Protecting Old Assumptions Against God's New World
Daily Scripture
Matthew 28:11-15
11 Now as the women were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and told the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 They met with the elders and decided to give a large sum of money to the soldiers. 13 They told them, “Say that Jesus’ disciples came at night and stole his body while you were sleeping. 14 And if the governor hears about this, we will take care of it with him so you will have nothing to worry about.” 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were told. And this report has spread throughout all Judea to this very day.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
This report of the plot to falsely deny Jesus’ resurrection was unique to Matthew. One scholar noted, “The guards’ report is not very plausible. Tomb robbers were not common in Judea, but when they did strike they looted goods, not bodies. Guards would not sleep through the commotion of rolling away the stone, and guards who slept on duty faced severe penalties—in a case like this, potentially death.” * The religious leaders’ desperate cover-up showed they knew what was at stake: Jesus’ resurrection meant their old world was ending and God’s new world was breaking in.
- The Jerusalem powers—both Judean and Roman—saw Jesus as a threat. He claimed greater authority than theirs and said God’s world works on self-giving love, not brute force and blind tradition. The crucifixion was their effort to end that threat. If Jesus was alive again, all their assumptions were shattered. When have you seen people—in a company, community, or church—struggle to protect old assumptions that were no longer true? What made letting go of those assumptions so threatening?
- The rulers who bribed the soldiers were the first to deny Jesus’ resurrection, but hardly the last. It’s not enough to keep the resurrection abstractly “long ago.” Scholar N. T. Wright said believers “also need… to be sure that they are allowing the resurrection to blow constantly like a fresh breeze through their own lives, thoughts and imaginations. There’s no point defending and explaining God’s new world if you’re still living in the old one yourself.” ** How does your thinking, relating to others, or making choices show that you’re living in God’s new world, not the old one?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, the frightened rulers understood that your resurrection meant God was ending the “business as usual” they wanted to preserve. Blow that fresh breeze through my thinking and assumptions as well. Help me truly live in your new world. Amen.
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GPS Insights
Melanie Hill
Melanie Hill, who serves as the Director of Operations at Resurrection's West location, wrote today’s Insights. She is a Navy mom and mom of three teen daughters, a wife of 24 years, and an avid fan of nachos.
I’ve always had a complicated relationship with change. As someone who inherently craves stability and finds comfort in routine, change has a way of upending my world. Just when I finally feel settled and comfortable—BAM!—the tide turns. It happens often enough that it feels like the only true constant in my life is change itself.
I think most of us navigate a love-hate relationship with shifting seasons. Even the most joyous occasions usher in a certain level of upheaval. Next month, our oldest child will graduate from the Naval Academy with a commission as an officer in the Navy—an achievement we are incredibly proud of. But the milestones don’t stop there; he is also recently engaged to an amazing young woman we already adore. As a parent, I am watching my son do all the things we hoped and prayed for when he was young. He is conquering hard things, becoming the man we knew he could be, and preparing to forge his own family.
While my heart is full, my head is reeling. The logistics of “what’s next” bring a flurry of daunting questions:
· How do I parent a young adult transitioning into this independent phase of life?
· How do I build a healthy, warm relationship with my future daughter-in-law and her family?
· And perhaps the scariest of all: How do I stand on the shore and wave goodbye to my son as he sails potentially into harm’s way?
Change is undeniably hard, but it is also the bridge to transformation. I’ve been reflecting on this while reading Matthew 28:11–15. In the wake of the Resurrection, the Jewish leaders were working overtime to maintain the status quo. They were desperate to hold onto what was, even in the face of a miracle. It’s easy to forget that many people were deeply reluctant to embrace the seismic shift the Resurrection brought.
Having just celebrated Easter, we often view the empty tomb through a lens of pure joy. But Matthew reminds us that not everyone embraced it. Even those closest to Jesus were sometimes lukewarm or hesitant. It shouldn’t be a shock that they struggled to fully step into the new normal of a risen Christ.
After all, don’t we all struggle when the world we knew shifts beneath our feet? We cannot have the glory of the Resurrection without the total disruption of the grave. Whether it’s a son heading to sea or a stone being rolled away, change is the messy, necessary requirement for growth. Let’s commit to being a people who don’t just endure change, but embrace the transformation it brings. Whether you are standing on a literal shore or a metaphorical one, remember that we do not wave goodbye alone.
© 2026 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Craig Keener, comment on Matthew 28:13 in Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (p. 8948). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
** Wright, N. T., Matthew for Everyone, Part 2: Chapters 16-28 (The New Testament for Everyone) (p. 203). Westminster John Knox Press. Kindle Edition.
