He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. (Matt. 27:60)
We admire Thomas Jefferson for many things. This gentleman farmer from Virginia was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. He served as the third president of the United States and directed the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase, which greatly enlarged the geographical size of the country.
One cause for disappointment, though, is that Jefferson did not seem to believe in miracles. Clarence E. Macartney pointed out:
Among the interesting relics of Thomas Jefferson is his copy of the New Testament. He has gone through the Gospels, scoring out with his pen all the passages which present Jesus as a supernatural Person. The records of His miraculous birth and all the miracles are deleted, together with all statements which declare Jesus to be the Son of God. In this deleted New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew ends with these words: “And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.” (Matt. 27:60)
As far as Jefferson’s faith went, Jesus was dead and that was it. He believed that God was the Creator of the universe and said he followed the teachings of Jesus, but he stopped short of believing in miracles.
The fact is that when the stone was rolled in front of the tomb, although man wrote, “The End,” God wrote, “To be continued.”
Rejoice that the tomb’s stone did not mark “The End.”
Ron McClung lives in Fishers, Indiana, with his wife Carol. He has written his weekly column, Positive Perspective, for more than thirty years.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
