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62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, 63 saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. 66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. Matthew 27:62-66

Did you know that some farmers burn their fields or if they have extra fields they rotate them and let them rest? Burning the fields clears the field of any waste, it can release nutrients and revitalize the land. That only happens if every piece is in perfect order. If any piece of the puzzle is wrong, the whole thing goes bad. Other farms simply let their land rest. Did you know that’s Biblical? Exodus 23:10-11a tells us ¹⁰ And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: ¹¹ but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still.               

When we discuss this week there isn’t much good in the physical that comes to mind. Yet I keep thinking that for Jesus’ body it was a time of rest. When someone dies what do most people say, rest in peace. We say that because we know there is a rest that comes for your body. The Bible says that God is a spirit. Once Jesus left His earthly shell all that remained was His spirit and that did not have the same marks as His physical body did. This was a time for physical rest for our savior.

The farmers that burn their fields, for lack of a better term, abuse their fields. I mean, come on, they burn them beyond recognition. What, at one time, had beautiful crops standing tall, are burned until there is nothing left. When you drive by a field that has been burnt it looks dead, like it will never come back from that. That is exactly what Christ looked like. He was beaten beyond recognition, His body lay in a tomb, and it looked as though He would never come back. We know that Sunday is on the way, we know that He does rise. We also know that if we live a life that He has called us to live, we too will have our bodies simply resting in the ground while our souls are very much alive. I want my body to rest in peace waiting for the resurrection. I want my body to rise to meet Him in the air and because of what was accomplished on the cross that doesn’t have to just be a want, it can be a reality.

Isaiah 52:13-15, Isaiah 53, Matthew 27:62-66