Psalm 64 (63):9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

To what end did their fruitless pursuit bring them, given their failure? So, when the Lord died and was laid to rest, they stationed guards at the tomb. For they said to Pilate, "This deceiver": thus was the Lord Jesus Christ labeled by those who sought to comfort themselves as they called His followers deceivers. They told Pilate, while He was still alive, that He claimed He would rise again in three days (Matthew 27:63). So they set a guard of soldiers at the tomb. When the earthquake occurred, the Lord arose, and such miraculous events transpired at the tomb that even the soldiers who had come to guard it became witnesses if they chose to be truthful. Yet, the same selfishness that led the disciple, a follower of Christ, into captivity also ensnared the soldier at the tomb. They offered money, saying (Matt. 28:12-13), "While you slept, His disciples came and took Him away." You present sleeping witnesses: indeed, you yourselves were asleep and failed in your pursuit of such means. If they were asleep, what could they possibly have seen? If they witnessed nothing, how can they be called witnesses? Their exhaustive search yielded nothing; they lost the divine light, and their plans crumbled: what they yearned for but could not fulfill resulted in their ultimate failure. Why is this? Because the Man and the profound heart were approached and God was elevated.

The conclusion of the passage indicates that the nature of this punishment will be striking, causing distress and astonishment among those who witness it. Just as the indifferent ignore God's judgment, He will, when deemed necessary, reveal clear manifestations of His justice, allowing the world to be filled with awe at the sight of it.

It is not solely the feeble who feel powerless when they rebel against God’s mysteries; even the devil, the first to incite humanity to challenge God’s judgments with tempting provocations, found his flattering words wearied when he approached the Lord Jesus Christ with his trials. When the Lord silenced him, the enemy did not relent; instead, through his followers, he continued to assail Jesus with the same disobedient trials against faith. The prophet's statement, ‘Their tongues shall be weary against him,’ particularly encapsulates this sentiment. The Jewish authorities repeatedly tried to entrap Jesus with their challenging questions, such as, "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? By what authority do you perform these actions? What is the greatest commandment? Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?"—the Sadducees inquired about the wife of the seven brothers. Ultimately, did not a malevolent spirit of trial call out in them: “Come down from the cross, so that we may believe!”? Yet their words became exhausted, fatigued, and ultimately fell silent. The Lord resurrected, sending the apostles to proclaim the Gospel, but once more the Jews revolted against them, scrutinizing their message, defaming them, and accusing them of wrongdoing. In this instance too, their trial and hostility proved fruitless. The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, and the city was besieged. In that moment, humanity was left bewildered, came to fear God, recognized His deeds, and glorified the Holy Truth. Amen.