The Borrowed Tomb
One might have thought that someone from Jesus’ family or from his close followers would have been making funeral arrangements, for the Jews took very seriously the importance of a decent burial. But it was this man Joseph who took the initiative. Since Jesus had been crucified, it was necessary to get permission from the Romans before access to the body would be permitted. Joseph went to the top and approached Pilate. That he was able to speak to the governor gives us some indication of his importance. He asked for the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission.
Mark adds that Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so soon and that Pilate checked with the centurion to make sure that he was in fact dead (Mark 15:44). When this had been verified, he commanded that it be given.
Jesus’ burial and resurrection (27:57–28:20). Joseph makes arrangements for the burial of Jesus (27:57–61). Joseph was an upright, respected, and wealthy member of the Sanhedrin who dissented from the judgment against Jesus and became his disciple (v. 57; Mark 15:43; Luke 23:50–51)
By Jewish law, Jesus’ body could not remain on the cross overnight (Deut. 21:22–23), particularly when the next day was a Sabbath (v. 62; Mark 15:42). Yet the Romans “let bodies of crucified criminals hang in full view till they rotted away.
Tombs cut out of rock had recesses and shelves for the corpses (cf. Isa. 22:16). The placing of Jesus in the rich man’s own grave (v. 60) fulfills Isaiah 53:9 and witnesses to Joseph’s devotion: “if Jesus was buried as a criminal, then the Law forbade the owner of the tomb to use it again.”
We have seen that on a number of occasions Jesus had prophesied that he would rise from the dead. His disciples seem consistently to have misunderstood these prophecies, and there is no evidence that they had them in mind at this time. But his enemies did remember them, and they ascribed to Jesus’ followers better memories than they apparently had.
Matthew rounds off this section of his narrative with the Jewish leaders happy and secure. They went off, away from Pilate, and proceeded to do as he had suggested. They made the tomb secure, and Matthew tells us that they did this, having sealed the stone. That was the important thing. If the stone was not moved, there could be no ill-founded rumor of a resurrection. They had the stone sealed and they had the guard, so from their point of view all was well. They had neatly defeated any attempt the disciples might make to empty the tomb and to start stories of a resurrection.
But in doing this they did more than they knew. They ensured that there could be no nonsense about disciples stealing the body when in due course Jesus did rise from the dead. The precautions of his enemies would underline the truth of his resurrection.