57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He 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 shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. Matthew 27: 57-66 ESV
Matthew 27: 57-66 Burial of Jesus
There came a rich man from Arimathea - Why does it matter that he was rich? On a practical level, this allowed for him to afford a tomb hewn into the rocks, a tomb that was nearby, which was also important, because they were pressed for time to get Jesus into the ground before the start of the Sabbath. Jesus had already stated that it was harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven then for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, yet with God we see all things are possible. Most importantly though, it fulfills a very specific prophecy.
9He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer; and when His soul is made a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.… Isaiah 53: 9-10
Named Joseph - In Mark's gospel we find that Joseph was a member of the council, the Sanhedrin, the majority of which sought to charge and crucify Jesus. In Luke we find that he did not consent to their judgment. In John, who spares no one, we find that he "was" a secret disciple for fear of the Jews. Not deciding against Jesus and showing up to request his body would kind of out you. Here he identifies with Christ in His death and burial, and there is a lot at stake, he is a man, like Nicodemus, who has a lot to lose, respect, power, money, property. I will dig deeper into the Nicodemus story in John for there is a lot there.
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. Mark 15: 42-45
50Now there was a Council member named Joseph, a good and righteous man, 51who had not consented to their decision or action. He was from the Judean town of Arimathea, and was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.… Luke 23: 50-52
38Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but secretly for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate to let him remove the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission, so he came and removed His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had previously come to Jesus at night, also brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40So they took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.… John 19: 38-40
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there - They are the faithful; they just can't leave their Lord.
1Soon afterward, Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, 2as well as some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager Chuza, Susanna, and many others. These women were ministering to them out of their own means.… Luke 8: 1-3
How that imposter said, while He was still alive - They are not done with Him, they realize He spoke of His death and resurrection. He was buried on Friday so they need to make it through Sunday, with Him still in the tomb. in order to vindicate their actions which were brought on by their pride, envy and greed. They hated Him quite deeply.
While He was still alive: In this, the enemies of Jesus admit that Jesus is dead. They did not believe the “Swoon Theory,” a conjecture that denies the resurrection, saying that Jesus never really died, but just “swooned” on the cross, and then somehow wonderfully revived in the tomb.
i. A humorous letter to the editor to a Christian magazine accurately evaluated the “Swoon Theory”:
Dear Eutychus: Our preacher said, on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, Bewildered
Dear Bewildered: Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his heart; embalm him; put him in an airless tomb for 36 hours and see what happens. Sincerely, Eutychus - E Word
Lest His disciples go and steal Him away - It would be possible to raid a tomb, but His disciples were Jews so this would be unlikely, as a dead body would be a defilement. Even if they did, what good would it do to have a dead body? I think their fear relates more to the miracles they saw Jesus do, including raising people from the dead. Asking for a guard will make their propaganda even more difficult to believe, especially given the high profile nature of this execution and the severity of failure as a Roman soldier, multiple Roman soldiers.
By sealing the stone and setting a guard - You have the aversion of death, the psychological and religious reasons to avoid the tomb, the expected rotting of the corpse, and since it was Jesus Who was dead, they really had no reason, nor knew of anyone else with His ability. Who was going to come raise Jesus from the dead? His disciples already abandoned Him, they proved afraid, so they would have an aversion towards being anywhere near this, fear getting arrested, meeting the same end as their Master. From their behavior this would appear more like defeat. Joseph had already provided a large stone, something that was probably used to keep animals from raiding a tomb. Now they are going to seal the stone which will be a Roman seal consisting of a rope around the stone and the edge of the tomb, which will then be covered in wax. Besides all this there will be a Roman guard which was done in shifts, one group at post while the others rested. So now the breaking of this seal, if reported, would be the soldiers head. It is unlikely that anyone could be quiet enough in removing such a stone that the soldiers could sleep through it, and they just needed to make it through Saturday and Sunday, then Jesus would be proven an imposter, a fraud like they said.
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