Matthew 27:62-66: The Faith of the Faithless

“that imposter said… ‘After three days I will arise.’” The chief priests and Pharisees to Pilate, Matthew 27:63. 

“Jesus was placed in a common grave, and covered over…In a very short time only some unmarked bones remained.  Even the bones were gone before too long.  Nature rather efficiently reclaims its own resources.”  (Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong, Resurrection: Myth or Reality? p. 241) 

“If China was closed for 40 years to Western missionaries, it’s not because Jesus slipped and fell into the tomb. He stepped in.  And when it was sealed over, he saved 50 million Chinese from inside – without Western missionaries.  And when it was time, he pushed the stone away so we could see what he had done.  When it looks like he is buried for good, Jesus is doing something awesome in the dark.”  (John Piper, A Godward Life, Book Two, p. 124)

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation for the Sabbath, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate (v. 62). The Moody Gospel Commentary states, “There must have been genuine fear in the hearts of these hypocrites for them to violate their own strict Sabbath observances to meet with the governor.” 

In 2012 I visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem.  Like everyone else, I had to enter through a metal detector.  A sign at the security check point said, “The chief rabbis of Israel have ruled that walking through the metal detector system does not violate Shabbat or festivals.”  The Jewish faith has always taken very seriously their laws regarding the Sabbath.  The religious elite criticized Jesus repeatedly for violating the Sabbath (Matthew 12:10, Luke 13:14, John 5:10, 9:16).  Yet they saw no conflict in setting aside the Sabbath laws when it served their purposes.

They said, “Sir, we remember how that imposter said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise,” (v. 63).  The chief priests and Pharisees could not bring themselves to even say His name.   They found Jesus so offensive that they spoke of Him as “that imposter.”  After a lifetime of engaging others about Christ, Josh McDowell makes a similar observation: “You can talk about God and people don’t necessarily get upset, but mention Jesus and people want to stop the conversation.”  (Josh McDowell, More Than a Carpenter, p. 9)

Jesus spoke frequently of His coming resurrection: Matthew 12:40, 16:21, 17:23, and 20:19.  Ironically, it was the chief priests who took seriously these predictions of His rising from the dead while the disciples seemed to have forgotten them and fled when things got difficult (see 26:56).  

“Therefore,” the chief priests and Pharisees continued before Pilate, “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,” (v. 64).  In spite of His love, His claims, His miracles, His teachings, still the religious authorities of Israel considered Him a fraud.  Even His resurrection will not convince them.   The religious heart without the renewing work of the Holy Spirit is easily fooled by its own self-importance.

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers.  Go, make it as secure as you can,” (v. 65).  Pilate’s statement “you have a guard” may mean that Pilate granted their wish and assigned Roman guards to the tomb.   However, it is possible Pilate’s response was cynical and implied, “Do it yourself.  Use guards from the temple and not from my soldiers.”  After all, the guards went first to the chief priests to report the resurrection (see 28:11).   

So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (v. 66) There is no way now that those feisty disciples can steal the body!   There is a wax seal that will break if anyone tampers with the tomb and there are guards stationed at the tomb as well.    But like Elijah calling for water to be poured on the sacrifice (see 1 Kings 18:33-35), the stage has been set so that only God can get the credit for what happens next! 

The chief priests and Pharisees had the facts right; they knew the Lord predicted His resurrected. Even the demons have their theology correct (see James 2:19).  But proper facts and theology do not imply a heart right with God.   On the other hand, the disciples had weak faith.  But their faith was in the correct object: Christ Jesus.   A head full of the right information does not imply a heart full of the Holy Spirit.   How is your heart?   Is your trust in yourself and your ability to live a religious life?   If so, then the cross will be foolishness to you (see 1 Corinthians 1:18).   Are you frustrated by your spiritual weaknesses and instead trust on Jesus?    Then you will know the power of God!