Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
—Matthew 28:1-6b
by: Jo Anne Kandel.
The Roman guards were known for their toughness and for ruthlessly executing the decrees of Roman rulers, but v. 4 reports that they were trembling and became like dead men at the sight of the angel. The stone blocking the tomb is symbolic of the victory of death. However, rolled back with the angel sitting upon it, the stone “becomes the symbol of victory over death” (New Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 673). Likewise, people today feel the crushing weight of sin in life without God. Once men and women come to know Jesus as savior, that weight is lifted by his victory over our sin.