Matthew 27:62 English Standard Version

The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate.

Matthew 6:34 English Standard Version (ESV) “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Jesus tells us not to be anxious about tomorrow. What is not said in this comment is what to do about tomorrow. Tomorrow is “the next day after we have prepared ourselves. Here is our lesson from the Pharisees about how they acted on the morrow.

They went about preparing to serve God as instructed by God’s Word. They had a service to perform but rather than performing in obedience of faith, they sought to save their position in the world by going to a worldly authority to help them secure their position.

When we read commentaries about their actions we will discover a number of selfish reasons for their failure to perform their duties which they had done in preparation for that day.

Each day we spend in preparation for tomorrow. We can find our duty in the Word or we can find our duty in the world. Duty to His Word is faith, duty to the world is fear.

The best way to combat anxiety about tomorrow is to prepare for it in God’s Word.

Being prepared comes first but does not mean we will act according to His will. In this we must accept that the first requirement for a loving relationship is commitment. Following through on our commitments is the only real test of our love for anyone, man, beast or God.

That which is placed under our care by God is part of our commitment to God.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another:”

Psalm 139:1-6 English Standard Version

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

3 You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

5 You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Who doesn’t like a good mystery? I cannot say, I am not one of them that can just let go of a good mystery. I am built that way and I am not alone. Not everyone is built this way and this may not help some who are about to read this thesis.

2 Corinthians 8:7 English Standard Version (ESV) But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you[a]—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Footnote [a] Some manuscripts in your love for us

It is easy to get caught up in searching out the deeper things of God. There are thousands of years of documentation of Godly pursuit of knowledge. Paul, as Saul, studied under Gamaliel who was thought to be a leading scholar of his time.  Paul went beyond Gamaliel in knowledge of God and there can be a point in a diligent student’s life when they seek more than what their teacher has to offer.

The student exceeds the master. Pride masked in yearning for truth.

John 3:1-3 English Standard Version

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus answered Nicodemus but Nick did not ask a question. Jesus looked into his heart, knew what was bothering him and answered that question. Jesus has all the answers.

Some of us can get so caught up in being “the answer man”, the one that everyone turns to for answers, that we lose sight of Paul’s warning. We need to excel in grace.

Know-it-alls answer questions that haven’t been asked. That does not make us like Christ.