Date: April 13, 2020 ()

Bible Text: First Reading ACTS 2:14, 22-33; Gospel: MT 28:8-15 |

Series:

“Believe and thou shalt not bear false witness.”

One of my favorite hero characters, when I was a kid, was Conan, the Barbarian. He was born on a battlefield and is the son of a village blacksmith. Conan matured quickly as a youth and, by age fifteen, he was already a respected warrior. With his incredible strength, he was able to save himself from captivity and made a heroic comeback against His monstrous enemies.

People in Jesus’ time often would like to imagine the Messiah as a warrior. That is why it was a deep frustration on their part when they saw the Messiah hung on the cross totally powerless. In the passion account, we hear some passers-by mock Jesus saying: "He saved others…but he can't save himself! He's the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.”

We could only marvel at a hero’s physical strength and perhaps even some of his disciples might have wished Jesus were like those who fought to topple down the kings and emperors.

But, if the battle is measured by how beastly one could be at war, Jesus would have no need to come down and live with us. God would only have to continue sending us kings and judges and the semblance of Conan with incredible strength and tactics to deliver and govern his people.

But the greatest enemy is not Goliath, or a tyrant, or an emperor. Sin and death are! No Conan is ever more powerful than death. Every one trembles and succumbs to death’s horrible sting.

But not anymore! The question “why was the Messiah crucified?” is now answered in the most excellent way - because the Messiah would only have to figure out and defeat what the strongest man on earth cannot. Jesus dismantled death’s horror by the power of resurrection.

But here’s another deception by the devil. The chief priests assembled with the elders and took counsel; then they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him while we were asleep.’

Our gospel challenge today is: “Believe and thou shalt not bear false witness.”