As sure as ye can

Matthew 27:65

Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

Here we have the chief priests and the Pharisees coming to Pilate, desiring a backup so that their plans would not be destroyed. They were afraid that Jesus would disappear out of the tomb! Why were they afraid of this? Did they not kill Him? Yes, they did! They were afraid “His disciples would come by night and steal Him away.” But even more, was there not a hint of speculation, a tinge of trepidation, a mixture of fear that perhaps, just perhaps, this man was who He said He was after all? Maybe He will come out of the tomb alive after three days as He prophesied. And if such a thing were to happen, they wanted to be sure Jesus would be locked in the tomb, unable to escape. So they “sealed the stone,” and they “set a watch.” They did everything they could to secure it. They did everything possible to placate the fears that were plaguing their minds. They were attempting the push down the constant emergence of uncertainty. They made it “as sure as they could!”

Is not every facet of life the same way? We can only make things “as sure as we can.” No more sure than that! We cannot possibly obliterate all possibilities of the opposite coming to pass. We are unable to forever incinerate any eventualities that may undermine and destroy our plans. It can’t be done! We can only make it as sure as we can! These men used every tool and means available to lock the Savior of the world in a stone cold tomb! They did everything within their power to prevent His breaking through their prison! But the Savior would not be bound by such feeble and fickle attempts of man. He could not be bound, constricted, or restrained! He would emerge triumphantly. But that has not happened yet. For now, they are watching and waiting, hoping their contraptions would survive.

And, my dear friend, I speak to you today with sincerity of mind, and intensity of voice. What is it that we are seeking to make “as sure as we can?” Do you know that nothing is sure that we create? Nothing is certain that has been engendered by our hands. Nothing is without danger of being thwarted, changed, or altogether decimated unless the Lord is in it. Should we not from this point on leave the surety in God’s hands? Should we not say, “I think my plans are in place, but, Lord, you make all things sure according to your will.” Let us not be discouraged or annoyed when that which we thought was sure is actually not sure. For you see, we can only make it as sure as we can, and we can only bank on those things that Christ has said are secure. What is secure? My salvation is secure! My home in Heaven is sure! My eternal abode with Christ and with the saints is unchangeable! The principles of the doctrine of Christ are truly set in stone! The laws that God has placed within our souls, and throughout our world are without mutability. But these things are only sure because God has made them so. My anchor in Christ is as sure as the hills, and as firm as the whole course of nature. The truth of God, and the veracity of Christ’s gospel cannot be hurt, dismantled, or diminished. Some may not believe it—but is not this what happened in Christ’s day? They did not believe He would rise again, but that did not change the truth of it. It is sure! It is true! It is forever unchanging! But the changing things of this life cannot be fully trusted. My brother or sister in Christ, let us resist placing confidence in our own plans, in the ways of this world, or in the prognostication of man. Let us instead place our utmost and supreme faith in the things which change not; those things that are made sure to us through Jesus Christ. For one day, there will be a removal of those things that are shaken, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. These are the only certain things. Place your complete and implicit faith upon that wondrous Rock that will not be ever rolled away!

“Dear Father, we thank you for those things that we can be sure about. And just as the watchers of the tomb could only make it as sure as they could, so we know that anything earthly, temporal, and mortal is not secure. Only the eternal promises of God and His Word are sealed forever and secure. Let us place all our faith there, and not in the moveable stones and tombs of this world. We trust that Thou wilt help us this day. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.”