The Gambler?

1. Introduction
   1. In 1983, I met a lady, and we got married. I just started to become a Christian.
   2. In the midst of us journeying on with our marriage, she always wanted to go to the gambling casino in Atlantic City.
   3. Though I wasn’t a gambler and was taught that this was unbiblical and I needed to stay away from it. To please her, I ended up taking her to Atlantic City.
   4. I was taken by all of the lights and believe you me, these lights were bright. It was something I’d never experienced and knew nothing about.
   5. I remember as we pulled into the hotel, my wife wanted to go to the casino right away. She had $600.00 and within an hour’s time, the $600.00 was long gone.
   6. As she came back to the hotel room I was lying on the bed watching TV. She said, “Come on with me. I want you to try out the slot machine.
   7. I said I’m really not that interested in it. She said “Would you please come anyway and let’s have a good time.” Well, I went. When I went down there they had these slot machines.
   8. You would order a roll of either quarters, half dollars, or dollars at that time. She said come on. Put a dollar into the machine.
   9. I told her that I’m not interested in gambling and I’m not interested in these machines.
   10. With her feeling discontented, and me being a dud, not wanting to get all revved up with theses slot machines, I decided that we’d only be there one more day.
   11. She took the roll of coins, and it seemed like within minutes they were gone. Much like the $600.00. She had one left.
   12. She said, “I want you to put it in one of these machines and pull the hammer.
   13. I didn’t want to tell her again that I didn’t want to do it because I wanted to have a good time eating and enjoying the hotel and scene
   14. She kept badgering So, I walked up and down the aisle with all of the machines. I remember her saying to me are you going to put the coin in the machine.
   15. I said, “I am, but I am praying.” Praying for what? Praying that God leads me to the right one, so I don’t ever have to come back again.
   16. As I walked up and down the aisle, all of a sudden I felt inspired and put the coin into this one machine. When I put the hammer down, the lights went on, and $100 poured out onto the floor.
   17. She said “See, you’re a winner. Now you can keep on going.”
   18. I remember saying to her, “Yes I’m a winner, and I’m walking away as a winner from this table, knowing that I’m not going to be foolish enough to put one more dollar into that slot machine.”
   19. “I’m not a gambler” I said “nor do I ever want to be one. I want to know the sure thing not lose everything I have.”
   20. I told her that I work hard for the money that I have. I’m thankful that I know how to save so that I was able to take you on this trip and make sure that we have enough to get back home.
   21. There were so many people. A lot of elderly ladies sitting in seats by these slot machines, just pulling the hammer, one coin after another.
   22. I remember asking this lady if she had ever been a real winner. She indicated to me that she had won over $100,000.00.

1. She decided to go to a more advanced card table and lost it all within 1-2 hours of time. She said “Don’t ever get mixed up in gambling!
2. It’s one of the biggest addictions you could ever have.” She explained that she had lost her home, cars and her family due to being very addicted to gambling.
3. She said, “Please, please stay away. Go back home.” I said to her that I intended to. I told her I was a bible believing Christian.
4. I wanted to serve the Lord with all of my heart. She said “Well you do that young man because the only heart here gets stolen away by the make-believe
5. that if I just keep putting more coins in the slot machines, or playing my hand at the cards, I’ll eventually be a winner. But you usually lose everything before you win anything.
6. Gambling is a sin. 1st Timothy 6:10: for the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
7. Now let us look into our message.

The Gambler?

2. What is a gambler to you and what does it mean?
   1. While the Bible does not use the word “gambler” it defines the underlying behaviors—covetousness, greed, and the love of money—as sin.
   2. A biblical perspective views a gambler as one who seeks gain without honest labor, risks resources entrusted by God, and trusts in chance rather than divine provision.
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3. Where did gambling originate from?
   1. Gambling is said to originate before there were written words, about 3000 BC. However, the first biblical example of gambling is in this passage.
   2. Look at Judges 14:12-13: And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments: But if ye cannot declare it me, then shall ye give me thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. And they said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, that we may hear it. The people could not figure out the riddle that Samson gave until they got his wife to tell her, and then she told them.

4. Where did this word come from?
   1. The word gamble originated in the early 18th century (circa 1700s) as a derivative of the Middle English word gamen (or gamenen),
   2. meaning “to play, jest, or be merry,” which itself comes from Old English gamen (game/fun). It evolved from earlier forms like gamel.
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5. Why have so many people been so addicted?
   1. Gambling is addictive because it triggers the brain’s reward system, releasing dopamine—the neurotransmitter responsible for pleasure and euphoria—similar to drugs or alcohol.
   2. The rush comes not just from winning, but also from the anticipation of winning and the thrill of taking risks, creating a cycle of compulsion, particularly with easy access to online, 24/7 platforms.
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6. What’s the solution and remedy?
   1. If you are trapped in this addiction, God can set you free, but first you must be born again. John 3:3: Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Before you receive Jesus as your Lord and savior, you are dead in trespasses and sins, and once you are born again, you are a lively hope!
   2. When you are born again, you are set free from the power and penalty of sin. John 8:36: If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. Freedom is an important theme in the gospel message, so if you are not free, God wants to set you free.
   3. Remember that every day we battle with the temptation to sin. Those battling a gambling addiction can relate to the apostle Paul. Romans 7:23-24: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The one who can deliver you from any addiction, whether gambling, overeating, you name it…is Jesus Christ.
   4. If you need to be set free, pray in faith and stand on scriptures like this one. PSalm 91:3: Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. Gambling is a snare set by Satan but God can break that snare and spring the trap.
   5. Part of your journey to freedom may involve a re-dedication of your heart to Jesus Christ. Jeremiah 3:22: Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. It is easy to drift and do your own thing and not put God first as you should. Why not come back to Father’s House like the prodigal, and start new.
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7. Why does the bible warn us to stay away from this?
   1. One reason is because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. 1st Timothy 6:10: FOr the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. If you were to talk to anyone caught in gambling addiction, their life is full of sorrows and they don’t have any faith.

8. Who in the bible gambled their life away? (OT)
   1. Esau gambled away his birthright and his future over a bowl of stew in Genesis 25:29-34: And Jacob sod pottage: & Esau came from the field, & he was faint: And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright. Esau enjoyed the food but he had gambled his life away from that day on. That one choice affected him forever.
   2. King Saul ggambled his kingship and eventually his life away through disobedience. 1st Samuel 15:20-23: And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep & oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. & Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings & sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, & to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Saul thought he had done good. He was feeling great when he first met Samuel. However, he neglected one small detail in the Word of God, which was to destroy all of the inhabitants of the land. He did not do this and it was an expensive gamble.
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9. Who in the bible lost their way (NT)
   1. Ananaias and Sapphira gambled that their holding back on God would not be found out. Here’s what happened. Acts 5:1-5: But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, & to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? & after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. & Ananias hearing these words fell down, & gave up the ghost: & great fear came on all them that heard these things. Gambling against God is a losing bet right from the start, as this dynamic duo found out.
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10. What advice would you give to someone else who’s trying to entice you to look at gambling as more fun than sin?
    1. Gambling IS a sin and there may be pleasure in it, but only for a season, as Moses learned. Hebrews 11:24-25: By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; I would advise the person that the temporary pleasure of gambling is quickly swallowed up by the resulting hardships.
    2. I would tell that person that there’s a hole in their heart that gambling & other worldly practices will never fill. Only the love of God can fill it. Jeremiah 31:3: The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. I would share my testimony & tell them how they can have the only love that satisfies their needs.
11. What did Jesus have to say about money?
    1. Someone who is caught up in gambling is serving the god of this world and the material possessions that are quickly passing away, rather than God. Jesus said this in Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. We use the money and material things we have to glorify God and bless others, not just for our own personal gain. This is why I, Pastor Wayne, and everyone that is involved with The Greatest Gift is blessed. We use everything we have to glorify God.

12. Why were the money changers sinful?
    1. Let’s look at one of the passages where Jesus goes into the temple and chases them out, and we’ll see why they were so wrong. Matthew 21:12-14: And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. The moneychangers were wrong because they took a place that had been set apart for worship and used it for merchandise and profit. They were not selling doves as a way of raising support to further their ministries! They were not running a store as a means to further the gospel. They were doing it for their own gain. There are those who have questioned us about our merchandise and bookstore, thinking that we were like the moneychangers that Jesus drove out. I assure you, there is a huge difference. Everything we do is to further the spread of the gospel. Not for personal gain.
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13. The bible tells us this:
    1. John 10:10: The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
    2. Those that are involved in gambling or other addictions are under the thief’s rule. They are being stolen from, and their life is destroyed.
    3. If they turn their lives over to Jesus, they can have the abundant, purpose-filled life that He intends for them to have, not the destructive life they are in.
14. The bible also says
    1. Proverbs 16:25: There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
    2. The temptation o9f gambling might seem like a fun, exciting thing to do, and hey, it could make you rich! But, following that path brings you down a dead end road. Turn back to Jesus and let Him set you free.
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15. Story: A Gambler’s Transformation
    1. A gambler, drowning in debt and despair, found freedom through divine intervention after hitting rock bottom.
    2. By surrendering to God through prayer, reading Scripture, and embracing a new identity, the desperate desire for the casino vanished,
    3. replaced by a renewed purpose, peace, and the strength to rebuild his life. Here is a short story of that transformation:
    4. Mark had lost everything—his savings, his family’s trust, and his self-respect—to a 20-year gambling addiction.
    5. Every time he promised to stop, the urge drew him back to the bright lights of the casino, leaving him feeling hopeless and chained.
    6. One night, sitting in his car after losing his last, Mark hit rock bottom and cried out to God, admitting he couldn’t break free on his own.
    7. “I am done, Lord. I need You” he whispered. That surrender was the turning point. Instead of fighting the urges alone, Mark began to fill his mind with Scripture and his days with prayer.
    8. When temptation arose, he prayed for strength, which he described as a “spiritual intervention” that took away the addiction’s power.
    9. Gradually, God replaced Mark’s craving for money with a desire for a meaningful life. He found freedom not through luck, but through grace.
    10. Months later, Mark was not only debt-free but also helping others find hope, finally understanding that his worth was in God’s love, not in a winning streak.
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16. Conclusion
    1. Are you a gambler? As a Christian, do you realize the consequences?
    2. This message will keep you safe. As it says in Proverbs 16:25: There is a way that seems right unto a man but (Jeremiah 17:9) the heart of man is wicked and deceitful above all things.

Easter Message

1. Introduction
   1. Hi everyone. Easter is such a special time of year. Easter should be a thought every day of the year as I think about how my Lord and Savior was crucified and rose again on the third day. It makes life living for me.
   2. There’s a day that is fast approaching and we are living in it right now. You and I are living in the Laodicean Church Age of Revelation 3:14-18 where bible prophesy is lining up to a T.
   3. But from the very first time of realizing what the cross is all about, and what the resurrection means to you and me, I realize that Resurrection Day is every day for you and me.
   4. Let us all cherish this day. Let’s all remember what the Lord did to give you and me life. To live a life free to serve Him and keep Him dear to our minds and hearts each and every day.
   5. The world needs this Resurrected King. The world needs a Savior. I’m so glad I found Him and can jump for joy and say Praise the Lord!!!
   6. Shout it from the rooftop or standing in the doorway. I know what Jesus did for me and I know what he can do for you.
   7. Happy Easter everyone. It’s resurrection Day! Now let us look into our message today.

The Easter Resurrection

2. What is Easter?
   1. Easter is the culmination of what we call Holy Week, which begins at Palm Sunday, celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
   2. Throughout Holy Week we meditate on the last supper, crucifixion and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus Christ which we celebrate on Easter Sunday.
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3. What is it all about?
   1. Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after his crucifixion. 1 Peter 1:3:Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Because of the resurrection of Jesus, we are made into a lively hope, after having been dead in trespasses and sins.
4. Where did it come from?
   1. An eighth-century scholar suggested that the name Easter may have come from the Anglo-Saxon Eeostre or Eastre – a goddess of spring and fertility.
   2. Easter is celebrated in March or April around the beginning of the Spring season.
   3. Another possibility is the Norse eostur, eastur, or ostara, which meant “the season of the growing sun” or “the season of new birth.”
   4. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, you and I have experienced that new birth. Ephesians 2:1: And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; So in this time of celebrating the resurrection, you too can celebrate your own resurrection with Him.

5. What is meant by Resurrection Day?
   1. Resurrection Day is important. Not only do we celebrate the resurrected King, but because of His Resurrection, we also can be resurrected to eternal life. John 11:25: Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: Jesus died and rose again, showing that we who place our faith and trust in Him will also rise again.
   2. Here is another verse that emphasizes this point, that what Jesus did Himself, He will do for us. Romans 6:5: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: When we are baptized as an outward confession of our inward salvation, our going underwater symbolizes the death of Christ. Our old nature dying with Him. When we come up out of the water, we are symbolizing the resurrection as we now are risen to newness of life in Christ Jesus.

6. When is it believed that Jesus was crucified and rose again on the third day?
   1. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus took place over a few days in Jerusalem.
   2. Key events include the Last Supper, betrayal, trial, death by crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

7. What does Easter mean to you?
   1. Easter Sunday celebrates the joyous time when Jesus who had died on the cross to save us from our sins, was risen, and because of that, we who know Him are risen with Him. 1st Corinthians 15:20: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. It is the joyous day that celebrates the distinction between Christianity where we have a RELATIONSHIP with a living God, and other RELIGIONS whose gods are still in the grave!
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8. What do you reflect on when you think of Easter Sunday?
   1. I reflect on how the people must have been shocked. They expected Jesus to establish his kingdom at that time, and he instead died on the cross. We see in John 6:15: When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. They wanted him to liberate them from Roman rule and set up his kingdom. That was not to be and will not be until after the rapture of the Church.
   2. I think about that pre-dawn knock on Peter and John’s door on Sunday morning when an excited Mary Magdalene reported the tomb being empty! John 20:1-5: The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, & seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth, & cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. This was when they realized that Jesus was not there. He was risen as he had said. This is what we commemorate when we attend a sunrise service.
   3. I think about Peter. He had denied the Lord at the crucifixion. His fellowship was restored and he got his commission from the Lord after the John 21:17: He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Three times Peter had denied Him, & 3 times he had the chance to affirm his love & commitment to Christ.
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9. What is your prayer for this world?
   1. My prayer is that the world would reflect on the joy of the resurrection and accept God’s gracious gift. Ephesians 2: 4-5: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) We cannot be saved by our own good works or our efforts to reach God. That’s what separates us from religion. We just receive the gift and live out of gratitude for it.
   2. Paul goes on to say in Ephesians 2:6-7: And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. My prayer is that souls will come out of this world that is passing quickly away, and be seated in heavenly places, above the muck and mire of the world and its ways.
   3. I pray that we always remember that it is by grace that we are saved through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. We have nothing to boast about except what Jesus does in and through our lives. That’s all. We’re saved by grace.
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10. Is Easter Sunday just once a year, or is it every day in your life as it is in mine?
    1. If we can take the joy of this day and spread it throughout the year, the world will see that joy reflected in our lives and want to know our Risen King.
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11. Do you love Easter as much as I do? Do you love the Lord as much as I do?
    1. Do you think about the resurrection every single day?
    2. Remember each and every person that comes to the saving grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ has been resurrected.
    3. This is why it’s so important for you and me to evangelize the gospel. Shout it out with me. It’s resurrection Day!
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12. Story: A Soldier’s View of the Tomb
    1. Cassius stood at rigid attention in front of the commanding officer of Jerusalem’s military cohort. “Centurion,” the officer barked, “explain yourself! One of your squads was assigned to guard a tomb, a dead man. What could be so hard about that?
    2. Now I’m hearing rumors that the body is missing? Tell me this is all a mistake!” “Sir, may I be frank, one old soldier to another?” asked the Centurion. He and the Tribune went back a long way, though the Tribune was of the equestrian class, and he a mere commoner.
    3. “Please, Cassius,” he said somewhat more gently, and motioned for the Centurion to take a seat. “I must beg your indulgence, sir,” Cassius began. “The story actually begins weeks ago.” “Take your time,” the Tribune said, relaxing somewhat.
    4. “Ever since this Jesus began preaching around Jerusalem, we thought he might be some kind of revolutionary bent on stirring up the populace with his talk of the Kingdom of God.
    5. But I went and listened to him, sir. He was no threat. Thousands would sit in rapt attention as he’d talk about his Father, loving your neighbor, forgiveness from sins, and beginning a new life.
    6. It was fascinating, sir. Made you feel like he cared about you personally, he did.” The Tribune was resting his chin on his hand. “Go on, soldier.”
    7. “The next I saw him, we had been ordered to stand guard outside the Governor’s official residence. The crowd was getting ugly.
    8. Pontius Pilate was sitting up there on the judgment seat and Jesus stood before him. Someone had roughed him up a bit, sir.
    9. “What did you expect, Centurion?” “Finally,” Cassius continued, “Pilate motioned for silence. ‘I find no crime in this man,’ he called out. Then he tried to set Jesus free.
    10. He asked them to choose between Barabbas–a known murderer and rebel–and Jesus.” “And now that criminal Barabbas is walking free again.”
    11. “Jews from the ruling Sanhedrin were shouting, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ The rabble took up the cry.
    12. It was touch and go for a minute there, sir. Then Pilate called for a basin and began to wash his prissy little hands ….”
    13. “Centurion, I’ll allow no disrespect,” the Tribune said sharply. “Yes sir, but you know Jesus was innocent, pure and simple.
    14. He had just offended some powerful priests. But when Pilate saw how the wind was blowing he went along. I thought Rome was about law and justice, not expediency.”
    15. “Ruling is sometimes dirty business, Centurion,” interjected the Tribune. “So is soldiering, sir. On your orders one of my squad was picked to scourge the man.”
    16. “Oh, they enjoyed it well enough,” said the Tribune. “That tall soldier …Publius, wasn’t it? He flogged like a madman, as I recall, with the metal tips of the scourge biting into his back until the skin lay in tatters and blood ran free.”
    17. “Few times in my career have I been sickened by blood,” commented Cassius, “but to see an innocent man treated with such cruelty….”
    18. “I don’t recall you stopping them from dressing him in a purple robe with a reed for a scepter and a crown of thorns. Oh, they were having fun, all right.”
    19. “I’ve crucified hundreds in my time,” Cassius replied, “but this man was different. He didn’t curse. He didn’t whimper.
    20. He was half-dead already from the beating Publius gave him, and he fell on the way to Golgotha.”
    21. “Fell?” “He was just too weak to carry the cross, so we conscripted a strong Cyrenean to carry it. Then we crucified Jesus.”
    22. “All men die the same.” “Not like he did,” replied Cassius. “We spiked him to the cross-bar and hoisted it onto the upright, but I’ll never forget his prayer:
    23. ‘Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.’ Sir, I was responsible for killing him, and he forgave me.”
    24. “Haven’t you been a soldier too long to be troubled by a guilty conscience, Cassius?” “Then the thief crucified next to him asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom.” “His kingdom!” the Tribune sneered.
    25. “But listen to his answer: ‘Today you will be with me in paradise.’ Amazing! About noon, Tribune, the sky grew dark.
    26. Everyone saw it, and felt the cold chill when he cried, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ He sounded like the loneliest man in the world, hanging in the darkness.
    27. He spoke scarcely a word until three in the afternoon when he shouted, almost triumphantly, ‘It is finished!’
    28. And, if you listened closely, you could hear him whisper, ‘Into your hands I commit my spirit.’
    29. “At that very moment the ground began to tremble and roll,” said Cassius. “Knocked me to the ground for a moment.
    30. And then the darkness began to lift. I tell you, Tribune, that was no mere man we crucified, he was the Son of God.”
    31. “A few freak coincidences and you’re willing to declare him divine? He’s just as dead as anyone.” “No, Tribune, he’s not.” “He’s not?”
    32. “The chief priests and Pharisees insisted that Pilate guard the tomb so Jesus’ disciples wouldn’t steal the body.” “I know. I ordered it.”
    33. “We posted three men around the clock, relieved every eight hours as regulations call for. I sealed the tomb before they began. It was secure.”
    34. “So, what’s this rumor that the body is gone?” “It is gone, sir.” “I’ll have your hide, Centurion!” the Tribune shouted, rising to his feet.
    35. Cassius stood, too, but went on. “About seven o’clock Sunday morning, sir, the three soldiers on duty came running into the barracks like they’d seen a ghost.
    36. ‘Centurion! Centurion!’ they shouted. ‘He’s alive!’ I got them calmed down, and made them tell me every detail.
    37. “Their shift had begun about midnight,” he said. They had been wide awake all night—telling stories about their girlfriends back home most of the time, I understand. Then, just before dawn, they said the garden tomb lit up as if it were high noon, and an angel with garments like lightning came and rolled the stone away from the tomb.
    38. They just sat there trembling. Then one of them got up– Publius, I think they said–and looked in the tomb.
    39. The body was gone, and the graveclothes were lying on the limestone shelf wrapped round and round, but no body in them.”
    40. “You expect me to believe that?” the Tribune responded disdainfully. “I questioned them closely. Each looked. Each saw the same thing. The body was gone.”
    41. “They must have fallen asleep, and told a story to cover themselves.” “They were battle-hardened veterans, sir, not some green troops. I know those men. Besides, sir, you’d think the sound of people trying to roll a huge stone would awaken sleeping soldiers.
    42. No, they were telling the truth, all right.” “What do you expect me to tell people, Centurion? That he rose from the dead?”
    43. “I don’t know what you’re going to tell them, Tribune, but that’s what happened. He’s alive. I tell you, he’s alive!”
    44. “We’ll tell the soldiers to say they fell asleep and his disciples stole the body,” suggested the Tribune. “What soldier is willing to say he fell asleep?” asked Cassius with a thin smile on his face.
    45. “We’ll pay them to say it,” said the Tribune. “The chief priests owe us. They’ll come up with a goodly sum to bury this story….
    46. I’ll take care of it from here on out, Centurion. You didn’t see anything. You don’t know anything. Got it?” “But I do know, and I did see, Tribune. I can’t change what happened. Jesus is out there alive. More than alive.” “Forget this ever happened, Cassius.”
    47. “Forget it if you can, sir. But with all respect, Jesus is alive, and that changes everything.”
        >
13. Conclusion
    1. How did this message impact you?
    2. Will you remember when sharing the gospel that one is being resurrected to heaven and having their name written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
    3. Will you jump for joy and celebrate the resurrected life, the eternal life and the life that lives on for you and me and the one that came to seek and save that which is lost.
    4. Happy Easter Sunday – the Resurrection of our King.