Matthew 27:62-66
62 Now on the next day, 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.
This is one of the most significant passages in the
resurrection narratives. It is like
watching a child trying to play chess with a grand master. Every move that the Pharisees make thinking
that they are taking care of a potential problem, God must have just been
smiling and shaking His head. Their plan
was not only ineffective at preventing their worst fears, their plan only
served the purposes of God more completely.
Men must learn the futility of trying to fight against an all-powerful
God.
THE PHARISEES ARE AWARE OF THE RESURRECTION: There two
things that are very revealing about the Pharisee’s speech to Pilate. First was the fact that they knew about the promise
Jesus made to rise again three days after He died. The only place we see in Scripture where He
promised this was when He was referring to the Temple, but the author makes
clear that He was referring to His body.
Clearly, the Pharisees understood this promise clearly. The second is that they called Jesus a
deceiver. Jesus had never said anything
false. He only contradicted the
non-biblical teachings and interpretations of the Pharisees. They were convinced that they were right, and
He was wrong. The fact that others
believed Him indicated, in their minds, that He was a deceiver. We all have that tendency to consider those
who disagree with us as being wrong. It
is important that we understand our own limitations and live with humility. Unfortunately, it seems the disciples had a
hard time believing the truth of the resurrection as well. The promise of the resurrection was
clear. Men just had a hard time
believing it. The promise of the return
of Christ is also clear. Men just have a
hard time believing it or living in light of it.
THE PHARISEES ARE AFRAID OF THE REPERCUSSIONS: One of the
most telling statements to the power of the resurrection is the statement the
Pharisees make is when they claim that if His disciples steal His body and then
claim ‘He has risen from the dead,’ that this deception will be worse than the
first. Since they are aware of the
prophecy, they realize that if that were to take place, or even thought to have
taken place, it would devastate their agenda.
They want so completely discredit Jesus as the Messiah. They know that were Jesus to come back to
life, it would be positive proof the Jesus was who He claimed to be. The risen Christ is the most significant
proof of the power of God and the authority of Jesus as Messiah. This truth is what has brought many skeptics
and even atheists to faith in Christ. The
power of resurrection has transformed the world as we know it. The Pharisees thought that a lie about a
resurrection would be a devastating result, and they were right, had it been a
lie it would have been devastating.
However, Jesus did rise from the dead and the result has been
magnificent as the nations have been given access to the Gospel of Jesus and
been transformed by the power of the Spirit.
THE PHARISEES ARE AUTHORIZED FOR PROTECTION: Pilate
authorized the Pharisees to make the tomb where Jesus was lain as safe as they
could. This precaution, meant to prevent
a lie about the resurrection, only strengthens the truth of the resurrection. They placed guards at the entrance to the
tomb and placed a seal over the rock at the entrance that made it a criminal
offense to break that seal. This was an
extreme measure for the grave of any person.
There is no way that the body of Jesus could be stolen by any man. They must have entered the Sabbath very satisfied
with all that had been accomplished. Little
did they know that their best efforts to eliminate Jesus and then protect the
grave would be useless. By the first day
of the week, that grave would be empty and Jesus, the Messiah would be
alive. The plans and schemes of men can
never thwart the will of God. Any
attempt we might make to impose our will on the will of God will be to no
avail. Our lives will go much better if
we simply recognize who He is, worship Him and submit to His will in our lives.
APPLICATION: Live in light of the resurrection and the
return of Jesus. We can rest assured
that all that God has promised will come true. Understand that it is the resurrection of Jesus
that distinguishes our faith from that of all other man centered
religions. When we share our faith with
others, we must always give special attention to the resurrection of
Jesus. Don’t ever imagine that we can rebel
or fight against God’s will. He will
accomplish His will no matter how rebellious we act or how powerful we or any
nation may become. Worship Him for His
power, wisdom, grace and love.
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