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b'\\u201cGlad that business is over,\\u201d Lucius said as he tapped the base of his\\nspear against the huge stone in front of the tomb.\\n.\\nJustin nodded in agreement. \\u201cI just hope it doesn\\u2019t cause a revolt or\\nsomething,\\u201d he said quietly so the other guards stationed nearby wouldn\\u2019t\\noverhear.\\n.\\n\\u201cNah,\\u201d Lucius replied. \\u201cDid you see how many Jews were at the crucifixion?\\nYet only a handful of them wept. Most were screaming, \\u2018Crucify him! Crucify\\nhim!\\u2019 I don\\u2019t think the Jews are going to cause any trouble over this.\\nTheir leaders were the ones who brought him to Pontius Pilate to be\\ncrucified, after all.\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cThen why are we here?\\u201d asked Justin. \\u201cWhy have this many soldiers guarding\\nthe sealed tomb of a man crucified as a criminal by his own people? It\\nmakes no sense.\\u201d \\n.\\nLucius shrugged. \\u201cSome of the Jewish leaders are afraid his followers will\\ntry to steal the body\\u2014something about a prophecy he made about rising from\\nthe dead. But trust me, no one\\u2019s getting through this.\\u201d Lucius patted the\\nheavy stone, then nodded toward the other soldiers. \\u201cOr us. Anyway, they\\nsay his followers scattered when he was arrested. Why would they risk it\\nall now for someone who\\u2019s already dead?\\u201d\\n.\\nJustin let out a breath. Maybe it wasn\\u2019t so bad. Even though standing guard\\noutside a tomb still required his full attention\\u2014every Roman soldier knew\\nthat failing to fulfill his duty meant pain of death\\u2014he could still think\\nof it as a break. No breaking up fights in the street or kicking beggars\\nout of sight so prominent Romans didn\\u2019t have to look at them as they passed\\nby. He could breathe the fresh air and listen to the breeze whispering\\nthrough the trees\\u2014\\n.\\nJustin\\u2019s thoughts were interrupted as heat and light seared through every\\npart of him. A scraping roar filled his ears, and he was knocked to his\\nknees as the earth shook. He could hear the faint screams of the soldiers\\naround him but couldn\\u2019t open his eyes in the blinding light. All he could\\ndo was throw his arms over his head until it was over.\\n.\\nFinally, Justin felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Lucius.\\n\\u201cWhat happened?\\u201d Justin asked.\\n.\\n\\u201cI don\\u2019t know,\\u201d said Lucius. He pointed toward the tomb. \\u201cBut we\\u2019ve got a\\nsituation.\\u201d\\n.\\nJustin turned and gasped. The huge stone had been rolled away from the\\ntomb\\u2019s entrance. They walked inside and stopped dead. Justin saw Lucius\\u2019s\\nface pale to the color of ash. \\u201cHe\\u2019s gone.\\u201d Justin\\u2019s voice trembled as they\\nboth stared at the empty tomb. \\u2022 Courtney Lasater\\n.\\n\\u2022 Today\\u2019s fictional story is based on the true events of Easter morning.\\nRead Matthew 27:57-66 and 28:1-6. What do you think it would have been like\\nto be one of the Roman soldiers standing guard outside of the tomb when the\\nangel rolled the stone away?\\n.\\n\\u2022 What sticks out to you most, either in today\\u2019s story or in the Bible\\npassages it\\u2019s based on?\\n.\\n\\u2022 Why is it important that Jesus literally rose from the dead? How might\\nknowing the precautions taken by the Roman government, so that no one could\\nsteal Jesus\\u2019s body, give us confidence that Jesus\\u2019s resurrection really did\\nhappen?\\n.\\n\\u201cHe is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place\\nwhere he lay.\\u201d Matthew 28:6 (CSB)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nMatt.17.22-Matt.17.23|Matt.27.57-Matt.27.66|Matt.28.1-Matt.28.6'