and Sapphira. Signs and wonders are taking place throughout the city, as the apostles lay hands on the sick. No man dares associate with the apostles, who nevertheless are praised by those who throng to hear the message of Jesus. So expectant are many that Peter’s shadow becomes their hope of healing, and they are laid on stretchers along the streets. As well, word has spread far and wide, and crowds stream into the city, bringing more sick and suffering. All are healed! People gather excitedly, as Jerusalem buzzes with talk of Christ’s resurrection! (Acts 5:1-23)
Arresting the apostles, the high priest has them thrown in prison. A Sadducee himself, he believes in no kind of resurrection – much less that of Jesus, a man he’d seen crucified!
This preaching of the raising of the dead must be stopped! So the apostles are locked up securely. How sure are the Sadducees that prison will prevent the apostles from preaching? As sure as sure can be!
But there’s more to the message than what they’ve preached, so during the night, the angel of the Lord opens the prison doors, escorts them out, and tells them not to stop till they’ve preached it all! In the morning, they are found back in the temple, teaching the message of the risen Christ. The prison cell could no more hold them than death could hold Jesus! “It was not possible that He could be held by it.” (Acts 2:24) To the Sadducees, the empty cell was an uneasy reminder of Christ’s empty tomb.
The “Sadducee spirit” reveals itself in the attitude that nothing that has “died” – a shattered life, a sick body – can ever be restored. The ‘stone’ of Sadducee certainty was rolled away by the angel of the Lord – not to let Jesus out but to let His disciples in! Their message: “He is not here – He is risen!” Modern-day Sadducees may not like it, but Christ’s resurrection proves that what has died can certainly live again!
How sure are we of this? “As sure as sure can be”? More certain than that! As certain as the fact that the stone was rolled away, leaving an empty tomb. Christ has risen, indeed, and although Christians are “in the world” it’s no longer our birthplace – we’re “born from above.” (John 3:3) We have a new kind of life, a new level of living, a new authority in life.
So, what’s holding you down? If you haven’t yet given your life to Jesus Christ, do it now. Say this simple prayer, with all your heart:
“Dear God, with deep sorrow I acknowledge my sin. Please forgive me, because Jesus died for me. Thank you.”