62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
“Bush lied and people died!”
Few things get me more irritated than this tired old saw. Mostly, because in jumping to an unwarranted conclusion, it levels very serious allegations of misconduct. It doesn’t stop unscrupulous people from raising the allegation, however.
More precisely...”Bush was wrong”.
Mind you, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask questions or be skeptical. We always have a right to pursue truth. What we don’t have a right to do is assume we can read what is in the heart of another.
This is more than simple semantics. We can be wrong without being fraudulent. Deception is “intent” to fraud. It’s hard to prove because we have to be able to determine motive. Which is why we should be very careful about calling anybody a liar.
So this brings me to the Pharisees… I understand imputing motives serves to strengthen their own position. It’s still wrong.
The purpose for requesting a guard at the tomb was predicated on the claim that Jesus was a deceiver…so he most likely would perpetuate his fraudulent claims of Messiahship by having his disciples steal his body. The most offensive thing about this is the implication that they knew the heart of Jesus and found it filled with deceit. We know both to be untrue.
The relationship Jesus had with the Pharisees is instructive. Everything Jesus said was assumed to be a lie by the Pharisees…even when miracles served to prove Christ’s claims. This can strain the best of relationships.
Some people simply don’t want to believe…
Our relationships are far more subtle, but we know the dynamic holds true. At some point we have to trust the other person if the relationship is to survive. As in…our relationship with Jesus. The old song says “Every promise in the book is mine” (which means “every promise”). When I don’t live that way I’m either calling Jesus a liar or I’m saying I don’t trust his judgment.
Much like the Pharisees.
Live boldly out there today…
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