Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Write in the MYSTERY genre (04/05/07)
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TITLE: The Long Dark Night | Previous Challenge Entry
By sue moreland
04/12/07 -
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I am one of the Roman guards who was suppose to keep his tomb secure the night of his crucifixion. I promise never to tell this story, but now that I am reaching the end of my life I need some answers and I need some peace.
The day he died the Jewish priests went to our Governor, Pilate, and insisted that someone keep a careful watch on his tomb because he had said something about coming back to life three days after his death. They were worried that someone would steal the body from the tomb and claim that he had come back to life. So Pilate ordered me and a few other soldiers to make it as secure as possible and to stand guard over the tomb so that nothing could break in.
We covered the tomb with a rock so large that it took several of us to move it into place. And after we covered the entrance with the rock we put a seal over it to secure it even more. Several of us spend the night standing guard to further protect it.
That night stands out in my mind as the most terrifying night of my life. I have never known such darkness. The moon and stars had vanished. The darkness surrounded us and I can’t speak for the others that were there, but, it filled me with despair and there were times in the night that we would lose track of each other and I had feelings at times that the others had left me alone.
But worse than the darkness were the earthquakes. The earth would move like waves in the ocean. It would move almost constantly and rolled and shook as if in anger. The night seemed endless.
And just as the light of the day started to appear there came the worst earthquake of all. It knocked some of us on the ground with its force and others of us were only able to remain standing by holding on to a tree. But, we kept our eyes on the tomb, now that we could see it. And we watched as the stone moved from its front as if it were a sack of feathers. And after all the darkness we had had the night before there came a light so bright that it blinded us and we were frozen in place.
As Our eyes adjusted to the brightness we could see a couple of women walking toward the tomb. They were carrying oils and burial cloths. They entered the tomb, but stayed only a short time and we noticed as they left they still carried the oil and cloth but their faces were glowing with light and they appeared full of joy not sorrow.
It is true to say we had no idea what happened that day. The guy in that tomb was Jewish, we were Romans. He meant nothing to us. But he must have meant something to many of the Jewish people and for some reason the Jewish leaders wanted him dead. We decided that we had better tell those leaders what had happened to us during the night.
When we found them, they told us to say nothing to Pilate, about what we had seen, but instead to say that we had fallen asleep and some of his followers had come in the night and taken his body. They offered us big money to keep this secret. And they said it would satisfy the Governor and keep us out of trouble. It seemed a good deal to us so we took the money and told the tale they wanted.
Many years have past since all this took place and there are so many stories about that man Jesus.
Who knows which are true and which are like ours. We have continued to stick by our story and many have believed us. But, for myself, I would die a happier man if I knew who he was and what it all meant that night at the tomb. One thing I know, I did not fall asleep and no one took his body. Was it his God that did this? Who was he?
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