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Matthew 27:57-66
The Burial of Jesus
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The Guard at the Tomb
62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.”
65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.
For the most part, we followers of Jesus kind of skip over this part of the story of his death and resurrection. We read about the crucifixion on Good Friday, then come back on Easter morning to celebrate the resurrection. But what happened in between isn’t all that interesting to us.
That’s understandable, but this part of the story deserves more attention than we usually give it. For one thing, it’s in the gospel account, which says to me the Holy Spirit thinks it’s important. And there are definitely some aspects of the story that make a difference to how we understand what happened.
Matthew tells us that the burial arrangements were made by Joseph of Arimathea, who was a rich man and a follower of Jesus. The Gospel of Mark tells us a little more about Joseph, that he was also “a prominent member of the council.” That’s presumably the Jewish high council, which was called the Sanhedrin. So Joseph must have been present at the “meeting” at which Jesus had been condemned. But of course, at that point the Sanhedrin was functioning more like a lynch mob than like a council of wise leaders of God’s chosen people. It seems that Joseph had been opposed to the condemnation of Jesus, but lynch mobs don’t count votes – they shout down dissenters.
After the crucifixion, Joseph approached Pilate to ask permission to bury Jesus’ body. The historians say that tombs were often designed to hold several bodies so that family members might be buried together, so presumably Joseph had extra space he wasn’t likely to need. We’re told that Joseph wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen cloth and placed it in a newly carved tomb, then had a large stone rolled over the entrance. Historians say big round stones like millstones were used to keep out wild animals and discourage grave-robbers, both of which were common at the time.
We’re also told that Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” were present when the burial took place. The New Testament scholars say the other Mary was probably the mother of James and Joseph, not the mother of Jesus. But we can’t know for sure, because church tradition says Jesus had a biological brother named James, who was the leader of the early church around Jerusalem.
In the second part of our reading for today, some of the Jewish leaders approach Pilate to ask for guards at the grave site. They remember that Jesus had foretold his resurrection, and it seems that the idea makes them nervous. Probably none of the Jewish leaders think Jesus might really rise from the dead, but they do express concern that his disciples might steal the body and then claim that he had risen. Pilate gives permission, and the tomb is sealed and a guard posted. The Jewish leaders had guards of their own that they could have posted without Roman involvement, so the fact that they approached Pilate to ask for security probably indicates how worried they were about the situation.
New Testament scholars say that this passage was probably intended to refute denials by the Hebrew leadership that Jesus had risen. The posting of Roman guards would be considered evidence that Jesus was really dead and buried. The presence of the women witnessing the burial would refute any claim that the disciples just got the location of the tomb wrong. And the placement of the big stone at the entrance makes it unlikely that anyone else would steal the body.
Like some of the other details of the story we pointed out earlier in the week, this passage might be thought of as something like footnotes in a modern account. It helps to establish the credibility of the story being told.
It also helps to highlight how threatening Jesus was to the religious leadership of his people. He was dead, but they were still worrying about him. And finally, it illustrates the fact that there were at least a few members of the Sanhedrin who saw Jesus as a genuine prophet – someone who spoke with the authority of God.
Let’s pray. Lord, we thank you for the faithful remnant of the leaders of the covenant people who heard the truth Jesus spoke, and put their trust in him. We thank you also for the evidence in the gospels that fills in our understanding of the circumstances of Jesus’ resurrection. Amen.
Grace and Peace,
Henry
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