Key Verse: So, they went and made
the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard."
Matthew 27:66
"The wicked plot against the
righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for
He knows their day is coming."
You have to wonder if, by now,
Pilate is beginning to question the sanity of the Jewish leaders themselves. It
wasn't enough that they were jealous of this quiet dreamer, Jesus, now they
were afraid of His disciples. From Pilate's perspective, this last must have
been almost ludicrous.
After all, only one of Jesus'
followers had stuck around for the trials and crucifixion. For the most part,
as soon as Jesus had been taken, they had all scattered and were probably in
hiding. The idea of this rag tag group of unlearned fishermen sticking their
necks out now to steal a body and then start a rumor that no one would believe
anyway, was ridiculous. The leadership were obviously projecting more about how
little hold they actually had on the people than any damage Jesus’ followers
could do.
"Why argue?" Pilate
probably reasoned to himself. There was no talking with irrational people. It
would be easier to humor them with a few guards than try to talk them out of
it. It would be an easy few days for the selected guards, guarding a tomb in a
garden. How tough could that be? If a few of Jesus' followers did show up, they
were no match for a Roman guard. To Pilate, I'm sure that this was much ado
about nothing except for the fun he would have telling the story.
For the leaders, however, this
was giving it their best shot! I'm sure that more than one of them had the,
"what if," question in the backs of their minds. They needed this
guarantee more than anyone else. In spite of what they said to Pilate, perhaps
they really had to make sure that Jesus didn't rise again. These Pharisees knew
they would all be in Big trouble if Jesus did rise again and prove to be the
true Messiah after all. How sad that, in all of this, they never appealed to
God for His wisdom, but instead, relied on the protection that only man could
provide.
It is interesting too that
Matthew, who is writing to Jewish believers, is the one who makes sure that
this event isn't forgotten. This plot was important for Jewish believers to
know about so they could understand those they had once seen as their leaders.
This would help them to remain strong against the opposition and persecution
that would come in the future. This would also let the Jewish people know that
Rome had actually guarded the tomb, hopefully placing credible doubt on the
rumor that the Jewish leadership would try to spread later to discourage belief
in the resurrection. Remember, man hurled at Jesus all that it had, but Jesus
remained victorious. In Him, we will do the same.
Hymn: "A Mighty Fortress"
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