Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
On the Sabbath Pilate placed a Roman guard at the disposal of the chief priests and Pharisees until the third day, bidding them go and secure the tomb as tightly as they could. They asked because they feared His saying that after three days He would rise again, lest the disciples steal the body by night and claim He was risen. The tomb was then made as secure as human power could make it, with cords fastened across the great stone to the solid rock and sealed with the Roman seal, and with a guard of one hundred armed soldiers stationed around it to keep strict watch. Roman guards and Roman arms were powerless to hold the Lord of life, for on the third day a mighty angel rolled away the stone and Jesus came forth alive while the guards fell as though dead. God used those very precautions to establish the fact of the resurrection and rule out fraud, so the efforts meant to prevent it became the most convincing proof of it.
Securing the Tomb
On the Sabbath Pilate put soldiers at the command of the chief priests and Pharisees to hold the tomb until the third day, telling them to go and make it as sure as they could. He answered their request to keep Jesus in the grave by placing a band of soldiers at their disposal and leaving the securing of the tomb in their hands. The guard was a Roman guard under strict Roman discipline, a serious safeguard against the disciples removing the body and claiming He had risen.
The request was driven by fear of His saying, After three days I will rise again. Though unwilling to step over a Gentile threshold for fear of defilement, the leaders came to Pilate to ask that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest the disciples steal the body by night and say He is risen, lest the body be taken or come to life and escape them. They could not rest or sleep but were more troubled by Him in death than in life. They remembered His sayings that He would raise the temple of His body in three days and that He would be mocked and scourged and crucified and rise the third day, had seen Him raise Lazarus and knew His power over death, and with trembling believed He was the Son of God.
The tomb was then made as secure as human power could make it with the Roman seal and Roman discipline. Cords were placed across the great stone before the opening, fastened to the solid rock and sealed with the Roman seal so the stone could not be moved without breaking the seal. A guard of one hundred armed soldiers was stationed around the sepulcher to keep strict watch so the body would not be disturbed or removed unnoticed.
The securing is also described as rolling a stone before the opening, placing cords round it, sealing them with the seal of the high priest, and stationing soldiers round the sepulcher to prevent tampering. The work was done not by Christ's friends or disciples but by the men who hated Him for His purity and integrity. They intended that death and the grave must hold Him whom they had crucified, and sealed Him in His tomb as securely as if He were to remain there through all time.
While the tomb was sealed and watched by Roman soldiers, evil angels rejoiced there and heavenly angels watched over Christ's body. Angelic power protected His resting place and waited for the command to liberate Him. Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. The women feared the body might be taken, and the disciples saw the great precautions while their hopes were buried with Christ in hopeless unbelief that He would rise the third day, which made strange impressions on their minds that they dared not put into words.
Precautions Prove the Resurrection
The counsel of weak men to hold Christ in the grave was useless and in vain, for Roman guards and Roman arms were powerless to confine the Lord of Life. The great stone and the seal could not keep Him in the tomb, though the tomb had been guarded and sealed to prevent the disciples from taking His body by night and saying He had risen. On the third day a mighty angel came from heaven in heavenly brightness, rolled away the stone, and Jesus came forth alive. The guards fell to the ground as though dead, unable to endure even angelic glory, for one angel could have struck down the whole Roman army.
God was glorified by their action and used these precautions to establish the fact of the resurrection, to rule out claims of fraud, and to make the guard's presence testimony to it. The strict guard under Roman discipline, the sealed stone, and the other measures meant to prevent removal of the body instead made the truth harder to dismiss and more firmly established. The very efforts made to prevent the resurrection became the most convincing arguments in proof of it, with the larger the guard placed around the tomb the more undeniable and stronger the triumph and the testimony that He had risen.
Their vain counsel fulfilled what the Holy Spirit had declared hundreds of years before through the psalmist, that the heathen rage and the rulers take vain counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed while He who sits in the heavens laughs and has them in derision, and the hour of His release was near.
The sealed tomb is empty and is not where Christ remains, for He is risen and lives, so His followers have hope rather than despair. The disciples saw the great precautions to keep His body in the grave lest it be stolen, while their own hopes were buried with Christ in hopeless unbelief that He would rise the third day, and the sight made strange impressions on their minds that they dared not put into words. If they had believed His plain word and searched the Scriptures about Him while He lay in the tomb, they would have been saved much sorrow and found comfort and hope.
On the Sabbath Pilate placed a Roman guard at the disposal of the chief priests and Pharisees until the third day, bidding them go and secure the tomb as tightly as they could.
They asked because they feared His saying that after three days He would rise again, lest the disciples steal the body by night and claim He was risen.
The tomb was then made as secure as human power could make it, with cords fastened across the great stone to the solid rock and sealed with the Roman seal, and with a guard of one hundred armed soldiers stationed around it to keep strict watch.
Roman guards and Roman arms were powerless to hold the Lord of life, for on the third day a mighty angel rolled away the stone and Jesus came forth alive while the guards fell as though dead.
God used those very precautions to establish the fact of the resurrection and rule out fraud, so the efforts meant to prevent it became the most convincing proof of it.
Securing the Tomb
On the Sabbath Pilate put soldiers at the command of the chief priests and Pharisees to hold the tomb until the third day, telling them to go and make it as sure as they could. He answered their request to keep Jesus in the grave by placing a band of soldiers at their disposal and leaving the securing of the tomb in their hands. The guard was a Roman guard under strict Roman discipline, a serious safeguard against the disciples removing the body and claiming He had risen.
The request was driven by fear of His saying, After three days I will rise again. Though unwilling to step over a Gentile threshold for fear of defilement, the leaders came to Pilate to ask that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest the disciples steal the body by night and say He is risen, lest the body be taken or come to life and escape them. They could not rest or sleep but were more troubled by Him in death than in life. They remembered His sayings that He would raise the temple of His body in three days and that He would be mocked and scourged and crucified and rise the third day, had seen Him raise Lazarus and knew His power over death, and with trembling believed He was the Son of God.
The tomb was then made as secure as human power could make it with the Roman seal and Roman discipline. Cords were placed across the great stone before the opening, fastened to the solid rock and sealed with the Roman seal so the stone could not be moved without breaking the seal. A guard of one hundred armed soldiers was stationed around the sepulcher to keep strict watch so the body would not be disturbed or removed unnoticed.
The securing is also described as rolling a stone before the opening, placing cords round it, sealing them with the seal of the high priest, and stationing soldiers round the sepulcher to prevent tampering. The work was done not by Christ's friends or disciples but by the men who hated Him for His purity and integrity. They intended that death and the grave must hold Him whom they had crucified, and sealed Him in His tomb as securely as if He were to remain there through all time.
While the tomb was sealed and watched by Roman soldiers, evil angels rejoiced there and heavenly angels watched over Christ's body. Angelic power protected His resting place and waited for the command to liberate Him. Jesus rested in the tomb on the Sabbath. The women feared the body might be taken, and the disciples saw the great precautions while their hopes were buried with Christ in hopeless unbelief that He would rise the third day, which made strange impressions on their minds that they dared not put into words.
Precautions Prove the Resurrection
The counsel of weak men to hold Christ in the grave was useless and in vain, for Roman guards and Roman arms were powerless to confine the Lord of Life. The great stone and the seal could not keep Him in the tomb, though the tomb had been guarded and sealed to prevent the disciples from taking His body by night and saying He had risen. On the third day a mighty angel came from heaven in heavenly brightness, rolled away the stone, and Jesus came forth alive. The guards fell to the ground as though dead, unable to endure even angelic glory, for one angel could have struck down the whole Roman army.
God was glorified by their action and used these precautions to establish the fact of the resurrection, to rule out claims of fraud, and to make the guard's presence testimony to it. The strict guard under Roman discipline, the sealed stone, and the other measures meant to prevent removal of the body instead made the truth harder to dismiss and more firmly established. The very efforts made to prevent the resurrection became the most convincing arguments in proof of it, with the larger the guard placed around the tomb the more undeniable and stronger the triumph and the testimony that He had risen.
Their vain counsel fulfilled what the Holy Spirit had declared hundreds of years before through the psalmist, that the heathen rage and the rulers take vain counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed while He who sits in the heavens laughs and has them in derision, and the hour of His release was near.
The sealed tomb is empty and is not where Christ remains, for He is risen and lives, so His followers have hope rather than despair. The disciples saw the great precautions to keep His body in the grave lest it be stolen, while their own hopes were buried with Christ in hopeless unbelief that He would rise the third day, and the sight made strange impressions on their minds that they dared not put into words. If they had believed His plain word and searched the Scriptures about Him while He lay in the tomb, they would have been saved much sorrow and found comfort and hope.