Guarding the Tomb
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· 369 viewsTo unveil the plan of the enemies of Jesus to keep the disciples from stealing the body of Jesus and how this helped to confirm the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
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GUARDING THE TOMB
GUARDING THE TOMB
GUARDING THE TOMB
MATTHEW 27:57-66
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
Matthew
AIM
AIM
To unveil the plan of the enemies of Jesus to keep the disciples from stealing the body of Jesus and how this helped to confirm the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
To unveil the plan of the enemies of Jesus to keep the disciples from stealing the body of Jesus and how this helped to confirm the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
INTRODUCTION
The authors of all four gospel shared details about the burial of Jesus in order to confirm Jesus really died on the cross. You may think this is an unnecessary statement, however, the devil has led many to use every argument imaginable to destroy the truth about our Lord’s death burial and resurrection. The truth is, there had to be a death in order to have a resurrection. Paul saw the importance of letting the Corinthian church know Jesus really died and “was buried.”
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
1
1 Corinthians
In this message, we shall study some additional details surrounding the burial of Jesus, especially as it relates to guarding the tomb.
SETTING THE STONE
SETTING THE STONE
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
Matthew 27:57-60
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. (ESV)
If you remember from our previous study, we mentioned how the dead bodies of most criminals were taken from their place of execution and tossed in a garbage dump. God overruled the norm and used Joseph of Arimathea to give the body of Jesus a proper burial. This would have been necessary to prove the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
Warren Wiersbe wrote:
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twenty-Five: The King’s Suffering and Death (Matthew 27:27–66)
Were it not for the intervention of Jospeh of Arimathea and Nicodemus (John 19:38), the body of Jesus might not have had a decent burial. Joseph and Nicodemus had come to believe in Jesus, even though they had not openly testified of their faith. God kept them hidden, as it were, that they might care for the body of Jesus. Since Joseph was a rich man, and he prepared the new tomb, he helped in the fulfillment of prophecy, Isaiah 53:9—“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death” (NIV).
The setting of the stone requires some thinking in relation to the burial Jesus in the tomb because of things we often see in pictures and plays. Sometimes we see a huge round stone covering the mouth of the tomb. Actually, it would have been a large stone shaped more like a wheel. William McDonald said it much better when he wrote, “The mouth of the tomb was closed by a large stone, shaped like a millstone and standing on its edge in a channel also carved out of stone.”
The King James Bible commentary also has similar information in much greater detail about the setting the stone.
KJV Bible Commentary d. His Death for Mankind. 27:32–66
The body was then placed in Joseph’s own new tomb … hewn out in the rock and covered with a great stone, generally rolled in a groove and into place securely over the opening of the tomb. Such a stone would be humanly impossible for one man to roll back by himself from the inside, thus nullifying the ridiculous view that Jesus had only passed out and later “revived” and got out of the tomb. All such anti-supernatural compromises with the text cause more interpretive problems than they supposedly solve.
William McDonald wrote, “The mouth of the tomb was closed by a large stone, shaped like a millstone and standing on its edge in a channel also carved out of stone.”
William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1310.
61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Matthew 27:61
The two Marys were watching the burial of Jesus so they could come back after the Sabbath and give Jesus a proper burial. Setting the stone set the stage for guarding the tomb.
The two Marys were watching the burial of Jesus so they could come back after the Sabbath and give Jesus a proper burial. Setting the stone set the stage for guarding the tomb.
SECURING THE STONE
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate
Matthew 27:
This is an interesting verse to consider because “The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation” would have been on the Sabbath. This means the Pharisees compromised their convictions and broke the law of the Sabbath in order to promote their own agenda. Please keep in mind the Pharisees were extremely legalistic and quick to condemn others for breaking the Sabbath. Their willingness to break the Sabbath helps us to understand how desperately the religious leaders wanted to completely and totally eliminate Jesus. They were willing to compromise their convictions and break their own sacred laws to rid themselves of Jesus.
and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’
The disciples of Jesus were scattered and had forgotten Jesus promised to rise again following His death, but the enemies of Jesus remembered His words. The “chief priests and Pharisees” were very skeptical because they remembered Jesus spoke while He was still alive. This prompted them to approach Pilate and ask him about security for guarding the tomb. The actions of the Pharisees reveal how blind they were in their understanding of the true meaning of Scripture, especially as it relates to all sufficient, sacrificial, substitutionary, atoning death of Jesus and the promise of His victory over death. Little did these men realize there was not one tomb in the entire world secure enough to stop the resurrection of Jesus.
Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”
64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”
Matthew 27:64
The skepticism of the “chief priests and Pharisees” led them to believe the disciples of Jesus would open the tomb during the night and steal the body of Jesus and create and impression about the resurrection of Jesus which, in their opinion, would make the “last fraud will be worse than the first.” A. T. Robertson wrote, “The first fraud was belief in the Messiahship of Jesus, the second belief in his resurrection.” The Pharisees considered securing the stone and guarding the tomb as an infallible plan to keep the the disciples from removing the body of Jesus.
The skepticism of the “chief priests and Pharisees” led them to believe the disciples of Jesus would open the tomb during the night and steal the body of Jesus and create and impression about the resurrection of Jesus which, in their opinion, would make the “last fraud will be worse than the first.” A. T. Robertson wrote, “The first fraud was belief in the Messiahship of Jesus, the second belief in his resurrection.”
The first fraud was belief in the Messiahship of Jesus, the second belief in his resurrection.
65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.”
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1933), .
Matthew 27:65
Pilate granted their request and gave them permission to secure the tomb. The enemy worked hard to keep the body of Jesus in the tomb, but His resurrection would prove Him to be victorious. Securing the stone and guarding the tomb could never stop the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
Pilate granted permission to their request of securing the tomb. The enemy worked hard to keep the body of Jesus in the tomb, but His resurrection would prove Him to be victorious.
SEALING THE STONE
66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.
There is little doubt about how well the Roman guards were trained. They were professionals who were known for their discipline and knew how sealing the stone and guarding the tomb would keep anyone, including the disciples, from stealing the body of Jesus. They also understood the penalty of falling asleep on their post was execution.
There is little doubt about how well the Roman guards were trained. They were professionals who were known for their discipline and knew how to make the tomb secure. They also understood the penalty of falling asleep on their post was execution.
Merrill Unger wrote:
Believer’s Bible Commentary U. The Guarded Tomb (27:62–66)
The precautions His enemies took to “make the sepulchre sure, sealing it and stationing a guard,” 62–64, only resulted in God’s overruling the plans of the wicked and offering indisputable proof of the King’s resurrection.
Can you also see you see our Sovereign God’s hand at work in the details of our Lord’s burial? Looking back through Bible history in relation to the burial of Jesus and guarding the tomb helps us to know this was an act of God. Sealing the stone made it impossible for the friends or enemies of Jesus to remove the body of Jesus without someone knowing about it. The ones who crucified Jesus, Romans and Jews alike, were joined together in sealing the stone and guarding the tomb.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary 27:62–66
The Roman guard not only sealed the tomb (presumably with the official Roman seal and with a cord and wax, which if tampered with, could be detected) but also continued to keep a guard at the scene. Their presence made stealing the body impossible.
Can you also see you see the hand of God at work in the details of our Lord’s burial? Guarding the tomb was an act of God. Sealing the tomb made it impossible for the friends or enemies of Jesus to remove the body of Jesus without someone knowing about it. The ones who crucified Jesus, Romans and Jews alike, were joined together in sealing the tomb. Their actions helped to prove the resurrection of Jesus.
It is very easy to see how sealing the stone and guarding the tomb helped to prove the resurrection of Jesus.
APPLICATION
1. Joseph and Nicodemus decided to lay aside their fears and show some boldness after being secret disciples of Jesus. Do you consider yourself to be a secret disciple of do you show boldness in witness and work for the Lord?
2. After thinking about how the legalistic Pharisees were more than willing to compromise their Biblical convictions to promote their own agenda, do you consider yourself strong in your own personal convictions and commitment to the Lord and His Word?
3. Sealing the stone and guarding the tomb reveals the unbelief of the Jewish religious leaders, many of the Jewish people and the Romans. Unfortunately, they were not the only ones who chose not to believe in the promises of God and His power to fulfill them. Many through the ages, including this generation, have chosen to reject the promises and the power of the living God. How about you? Do you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior? If not, would you give your heart to Jesus and be saved today?
Prepared for First Baptist Church Oakdale - April 9, 2017