When the chief priests and elders heard that the body of Jesus was no longer present in the tomb, they did not consider the Scripture which prophesied that the Messiah would not undergo corruption (Ps 16:10). Sadly, they hastened headlong into corruption through acts of bribery. They diverted money donated for the worship of God into financing a strategy of lies that opposed the Kingdom of God (Mt 28:11ff).
The chief priests were well aware that God sent a flood upon the earth specifically because He "saw how corrupt the earth had become" (Gn 6:12). The psalmist observed, "Such [people] are corrupt; they do abominable deeds" (Ps 14:1). The prophet Zephaniah's comment applies well: " ‘Surely now you will fear Me, you will accept correction'; [Jerusalem] should not fail to see all I have visited upon her. Yet all the more eagerly have they done all their corrupt deeds" (Zep 3:7).
The chief priests and elders, whom God expected to be incorruptible, became completely corrupt! They were not for Jesus, and they ended up turning against Him (see Mt 12:30). "To His own [Jesus] came, yet His own did not accept Him" (Jn 1:11).
As we begin the fifty-day season of Easter, where do you stand? Are you falling into more corrupt behavior? If so, change your lifestyle. "Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Cor 15:33). Corruption does not inherit incorruption (1 Cor 15:50). If there is anything sinful or corrupt in you, repent! Let Jesus, risen in power, cleanse your mind, soul and body.
| PRAYER: | Father, help me to fix my eyes on the Resurrection of Jesus, to keep me from undergoing corruption. |
| PROMISE: | "Apart from You I have no good." –Ps 16:2 |
| PRAISE: | "This is the Jesus God has raised up, and we are His witnesses" (Acts 2:32). Alleluia! |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College