The Securely Guarded Gospel Text: Matthew 27:57-66
Introduction: The Foolishness of Fighting God
We come now to the quietest moment in the history of the world. The Lord of glory, the one through whom all things were made, is dead. The frantic violence of the crucifixion has ceased. The sky, once supernaturally dark, has returned to its normal hue. The earthquake has stopped. The crowds have dispersed, beating their breasts. And the Son of God lies in a borrowed tomb. To all outward appearances, evil has triumphed. The religious authorities have gotten their man, the Romans have executed their sentence, and the disciples have scattered like frightened sheep.
But in this passage, we see the absolute sovereignty of God on glorious display, working not just in spite of the actions of men, but through them. We see the tender courage of secret disciples, and we see the frantic, paranoid scheming of God’s enemies. And in their very attempts to secure their victory, to make sure this Jesus movement is stamped out once and for all, they become unwitting participants in God’s grand design. They become, in effect, the first apologists for the resurrection. Their meticulous efforts to prevent a fraud provide the very best evidence that no fraud was possible.
This is a profound lesson for us. Men are always trying to secure the world against God. They are always trying to roll a stone in front of the tomb, to post a guard, to affix a seal. They do this with their legislatures, with their universities, with their media, and with their own proud hearts. They want to make sure that Jesus stays dead and buried, a relic of a bygone era. They want a world where they are in control, where their plans cannot be upset by a meddlesome deity. But what this passage demonstrates with iron-clad certainty is that when men set themselves against the living God, their wisest plans are nothing but folly. Their strongest guards are sleeping children. Their most secure seals are like threads of burnt flax. God uses the very schemes of His enemies to accomplish His purposes and to magnify His glory. They intended to bury a man; they ended up guarding a God.
The Text
Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man 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 cloth, 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. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave.
Now on the next day, the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Therefore, order for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples 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.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.
(Matthew 27:57-66 LSB)
Courage in the Darkness (vv. 57-61)
We begin with the actions of a man who, until this point, has remained in the shadows.
"Now when it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him." (Matthew 27:57-58)
The Providence of God is meticulous. Roman practice was often to leave the bodies of crucified criminals on their crosses to be devoured by birds and beasts, a final act of humiliation. But the Jewish law required that a body not remain hanging overnight (Deut. 21:23). Who would dare to intervene? The disciples are in hiding. The women are watching from a distance, powerless. And at this precise moment, Joseph of Arimathea steps out of the shadows of history. John’s gospel tells us he was a secret disciple, “for fear of the Jews” (John 19:38). He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the very council that had condemned Jesus. And yet, when all the loud and public disciples have fled, this quiet one finds his courage.
This is a beautiful picture of how God’s grace works. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is acting rightly in the presence of fear. Joseph risked everything. By identifying himself with a condemned criminal, he risked his wealth, his reputation, and his position on the council. He went boldly to Pilate, the man who had just washed his hands of Jesus, and asked for the body. This was no small request. But God moved in Pilate’s heart, and the request was granted. God always has His people in the right places at the right time, even in the enemy’s camp.
Joseph then performs a kingly burial for a crucified king.
"And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 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 thetomb and went away. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the grave." (Matthew 27:59-61)
Notice the details. This is not a hasty, pauper’s burial. He uses a "clean linen cloth." John tells us Nicodemus, another secret disciple from the Sanhedrin, joined him, bringing an extravagant seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes (John 19:39). This was a burial fit for royalty. And the tomb itself is significant. It is Joseph’s "own new tomb," one never before used. This is crucial, because it means that when the tomb is found empty, there can be no confusion that someone else’s body had been there and was removed. It was hewn out of solid rock, meaning there was only one way in and one way out. A "large stone" was rolled against the entrance, securing it.
Every one of these details is a direct fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah had foretold that the Messiah would be "with a rich man in His death" (Isaiah 53:9). God had planned for this rich man, Joseph, to provide a tomb for His Son centuries before Joseph was ever born. God’s sovereign decree is not a blunt instrument; it is a finely-tuned symphony where every note, every instrument, every player, contributes to the final, glorious crescendo. The love and courage of Joseph and Nicodemus were their own, and yet they were perfectly woven into the unstoppable plan of God.
And the two Marys are there, watching. They are faithful witnesses. They see where the Lord is laid. Their quiet grief and steadfast love are a stark contrast to the fear of the men and the scheming of the priests. They are preparing to do what they can, to anoint the body after the Sabbath. They are the last at the cross and the first at the tomb.
The Paranoia of the Powerful (vv. 62-64)
The next day, the Sabbath, a day of rest, is anything but restful for the enemies of Christ.
"Now on the next day, the day after the Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, 'Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’'" (Matthew 27:62-63)
Here is a staggering piece of irony. The chief priests and Pharisees, who publicly scoffed at Jesus’ claims, are the only ones who seem to remember His prediction of the resurrection. His own disciples had forgotten. They were sunk in grief and despair. But His enemies remembered. They remembered, and they were afraid. Unbelief is never placid. It is a restless, anxious thing. They call Him "that deceiver," but their actions betray their fear that He might just be who He said He was.
They are breaking the Sabbath laws they so righteously pretended to uphold by going to a Gentile governor on a high holy day to conduct business. The hypocrite is always willing to bend his own rules when his power is at stake. Their fear drives them to action. They have a plan to stop God.
"Therefore, order for the grave to be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples 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." (Matthew 27:64)
Their logic is entirely worldly. They can only imagine one kind of power: the kind they themselves wield. They think in terms of plots and stolen bodies and propaganda. The idea that a man could actually conquer death is beyond their categories. So they project their own deceitfulness onto the disciples. They are worried about a "last deception" being worse than the "first." What was the first deception? That Jesus was the Messiah. They think they have quashed that lie by killing Him. But they are terrified of a resurrection rumor. They know that a resurrected Messiah is an invincible Messiah. In their own perverse way, they understand the implications of the resurrection better than the disciples do at this point.
Securing the Inevitable (vv. 65-66)
Pilate, weary of the whole affair, grants their request with a dismissive wave.
"Pilate said to them, 'You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.'" (Matthew 27:65)
Pilate essentially tells them to use their own Temple guard, or perhaps he grants them a detachment of Roman soldiers. The point is the permission: "make it as secure as you know how." This is a divine taunt. God, through the mouth of a pagan governor, challenges them to do their absolute worst. Bring your best security. Use all your human ingenuity. Seal it up so that not even an ant could get in or out. Do everything in your power to keep that tomb closed.
And they do just that. They pour all their anxiety and hatred into this one task.
"And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone." (Matthew 27:66)
They make the grave secure. They post a guard of trained soldiers. And then they affix a seal. This was likely a cord stretched across the stone and fastened at both ends with wax, stamped with the official seal of the Sanhedrin or of Rome. To break that seal was to defy the full authority of the state, an offense punishable by death. They have now made the tomb a fortress. It is guarded by the power of the sword and the authority of the law. They have done everything humanly possible to ensure that the body of Jesus of Nazareth remains right where it is.
And in doing so, they have become God’s unwitting servants. By their very actions, they eliminate every possible naturalistic explanation for the empty tomb. Could the disciples have stolen the body? Not past a trained guard. Could they have bribed the guards? The penalty for a Roman soldier falling asleep on duty was death. Could they have tunneled in? The tomb was solid rock. Could they have gone to the wrong tomb? The women and the priests knew exactly which one it was. The enemies of Christ, in their frantic attempt to prevent a resurrection hoax, provided the most powerful possible testimony to the resurrection’s reality. They sealed the tomb, and in so doing, they sealed their own doom and certified the world’s salvation.
The Guarded Gospel
What does this mean for us? It means that the gospel we believe is not a myth or a cleverly devised story. The central event of our faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the best-attested fact of ancient history. God ensured that His enemies would be the chief witnesses. They set the stage. They provided the security. They certified the tomb was occupied and sealed. And when that tomb was found empty on the third day, their own precautions screamed the truth of the angel’s message: "He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said."
The powers of this world are still trying to secure the tomb. They are still posting guards and affixing seals. They try to seal Christ up in the pages of history, to reduce Him to a moral teacher, to deny His power over death. They guard the tomb with their materialistic science, their cynical media, and their godless laws. They do everything they can to make the world "as secure as they know how" against the reality of the risen Christ.
But the stone is still rolled away. The guards are still struck down like dead men. The seals are still broken. The Lord of Life cannot be contained by the machinations of dying men. The resurrection was not a resuscitation; it was the inauguration of the new creation. And that new creation is breaking into this old world with unstoppable power.
The question for us is the same one the angel posed to the women: "Why do you seek the living among the dead?" Why do we live as though the tomb were still sealed? Why do we cower in fear like the disciples in the upper room when our King has conquered death and holds all authority in heaven and on earth? The enemies of God took the resurrection seriously. Do we?
Their frantic security measures were a testimony to their fear. Our confident joy should be a testimony to our faith. The tomb is empty. Christ is risen. And because He is risen, not one of the world's guards, not one of its seals, not one of its threats, can stand against the advance of His kingdom. Let us, therefore, live like it.