Jesus was arrested, tried, unjustly condemned to die, crucified, and buried. The Jewish leaders had been trying to kill him for more than a year, and at last, they succeeded. At the very least, the enemies of Christ should now be satisfied and forget him. But are they satisfied? What more should they fear from this buried man whom they called a deceiver?
Matthew records that the consciences of the leaders were still filled with fear. They went to inform Pilate, who was already afraid and becoming more tense. Together, they tried to stop the resurrection of Jesus by three hindrances. It is an amazing passage filled with ironies.
In God’s wise providence, the very things the enemies of Christ did to stop the resurrection were sovereignly overruled to confirm that the resurrection actually happened. The efforts put in to hinder the resurrection ended up confirming it. It did the very opposite of what they intended. We already saw that two women would be the primary witnesses of the resurrection; however, the world could argue that they were already believers. Therefore, what these leaders did gave us not only additional witnesses but also the testimony of unbelievers regarding the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The genius of the Holy Spirit, through Matthew, provides us with more than the testimony of Roman soldiers. Hearing what the Sanhedrin did further confirms the truth of Christ’s resurrection. This is a powerful proof of the resurrection, and it unfolds as a great testimony of the deity of Christ from the words and actions of his enemies.
Let us understand the passage in three headings: Fearful Religious Leaders, the Real Reason for Their Fear, and Their Request to Pilate and Pilate’s Response.
Fearful Religious Leaders
“On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate” (Matthew 27:62). Of course, they must have been very angry with Joseph and Nicodemus for giving Christ a royal burial. After the burial, while discussing the matter among themselves, the leaders’ guilty consciences were suddenly struck with worry about something they had heard from Jesus while he was still alive. They were filled with so much fear that they did two things they would never have done during regular times.
Firstly, verse 62 says, “the chief priests and the Pharisees came together unto Pilate.” This is amazing. That particular combination—chief priests and Pharisees—rarely appears in the whole of Matthew. Generally, it is the chief priests and scribes, or the elders. It is an uncommon combination because the chief priests were Sadducees, and the Pharisees were their theological enemies. They did not agree on anything. One of the major topics they fought over like mortal enemies was the resurrection. Sadducees did not believe in it, while Pharisees strongly believed in it. In Acts 23:6, when Paul was on trial, he realized the assembly was divided between these two groups and said, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee… It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” As soon as he said this, a dispute broke out, the assembly was divided, and the trial stopped. These two opposing groups could agree on only one thing: they wanted to kill Jesus. Now, even though the Pharisees believed in resurrection, they joined the Sadducees to stop Jesus from rising from the dead.
The second irony is the day they went to Pilate: “the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation.” That is a long way of saying Saturday, or the Jewish Sabbath. It was not just any Sabbath; it was the Passover Sabbath, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. On this holy day, they should have been worshiping God and keeping the Sabbath rules. These were the strict Sabbath keepers who often quarreled with Christ even for doing works of mercy on that day. Now, on that very day, they gathered to visit Pilate. They must have entered Pilate’s palace with this request, even though they should never have done so on the Sabbath. You remember that on Thursday, when they brought Jesus to Pilate, they would not go inside because they did not want to be defiled for the coming holy day. Now, on the holiest day of all, they broke their own rule for convenience and entered a Gentile dwelling.
Perhaps during the trial, they came with a large Jewish crowd, but now they were able to come in a more secret way. As long as there were no other Jews around to witness their violation of traditional rules, they went right into a Gentile house. This shows their hypocrisy and highlights how important and fearful this matter was to them. They hated Jesus more than they loved their own law.
The Reason for Their Fear
They came hurriedly and with great tension to Pilate. Verse 63 says, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.'” They used the term “Sir”—a title of dignity and honor. Do you sense how scared they were? Earlier, they wouldn’t even greet Pilate; when he asked what charges they brought, they snapped back that they wouldn’t have brought Jesus if he weren’t a criminal. But now they came submissively, like quiet cats, showing respect because they needed help.
There are many ironies in verse 63. First, see how they referred to Jesus. They used the pronoun “that,” as if to push him away at arm’s length. They called him a seducer of the people—a deceiver. They had such contempt for Christ that their hatred extended even beyond his death. Pilate must have smiled to himself, thinking, “You call him a deceiver? Who are the real deceivers here?” Pilate knew they were the ones who deceptively arrested Jesus on false charges and forced a death sentence.
The second irony is that Jesus repeatedly and clearly taught his disciples that he would suffer, die, and rise again in three days. Yet, none of the disciples remembered it, and even when he rose, they initially struggled to believe. From Matthew 16:21 onwards, he told them clearly what would happen, but they thought he was speaking figuratively. In Mark 9:10, after the transfiguration, they questioned among themselves “what the rising from the dead should mean.” They thought it was mysterious, spiritual language.
However, his enemies remembered it clearly. Interestingly, he had only spoken to them about it once, and he had used figurative language. In Matthew 12:38-41, when they asked for a sign, he told them they would only get the “sign of Jonah.” He said, “As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” Even though he spoke indirectly using the example of Jonah, they understood exactly what he meant. Disciples missed the direct teaching, but the enemies caught the metaphor.
So, in verse 64, they requested: “Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
They claimed they were not afraid he would actually rise—they were sure his story was over. Rather, they claimed to fear that the disciples would steal the body and fabricate a resurrection to keep the movement alive. They told Pilate that if that happened, all their struggle to arrest and kill him would go to waste.
They referred to the entire ministry of Jesus as the “first deception.” They believed his claim to be the Son of God, which led to the crowds welcoming him into Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna,” was a massive trick. They felt they had controlled that first deception by crucifying him. Now, they warned Pilate that a “last deception”—a fake resurrection—would be even worse and cause an even greater uproar. This was the reason they stated for their fear, but we will see that the real reason was something else entirely.
But you see how foolish this reason is. They say they are afraid the disciples will take the body in the night and tell everyone he rose from the dead, but they know how completely improbable that is.
These disciples did not have the courage to defend him or his movement when he was alive. When he was arrested, tried, and crucified, they ran away. Even during the burial, when they could have performed a real service, we don’t know where they were—they were hiding. They ran off in fear. If they ran away and failed to support him when he was alive, how would his death put courage into such cowards to come and take away the body?
Moreover, they did not even understand the reality of a resurrection. What could they achieve by stealing his body and making people believe he had risen if he did not actually rise, thereby proving himself a true deceiver? If all they had was a corpse, what good would that do to convince the multitudes who saw him shamefully crucified? How could these disciples convince the skeptical people of Israel that a corpse was alive?
Why would his disciples, who were scared for their own safety, boldly fabricate a false resurrection story against their own nation and the Roman government? If they did, they knew they would be hunted by Jews and Romans and given the worst punishment—even crucified—for doing so if he didn’t truly rise from the dead. Why would they build a false story just to suffer and die in the worst possible way?
Think of it from the disciples’ perspective: of all men, they made the greatest sacrifices to follow Christ. They had left everything for him in this world, depending upon a recompense in the next. If Christ did not rise, there was no assurance of the next life; these disciples would be the people most cheated and harmed by Christ. They would have every reason to throw the first stone at him. What good would it do them to steal the body of a deceiver and say, “He is risen,” when, if he were not risen, their faith was vain and they were of all men the most miserable?
The leaders themselves knew this. The disciples never would have had the guts to do such a thing. That was not the real reason for their fear. They were truly afraid in their consciences, fearing he might rise from the dead just as he said. Perhaps the priests were surprised at the respect shown to Christ’s dead body by Joseph and Nicodemus—two honorable counselors—and looked upon it as a bad omen. They not only remembered his words about rising but also knew he had raised people from the dead; they were confounded when they heard he raised Lazarus after four days. That was why they had determined to kill him. That was their real fear. They feared he might rise from the dead, which would prove what wicked leaders they had been and what a horrible crime they had committed by slaughtering their own Messiah. That would be the end of their religion, temple, status, leadership, and nation. That is the real reason for their fear. The resurrection would bring the greatest honor to Christ and the greatest joy to his people, but it was the greatest terror to his enemies. They didn’t want to put Pilate in a panic—he was already scared that Jesus was the Son of God—so they came like cats and said, “Sir, we heard he would rise,” lying to Pilate that the disciples would take the body. The real reason for their fear was that Christ might truly rise from the dead.
The Request and Pilate’s Response
Their request comes in Verse 64: “Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day.” They were vexed that the body was given to someone who would bury it decently; but, since it had to be so, they desired a guard to be set on the sepulcher.
Pilate’s response in Verse 65 was: “Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.'”
Imagine Pilate, already tense. He was already awestruck by Jesus and his divine silence; his words had deeply impacted him. Remember, he was very scared when they said Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. It affected his wife. He would have heard reports about the death and felt the earthquake. It must have scared him tremendously. He says, “I have given you guards”—referring to Roman officials deployed under Jewish leaders. There was a constant guard kept in the Tower of Antonia, and he allowed them to detach as many as they pleased for that purpose. He said, “Take the guards I have given, and make it as secure as you know how.” Do whatever must be done to secure it.
How do you make sure that someone does not rise from the dead? If it is going to happen, the greatest efforts man can put forth to stop it will not succeed. But we must give credit to the religious leaders: they did their best job at the time with maximum security—not just one or two levels, but three levels of security. In today’s world, we have sophisticated secure vaults and locker rooms like Fort Knox or the Bank of England gold vault that no one can break. We see in movies how difficult it is to open them. In that ancient world, they put in the maximum three-layer security possible. In doing so, they unwittingly gave convincing, undeniable evidence that the resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened!
Notice the three-layer security in Verse 66: “So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.”
I have titled this: Stone, Seal, and Security.
First, the Stone: There was already a large stone put there by Joseph, as we saw in Verse 60. It was a rich man’s tomb, a rocky, hewn grave. All sides were covered with rock; there was no way to enter the tomb from underground, through the roof, or from the sides. In movies, they might break the roof and come down on a rope, but the only entrance was through the stone door. Verse 60 says he rolled a large stone; as I mentioned, it was easy to roll down as a sliding door but very difficult to open. The stone was closed airtight against the door. This was the first level of security.
Second, the Seal: Verse 66 says they were “sealing the stone.” That seal was not an ordinary one; it was a legal Roman authoritative seal. They would tie a strong rope across the stone and around the cave, bind a tight knot, apply hot wax, and seal it with the Roman imperial symbol. This was done so securely that if the stone moved even a little, the seal would break. You could not open the tomb without breaking the seal. There was severe punishment—even capital punishment—for anyone who broke a Roman seal. It was the highest government legal seal. It was not legal to open the seal for anyone to go in, and it was also not legal to come out of the tomb. Pilate had essentially made the resurrection illegal by putting a seal on it. As long as the seal remained unbroken, it proved no one had entered the tomb. This was the second level of high security, ensuring nothing was done to take the body out.
Third, the Guard: Verse 66 concludes with “setting the guard.” This was Roman security. These were not like the security guards we see in malls or offices—not old men or weak men. These were trained military guards. One man could fight ten people. They had sharp senses to watch carefully at the highest level. Under Roman rule, if anyone slept or was careless while on guard duty, they faced capital punishment. Nowhere does Scripture say there were only two guards. The picture I have only shows two, but it was a large group of soldiers. Imagine the leaders: if they were so scared that they broke the Sabbath and joined their enemies to plead with Pilate, they would have ensured a maximum battalion of soldiers was placed there. Later, we see that some went into the city to tell what they saw, while others went to the leaders to spread the lies they were taught. It was definitely a large group.
So, we see the fearful leaders, the real reason for their fear, the request, and Pilate’s response in giving them maximum security for the tomb of Jesus.
Applications
The first and primary lesson from this passage is that God can use the wicked plans and actions of sinful men to accomplish His purpose and do good for His people. How clearly this passage teaches us this truth.
These restless men could not sleep, even while the body of Jesus was in the grave. With Pilate’s permission, they planned and did their best to ensure the resurrection would not happen. They placed a stone, a seal, and security on the tomb. They did all they could to “make the sepulcher sure.”
See how unwittingly they were providing the most complete and undeniable evidence of the truth of Christ’s resurrection. They were actually making it impossible to prove that there was any deception or trickery involved. The stone, their seal, their guard, and their precautions were all destined to become witnesses, in just a few hours, that Christ had risen.
Christ will rise according to the Scriptures; nothing on earth can stop that. They might as well have tried to stop the tides of the sea or prevent the sun from rising as try to prevent Jesus from coming forth from the tomb. They were “taken in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 3:19). Their own devices became instruments to show forth God’s glory.
The history of the Church of Christ is full of similar examples. In the Old Testament, the evil things Joseph’s brothers did were turned to good by God. You see this in the stories of Moses, David, Esther, and Ruth, as well as in the New Testament. The very things that have seemed most unfavorable to God’s people have often turned out to be for their benefit.
What harm did the “persecution which arose about Stephen” do to the Church? Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word (Acts 8:4). What harm did imprisonment do to Paul? It gave him time to write many of those Epistles which are now read all over the world. Even in broader church history, what real harm did the persecution of “Bloody Mary” do to the cause of the English Reformation? The blood of the martyrs became the seed of the Church. What harm does persecution do to the people of God at this very day? It only drives them nearer to Christ. It makes them cling more closely to the throne of grace, the Bible, and prayer.
This is the glorious truth of redemptive history: God turns the wicked plans and actions of sinful men toward His purposes and the good of His people. May we never get discouraged by what men, leaders, or governments do today. Our God can overrule what they think they are doing against the Church, turning it instead toward the growth of the gospel. We worship such a sovereign God.
As J.C. Ryle wrote:
“Let us be patient in days of trouble and darkness, and look forward. The very things which now seem against us, are all working together for God’s glory and our good. We see but half now… Yet a little, and we shall see all.”
We shall then discover that all the leaders plotted—all their plans and all the persecution we now endure—was, like the seal and the guards, tending to God’s glory. God can make the “wrath of man praise him” (Psalm 76:10). Men may put out a hundred guards, but we will see how His glorious resurrection breaks through them all. Soldiers were put there to guard a dead Savior; we will see those soldiers become like dead men when the Savior rises again.
Again, let me remind you of the comfort of God’s sovereignty in this passage. This idea of providence shines so brightly here. Sovereignty is not some distant doctrine only for theologians; it is how we are to view our lives. When you face trials, problems, suffering, or sickness—when you can’t explain the trouble you are going through and feel confused or fearful—the great anchor for your soul is the truth of God’s sovereignty. You need to understand the providential power of a sovereign God who takes every bit of diverse data in the universe and overturns it for your good. It doesn’t matter how bad, cruel, or unjust it is.
Whatever happens in your life, trust that God is sovereign. This is all part of His plan. He is at work for His glory and our good. If God was completely sovereign in the trials, suffering, death, and burial of His only begotten Son, then why doubt Him now? There could be no worse injustice or pain than what happened to Jesus. If God turned that for our greatest good, He can certainly use the trials of your life today for your supreme good. He demonstrated His ability in the death and burial of Jesus Christ. He hasn’t abandoned His throne.
Secondly, for those of you who don’t believe in Christ: do you see what God has done? He is leaving you without any excuse. There are people who say Jesus didn’t actually rise from the dead—that His disciples took the body and hid it. You might have had an excuse if there were no stone, seal, or guards. But to give you infallible proof, God moved the enemies of Christ to ensure that religious and government authorities set a security system so tight that it was impossible for the disciples to steal the body.
In this situation, the only way He could have come out of that grave was by resurrection. The unbelieving world itself made sure there was no other explanation for the absent body of Jesus. The actions of the chief priests offer irrefutable evidence. Unless you believe from your heart that Jesus rose from the dead, you are not saved. Saving faith does not come from seeing a dream; it comes when the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the self-authenticating biblical witnesses. If you still don’t believe, it is not because there is no proof; it is because, like these leaders, you are determined to reject Christ. May God save you from the sin of unbelief.
Thirdly, as believers, we must learn the importance of preaching the resurrection. The enemies of Christ were most concerned with stopping this specific message. Notice their reason in Verse 64: “So the last deception will be worse than the first.”
Enemies then and now fear the message of the resurrected Christ more than anything else. The world will tolerate a “healing” Christ, a “teacher” Christ, or a “prophet” Christ. But the message of the crucified and resurrected Christ is feared because if it is true, it proves all the foundational truths of the Christian faith. It proves the deity of Christ—that He is indeed God. It proves the Bible is truly God’s word because it predicted this thousands of years ago. It proves Christ perfectly purchased salvation for His people. It proves the inevitability of judgment.
The resurrection shows that all man-made religions and traditions are false. Just like the leaders then, people today know that if Jesus truly rose, their rejection of Him is wicked. They would have to repent and bow before Him. In their sinfulness, they don’t want to do that, so they try to hide the message.
Out of all the religions in the world, none gives mankind hope in death except for the resurrection of Christ. These false religions run on keeping men in the fear of death. If we preach the resurrection, it provides hope and turns people to Christ. That is why the message is a terror to His enemies. Their fear highlights the significance of the message we are called to preach today. If the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection is preached boldly, it will uproot all false traditions. May we faithfully declare it: Christ indeed died for our sins and victoriously rose from the grave!