Matthew 27:57-66

Rachel Workman:⁵⁷ As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea who had become a follower of Jesus, ⁵⁸ went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. And Pilate issued an order to release it to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long sheet of clean linen cloth. ⁶⁰ He placed it in his own new tomb, which had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance and left. ⁶¹ Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching. I find it interesting that Joseph someone unspoken of until now was the one who stood by Jesus to the end. Even after his disciples abandoned him. It kinda makes me think of those who are meek in their faith. They can prove to be faithful to the end while the bolder in faith can dispense.

⁶² The next day, on the Sabbath,^[n] the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate.⁶³ They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ ⁶⁴ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

⁶⁵ Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” ⁶⁶ So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it. This simple task could never stop God for fulfilling his promises.

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John Burnett:  ⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ This man 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 cloth, ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.  Jesus had said that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Here we have a rich man, Arimathea, providing the grave for Jesus to be buried.  It was the perfect grave for showing that Jesus was going to overcome the grave, sin and death on the third day.

⁶² Now on the next day, ^[a]the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.  The Pharisees had heard and listened to what Jesus had said about being resurrected on the third day.  They did everything in their power to make sure that did not happen.  This wasn’t going to be a switcheroo, this was the King of kings and Lord of lords rising from the dead as a sign that God had accepted His Son as the sufficient sacrifice for the sin of the world.  There was nothing they could do to stop God from exercising His love for us by providing the way for us to have eternal fellowship with Him.  He knew what we would do, how we would wander away from Him, and how we would take Him for granted, yet Jesus died for us anyway.  Thank you for your amazing grace, Lord Jesus.

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Michael Allens: ⁵⁷ As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus. He was a religious leader, an honored member of the Sanhedrin as told in Mark 15:43. In the past, Joseph had been afraid to speak against the religious leaders who opposed Jesus; now he was bold, courageously asking to take Jesus’ body from the cross and to bury it. I find it sad that the disciples who publicly followed Jesus had fled, but the man who followed Jesus in secret, came forward to do what was right. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Guard at the Tomb

⁶² The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. ⁶³ “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ ⁶⁴ So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” I don’t think they really had to worry about the disciples. By this time they probably fled the country and got new identities. Obviously the religious leaders took Jesus’ resurrection claims more seriously than the disciples did. The disciples must not have remembered Jesus’ teaching about his resurrection back in 20:17-19; but the religious leaders did. Because of his claims, they were almost afraid of Jesus after his death as when he was alive. The last thing they wanted to see was Jesus coming out of the tomb, so they were going to take every precaution to prevent it.

⁶⁵ “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard. In addition to sealing the tomb, the religious leaders took a further precaution; asking that guards be placed at the tomb’s entrance. With such precautions, the only way the tomb could be empty would be for Jesus to rise from the dead. There is nothing; no tomb, stone, seal, guard, or army that could ever prevent the Son of God from rising again.

 

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Tomorrow's Reading for Matthew 28:1-10

28 Early on Sunday morning,^[a] as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.

² Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. ³ His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
⁵ Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. ⁷ And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
⁸ The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. ⁹ And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”