Pilate said unto them, “You have a guard: go your way, make it as sure as you can”. Matthew 27:65
The formal religious leaders in Israel were worried. The miracles God performed at the cross had not phased them, their hearts were still as
hard as ever. Yet they feared one thing. They were paranoid that the followers of Jesus would steal the body of Christ out of the grave (He had said he would rise again) and then claim that Christ was truly God. (They were not concerned enough to go to the tomb and watch for themselves (that would be breaking Moses’ law!).Instead they
“dump” their problem on Pilate. They go to him and explain their
fear and make their “request”. “Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, other-wise 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.” What did they fear? Their first fear was the people would believe that Jesus rose from the dead and then that they would lose followers . Note how they listened to the Lord’s words. They paid more attention to His claim that He would rise from the dead than did His disciples. But they did not believe His claim. So they request is for a guard for just three days. If He didn’t rise from the dead within that time there is no way people could believe His word.. But Pilate throws the responsibility back on the Sanhedrin – he wants no responsibility for ensuring Jesus stays in the grave.
You have a guard Scholars have debated whether Pilate approves a Roman guard at the tomb or if he tells the religious leaders to use their own temple guard. The word “soldiers” (Matthew 28:12) and the guard’s fear that Pilate will care what became of the body, indicate they are Romans. A Roman cohort (John 18:3) combines with the Jewish temple guard (Luke 22:52)when they arrested the Lord in Gethsemane. Pilate likely is telling these leaders to use the same group of men he authorized to arrest Him,
Go your way The term means “get out”. Pilate wants no more to do with the Sanhedrin or Jesus.
Make it as sure as ye can Pilate tells them to do whatever they think is necessary. The word secure implies certainty. The only other time the word is used outside of this interaction with Pilate in in Acts where the disciples feet are “fastened” to the stocks.
What actions did the Sanhedrin take? Matthew 27:66 tells us the Sanhedrin did their job well. “And they went and made the grave secure.” How did they do that? Joseph and Nicodemus had placed a large stone against the entrance of the tomb. Now the Jewish religious leaders add guards in front of the tomb and set a wax seal across the large stone. The seal was placed on the the stone in the presence of the guard then they are left them to keep watch. That means they verified a body was in the tomb before the seal was
placed across the stone in the opening.
What can we learn? For close to two thousand years, the world has been trying to stop Christ from dying for their sin and rising again. We saw how the mob mocked the savior on the cross and taunted Him to come down if he was truly the Messiah. Then when he was placed in the tomb they used all the resources at their disposal to keep him buried. Spurgeon states that Rome and the Sanhedrin unwittingly helped prove the truth of the resurrection . “It was now impossible for his body to be stolen; if he came forth it must be by supernatural power.” Never underestimate the might and power of God but more importantly do not miss the love He has for all mankind that He would go to such extraordinary measures to secure our salvation. Today the world tries to dismiss the resurrection by making it a lie. It is not!