Matthew 27:62

Mat_27:62-66

Command therefore that the sepulchre be made secure.

The Jew and the Roman watching the sepulchre

I. This passage of sacred history illustrates the truth that God has made all things for Himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. There is no counsel, nor wisdom, nor understanding against the Lord.

II. Some Christians are chosen of God to display by their great trials His power and wisdom, as Christ was by His death and burial and resurrection.

III. Bad men should be objects of pity rather than of fear or anger.

IV. Everything relating to the resurrection of Christ is unspeakably interesting for this reason, He was raised again for our justification. (N. Adams, D. D.)

Sabbath-breaking

It is a poetical justice that they who have so often accused the Saviour of Sabbath-breaking, now themselves finally desecrate this day. (J. P. Lange, D. D.)

Anxiety on account of Christ, even when dead

It is a common proverb, Dead men bite not. But here Christ, though dead and buried, bites and beats hard upon these evil mens consciences. They could not rest the whole night before, for fear He should get out of the grave some way, and so create them further trouble. Scipio appointed his sepulchre to be so placed, as his image standing upon it might look directly towards Africa, that being dead, he might still be a terror to the Carthaginians. And Cadwallo, an ancient king of this island, commanded his dead body to be embalmed and put into a brazen image, and so set upon a brazen horse over Ludgate for a terror to the Saxons. It is well-known that Zisca, that brave Bohemian, charged his Taborites to flay his corpse, and head a drum with his skin; the sound whereof, as oft as the enemies heard, they should be appalled and put to flight. And our Edward

I. adjured his son and nobles that if he died in his journey into Scotland, they should carry his corpse about with them, and not suffer it to be interred till they had vanquished the usurper and subdued the country. Something like to this the prophet Isaiah foretelleth of our Saviour (and we see it here accomplished), when he saith, In that day the root of Jesse shall stand up for an ensign to the people, and even his rest (or, as some read it, his sepulchre) shall be glorious (Isa_11:10). There are that think that these words, The day that followed the day of the preparation, are put ironically, or by way of a jest against the hypocritical sabbatism of the high priests, who would so workday-like, beg the body, seal the sepulchre, and set the watch on that Sabbath, for the which they seemed to prepare so devoutly before it came. (John Trapp.)

Unavailing precautions

Now they seemed to dance upon Christs grave, as thinking themselves cock-sure of Him. So did those bloody tyrants of the primitive times make no other reckoning, but to raze out the name of Christ from under heaven. Therefore, also, they did not only constitute laws and proclamations against Christians, but did engrave the same laws in tables of brass, meaning to make all things firm for ever and a day. But He that sat in heaven, and said, Yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion, laughed at them; Jehovah had them in derision. Look how Daniel was innocently condemned, cast into the lions den, had the door sealed upon him, and, to see to, no hope or means of life was left him; and yet, by Gods good providence, he came forth untouched, and was made a greater man than before. So our blessed Saviour was innocently condemned, cast into the grave, sealed up among the dead, and to common judgment left as out of mind; yet early in the morning, at the time appointed by the power of His Deity, He raised Himself from death, and gloriously triumphed over it and hell. (John Trapp.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 27:62-66. Now the next day; the day that followed the day of the preparation — That is, after the sun was set, for the Jewish day began then. The day of preparation was the day before the sabbath, whereon they were to prepare for the celebration of it. The next day, then, (namely, Saturday,) was the sabbath, according to the Jews. But the evangelist seems to express it by this circumlocution, to show that the Jewish sabbath was then abolished. The chief priests, &c., came together unto Pilate — The chief priests and Pharisees, remembering that Jesus had predicted his own resurrection more than once, came to the governor and informed him of it begging that a guard might be ordered to the sepulchre, lest the disciples should carry his body away and affirm that he was risen from the dead. But they took this measure not on the morrow, in our sense of the word, but in the evening, after sunsetting, when the Jewish sabbath was begun, and when they understood the body was buried. To have delayed it to sunrising would have been preposterous, as the disciples might have stolen the body away during the preceding night. Besides, there is no inconsistency between this account of the time when the watch was placed and the subsequent articles of the history, which proceed upon the supposition that the women present at our Lord’s funeral were ignorant that any watch was placed at his grave. For they departed so early, that they had time to buy spices and ointments in the city before the preparation of the sabbath was ended; whereas the watch was not placed till the sabbath began. Saying, Sir — Thus the word Κυριε is here very properly rendered, as in many other places it is as improperly translated lord. It should certainly always be translated sir, when no more than civil respect is intended. We remember that deceiver said, After three days — Or, as

μετα τρεις ημερας may be properly rendered, within three days, I will rise again — We do not find that he had ever said this to them, unless when he spoke of the temple of his body, (Joh 2:19; Joh 2:21.) And if they here refer to what he then said, how perverse and iniquitous was their construction on these words, when he was on his trial before the council!

Mat 26:61. Then they seemed not to understand them! Perhaps, however, they may refer to what he said (when the scribes and Pharisees demanded a sign of him) respecting the Prophet Jonas, namely, that as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, the Son of man should be so long in the heart of the earth. Or, on some occasion not mentioned by the evangelists, our Lord may have made a public declaration of his resurrection in the very terms here set down. But, in whatever way they came to the knowledge of it, certain it is that the chief priests and Pharisees were well acquainted with our Lord’s predictions concerning it; and hence the precaution and care which they used in guarding the sepulchre, all which was overruled by the providence of God to give the strongest proofs of Christ’s ensuing resurrection. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure — This, as being a servile work, it might be thought they would not ask to be done on the sabbath. But we must observe, that they asked this of Romans, whom they did not consider as bound by the law of the sabbath. Jews to this day do not scruple to avail themselves of the work done by Christians on the Jewish sabbath. Pilate said, Ye have a guard — “Pilate, thinking their request reasonable, allowed them to take as many soldiers as they pleased of the cohort which, at the feast, came from the castle Antonia, and kept guard in the porticoes of the temple. For that they were not Jewish but Roman soldiers whom the priests employed to watch the sepulchre, is evident from their asking them of the governor. Besides, when the soldiers returned with the news of Christ’s resurrection, the priests desired them to report that his disciples had stolen him away while they slept; and, to encourage them to tell the falsehood boldly, promised, that if their neglect of duty came to the governor’s ears, proper means should be used to pacify him and keep them safe; a promise which there was no need of making to their own servants.” — Macknight. So they went — The priests and Pharisees having got a party of soldiers, placed them in their post, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone — To hinder the guards from combining in carrying on any fraud. See Dan 6:17 : where we learn that a precaution of the like kind was made use of in the case of Daniel shut up in the lions’ den. “Thus, while the priests cautiously proposed to prevent our Lord’s resurrection from being palmed upon the world, resolving no doubt to show his body publicly after the third day, as a proof that he was an impostor, they put the truth of his resurrection beyond all question; for, besides that there could be no room for the least suspicion of deceit, when it should be found that his body was raised out of a new tomb, where there was no other corpse, and this tomb hewn out of a rock, the mouth of which was secured by a great stone, under a seal, and a guard of soldiers; by appointing this guard, they furnished a number of unexceptionable witnesses to it, whose testimony they themselves could not refuse. See Mat 28:11.” “The chief priests and Pharisees,” says Bishop Porteus, “having taken these precautions, waited probably with no small impatience for the third day after the crucifixion — when they made no doubt they should find the body in the sepulchre, and convict Jesus of deceit and imposture.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

§ 143. — TRANSACTIONS THE DAY AFTER THE CRUCIFIXION, Mat_27:62-66.

62. The next day — This began the moment the sun disappeared; it being the eve introducing the Saturday-Sabbath. The day of the preparation — As Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, so Friday, the day of the crucifixion, was the day of preparation, that is, for the Sabbath. The preparation of the Jews began strictly at three o’clock in the afternoon; but the name preparation was popularly applied to the whole day. It is a palpable mistake that some commentators have made, that the watch was not set until the next morning, or after. This would have allowed full time for the commission of the theft of the body. The next day came on at sunset; and the watch of the two Marys had not long ceased when that of the soldiers commenced. Chief priests and Pharisees — A part probably of the Sanhedrim.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

THE WATCH AT THE SEPULCHER

Mat 27:62-66. “And on the following day, when, after the preparation, the high priests and Pharisees came unto Pilate, saying, We remember how that deceiver said while yet living, After three days I will rise; therefore command that the sepulcher be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples may steal Him away by night, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead; and the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, You have the watch; go, make it secure as you know. And they, going, made the sepulcher secure, sealing the stone, with the watch.” Thus we see the ecclesiastical authorities had finally succeeded, as they flattered themselves, in getting rid of what they regarded as the greatest nuisance that had ever afflicted the Church. These three years they have been in hot water, awfully perplexed and puzzled, studying night and day, laying all their wits and genius under contribution, to devise some plan or light on some scheme to get rid of Him. O how He has haunted them these three years! They have been tossed in a tempest of fear and solicitude. O the sleepless nights of the high priests, the ruling elders, and many of the leading Pharisees! Now they feel that God has delivered them of the awful nuisance, mistaking the devil for God. So they hold a council, putting their heads together, and unanimously resolve to hold the victory already won. As the removal of the body out of the sepulcher might prove a delusion to many in thinking that He has risen as He had predicted, they unanimously vote for a Roman guard to watch the tomb night and day. They have already subjugated Pilate and gotten him afraid of them, as they had threatened to arraign him before the emperor under charges of high treason if he dared to vindicate the cause of Jesus the Nazarene, who had repeatedly declared Himself King of the Jews; so now the governor grants their request, sending to the sepulcher a platoon of those formidable, sturdy, Roman soldiers, who are proof against peril and, knew no fear. Besides, the governor’s seat is placed on the stone which closes the sepulcher, the breaking of which is punishable with death. It is also a death penalty for a Roman soldier to go to sleep on guard. Therefore the magnates of the Church sleep soundly, enjoying a degree of nervous relaxation unknown the last three years, sinking away into ambrosial slumber, congratulating themselves, “All is well.”

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27:62-66 This incident bolsters the truth of Jesus’ resurrection—it is inconceivable that Matthew would fabricate such a story since witnesses abounded who could have countered the claims.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 27:62. Τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον, but on the morrow) A periphrasis for the Sabbath (cf. ch. Mat 28:1), which St Matthew employed for an important reason; perhaps because he did not choose to call the Jewish Sabbath any longer The Sabbath.—καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, and the Pharisees) They had taken no part in the actual trial; see ch. Mat 26:3; Mat 26:57, yet they had not been altogether inactive; see Joh 18:3. Perhaps there were also Pharisees among the Scribes and the Elders. Perhaps the Pharisees, from their extreme zeal, did many things which did not exactly belong to their office.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_27:62 Ἥτις ἐστὶ μετὰ τὴν παρασκ.] which follows the day of preparation, i.e. on Saturday. For παρασκεύη is used to designate the day that immediately precedes the Sabbath (as in the present instance) or any of the feast days. Comp. on Joh_19:14. According to the Synoptists, the παρασκεύη of the Sabbath happened to coincide this year with the first day of the feast, which might also properly enough be designated σάββατον (Lev_23:11; Lev_23:15),this latter circumstance being, according to Wieseler (Synops. p. 417), the reason why Matthew did not prefer the simpler and more obvious expression ἥτις ἐστὶ σάββατον; an expression which, when used in connection with the days of the Passover week, was liable to be misunderstood. But Matthew had already spoken so definitely of the first day of the feast as that on which Jesus was crucified (see Mat_24:17 to Mat_27:1), that he had no cause to apprehend any misunderstanding of his words had he chosen to write ἥτις ἐστὶ σάββατον. But as little does that precise statement regarding the day permit us to suppose that the expression in question has been made to turn on the divergent narrative of John (in opposition to de Wette). The most natural explanation of the peculiar phraseology: ἥτις ἐστὶ μετὰ τ. παρασκ., is to be found in that Christian usage according to which the παρασκεύη (i.e. the προσάββατον, Mar_15:42) has come to be the recognised designation for the Friday of the crucifixion. Michaelis, Paulus, Kuinoel suppose that it is the part of Friday after sunset that is intended, by which time, therefore, the Sabbath had begun. This, however, is distinctly precluded by τῇ ἐπαύριον.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 27:62-66 . Precautions against theft of the body ; peculiar to Mt., and among the less certain elements of the Passion history, owing its origin and presence in this Gospel apparently to the exigencies of the primitive Christian apologetic against Jewish unbelief, which, as we gather from Mat 27:64 , must have sought to invalidate the faith in the resurrection of Jesus by the hypothesis of theft accounting for an empty grave. The transactions here recorded effectually dispose of that hypothesis by making theft impossible. Is the story true, or must we, with Meyer, relegate it to the category of unhistorical legend? Meyer founds largely on the impossibility of Christ predicting so distinctly as is here implied, even to His own disciples, His resurrection. That means that the priests and Pharisees could have had no such solicitude as is ascribed to them. All turns on that. If they had such fears, so originating, it would be quite natural to take precautions against a trick. I think it quite possible that even independently of the saying in chap. Mat 12:40 , given as spoken to Pharisees, it had somehow reached their ears that Jesus had predicted His Passion, and in speaking of it was wont to connect with it the idea of rising again, and it was natural that at such a time they should not despise such reports.

Mat 27:62 . τῇ ἐπαύριον , the next day, i.e. , the Jewish Sabbath, curiously described as the day ( ἥτις ) μετὰ τὴν παρασκευήν , the more important day defined by reference to the less important, suggesting that Mt. has his eye on Mk.’s narrative (Mar 15:42 ). So Weiss-Meyer.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The keeping of the sepulcher is committed to Christ’s own murderers, that there might be no doubt of his resurrection.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation--that is, after six o'clock of our Saturday evening. The crucifixion took place on the Friday and all was not over till shortly before sunset, when the Jewish sabbath commenced; and "that sabbath day was an high day" (Joh 19:31), being the first day of the feast of unleavened bread. That day being over at six on Saturday evening, they hastened to take their measures.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 62. The next day] This was the seventh, or Saturday, and might be what we should term the evening of the sixth, or Friday, because the Jews always ended their day when the sun set, and then began the next.

That followed the day of the preparation] That is, of the Sabbath. The victuals, c., which were to be used on the Sabbath by the Jews, were always prepared the preceding evening before the sun set. It is of this preparation that the evangelist speaks here and it is the same which is mentioned by Mark, Mr 15:42; by Luke, Lu 23:54; and by John, Joh 19:31. But there was another preparation which happened in the same day: viz. The preparation of the passover; this began about twelve o'clock, and continued till four, the time in which they ate the paschal lamb. See Joh 19:14.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(62) The next day, that followed the day of the preparation.—The narrative that follows is peculiar to St. Matthew, and, like the report of the rending of the veil of the Temple, may, perhaps, be traced to the converted priests of Act_6:7. This was, as we find from what follows, the Sabbath. The “preparation” (Paraskeuè) was a technical term, not, as is sometimes said, in reference to preparing for the Passover, but, as in Mar_15:42, to a preparation for the Sabbath (Jos. Ant. xvi. 6, § 2, is decisive on this point), and the use of the term here leaves the question whether the Last Supper or the Crucifixion coincided with the Passover, still an open one. It may be noted that the Jewish use of the term passed into the Christian Church, and that at least as early as Clement of Alexandria (Strom. vii. § 76) it was the received name for the Dies Veneris, or Friday, the anniversary of the Crucifixion being the “great” or “holy” Paraskeue. On either view, however, there is something strange in the way in which St. Matthew describes the day as coming, “after the preparation,” instead of saying simply, “the Sabbath.” It is a possible solution of the difficulty thus presented, on the assumption that the Last Supper was a true Passover, that the day of the Crucifixion as being on the Passover, was itself technically a Sabbath (Lev_23:7; Lev_23:24). Two Sabbaths therefore came together, and this may have led the Evangelist to avoid the commoner phrase, and to describe the second as being “the day that followed the preparation,” i.e. the ordinary weekly Sabbath. The precise time at which the priests went to Pilate is not stated; probably it was early on the morning of the Sabbath when they had heard from the Roman soldiers of the burial by Joseph of Arimathæa. The fact that the body was under the care of one who was secretly a disciple aroused their suspicions, and they would naturally take the first opportunity, even at the risk of infringing on the Sabbath rest, of guarding against the fraud which they suspected.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

62. the next day, that followed the day of the preparation] It was after sunset on Nisan 14. The preparation (paraskeué) was over, the Sabbath and the Paschal feast had commenced. This explanation of the somewhat unusual phrase accords with the view already taken of the Last Supper and the Passover.

While Christ’s enemies were busy this Sabbath day, His friends rested according to the commandment (Luk_23:56).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said,.... Meaning Jesus; for no better name could they give him alive or dead, and they chose to continue it; and the rather to use it before Pilate, who had a good opinion of his innocence; and to let him see, that they still retained the same sentiments of him: "a deceiver", is with the Jews (x),

"a private person, that deceives a private person; saying to him there is a God in such a place, so it eats, and so it drinks; so it does well, and so it does ill.

But which can never agree with Jesus, who was not a private person, but a public preacher; and who taught men, not privately, but openly, in the temple and in the synagogues; nor did he teach idolatry, or any thing contrary to the God of Israel, or to the unity of the divine being; or which savoured of, and encouraged the polytheism of the Gentiles. The Ethiopic version renders these words thus; "Sir, remember", &c. as if Christ had said this to Pilate in their hearing, and therefore put him in mind of it,

While he was yet alive; so that they owned that he was dead; and therefore could not object this to the truth of his resurrection, that he was taken down from the cross alive, and did not die:

after three days I will rise again: now, though he said to his to his disciples privately, Mat 16:21, yet not clearly and expressly to the Scribes and Pharisees; wherefore they must either have it from Judas, and lied in saying they remembered it: or they gathered it either from what he said concerning the sign of the prophet Jonas, Mat 12:40, or rather from his words in Joh 2:19, and if so, they acted a most wicked part, in admitting a charge against him, as having a design upon their temple, to destroy it, and then rebuild it in three days; when they knew those words were spoken by him concerning his death, and resurrection from the dead: they remembered this, when the disciples did not: bad men have sometimes good memories, and good men bad ones; so that memory is no sign of grace,

(x) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 10.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

Ver. 62. Now the next day that followed] That is, on that high day, that double sabbath, they that had so often quarrelled with Christ for curing on the sabbath request a servile work to be done, of securing and sealing up the sepulchre. It is a common proverb, Mortui non mordent, Dead men bite not. But here Christ, though dead and buried, bites and beats hard upon these evil men’s consciences. They could not rest the whole night before, for fear he should get out of the grave some way, and so create them further trouble. Scipio appointed his sepulchre to be so placed, as his image standing upon it might look directly towards Africa, that being dead, he might still be a terror to the Carthaginians. And Cadwallo, an ancient king of this island, commanded his dead body to be embalmed, and put into a brazen image, and so set upon a brazen horse over Ludgate, for a terror to the Saxons. It is well known that Zisca, that brave Bohemian, charged his Taborites to flay his corpse, and cover a drum with his skin; the sound whereof as often as the enemies heard, they should be appalled and put to flight. And our Edward I adjured his son and nobles, that if he died in his journey into Scotland, they should carry his corpse about with them, and not suffer it to be interred till they had vanquished the usurper and subdued the country. Something like to this the prophet Isaiah foretelleth of our Saviour (and we see it here accomplished), when he saith, "In that day the root of Jesse shall stand up for an ensign to the people, and even his rest" (or, as some read it, his sepulchre) "shall be glorious," Isa 11:10. There are those who think that these words, "The day that followed the day of the preparation," are put ironically, or rather by way of a facetious jesting, asteismos , against the hypocritical sabbatism of the high priests, who would so workday-like, beg the body, seal the sepulchre, and set the watch on that sabbath, for the which they seemed to prepare so devoutly before it came.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Now the next day, that followed the days of the preparation - The first day of the feast of the Passover was called the day of “preparation,” because all things were on that day got in readiness for the observances of the paschal week. The Jewish day closed at sunset, and the Sabbath at that time commenced. The “next day” mentioned here does not mean the following day in our acceptation of the word, or the following “morning,” but the next day in the Jewish way of speaking - that is, after the next day had commenced, or after sundown. To suppose them to have waited until the next morning would be absurd, as the disciples would be as likely to steal him away the first night as the second.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The next day, which followed that of the perasceve, or preparation, (that is, on the great sabbath-day) the chief priests came to Pilate, to beg him to set a guard at the monument. (Witham) --- The day of the preparation. The eve of the sabbath; so called, because on that day they prepared all things necessary; not being allowed so much as to dress their meat on the sabbath-day. (Challoner)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

This part of the history is recorded by no other evangelist: the recording it by Matthew contributes yet further to evidence the truth of Christ’s resurrection; for here was all imaginable care taken to prevent a cheat in the case.

The next day, that followed the day of the preparation, must be the sabbath day, Mar 15:42. These superstitious hypocrites, that quarrelled with our Saviour for his disciples (being hungry) plucking ears of corn on the sabbath day, and for his healing him that had a withered hand, Mat 12:13, can now themselves go to Pilate, to set him on work to command that the sepulchre should be made fast to the third day. They allege that Christ, whom they impiously call that deceiver, said, while he was alive, that he would rise again the third day, to answer the type of the prophet Jonas, Mat 12:39,40. They were doubtless jealous that there was more truth in those words than they were willing to believe. They pretend also a fear lest his disciples should come privately by night, and steal his body away, and then say he was risen. But was this a probable thing, that a government should be afraid of a few poor, unarmed men? They were doubtless convicted in their own consciences that he would rise again from the dead, and to prevent his coming out of the sepulchre, they would have Pilate command that the sepulchre should be made sure. Pilate tells them, that they had a watch, a band of soldiers, which he had commanded at this time to attend them, either for the guard of the temple, or other things about which they would employ them; they might make the sepulchre as sure as they could.

So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. Vain men! As if the same power that was necessary to raise and quicken the dead could not also remove the stone, and break through the watch which they had set. But by this their excessive care and diligence, instead of preventing Christ’s resurrection, as they intended, they have confirmed the truth and belief of it to all the world. So doth God take the wise in their own craftiness, and turn their wisdom into foolishness, that he may set his King upon his holy hill of Zion.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Vers. 62-66. The great sabbath. The sepulchre sealed and watched. (Peculiar to St. Matthew)

The next day, that followed the day of the preparation; htiv esti meta thn , which is the day after the preperation. The language of the original Implies that the day was one of a class. The present day was the 15th of Nisan, and both a sabbath and the chief day of the Passover festival. The term "preparation," or "prosabbath", (RAPC Jdt 8:6) was applied by the Jews to the day preceding the sabbath or the chief festivals (Josephus, "Ant.," 16:6. 2); but by the time the gospel was committed to writing, Paraskeue had become among Christians the usual designation of the day of Christ"s death; hence the sabbath, which was of less importance than the crucifixion day, is here called, "the day after the Paraskeue." The language of the synoptists leads to the conclusion that the action of the Sanhedrists in applying to Pilate took place on the sabbath, their uneasy conscience and fear of some surprising event overcoming that scrupulous regard to the sanctity of the holy day which they would have strictly enforced upon others. It is just possible, however, that they postponed their application till the evening, having nothing to fear till "the third day." Came together unto Pilate; were gathered together. A large deputation of the chief men presented itself before the procurator, anxious to obtain his aid to prevent all tampering with the buried body of Jesus, at the same time apprehending some event, they knew not what, which might tend to corroborate his claims. Neologians have argued against the credibility of this section of the gospel history, and have been followed by some commentators of greater faith. A refutation of the most prominent objections will be found in Alford"s notes on ver. 62.

Ver. 62-ch. Mat_12:40) or the words on which the false accusation was founded; (Joh_2:19) or the apostles themselves may have divulged the mysterious announcement, and a general impression had been produced that Jesus had constantly affirmed that he would rise on the third day. It is true that the apostles and the good women were far from believing in the realization of this assertion in the manner in which it came to pass. They probably looked for Christ"s return in glory to establish his kingdom and to reign as Messiah. The rulers received the prediction in its literal sense, "hatred being more keen sighted than love;" hence they took practical precautions against its collusive or pretended fulfilment. That deceiver (ekeinov o planov : literally, that vagabond yonder). That impostor, who has become so famous, and whom you know all about.

They imply that without further definition, Pilate understands whom they mean; and their calumnies and reviling cease not even with their Victim"s death. While he was yet alive. These bitter enemies of Jesus, who had the best means of ascertaining the truth, certainly regarded him as now dead. Yet some modern sceptics resort to the theory of a trance to account for the Resurrection, whose historical accuracy they cannot gainsay. After three days. A popular form of expression, which would denote any space which embraced portions of three days, in the present ease being part of Friday, all Saturday, and part of Sunday. I will rise again (egeiromai , I rise). The present tense implies greater and more assured certainty than the future.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

On the morrow, the day that followed the day of the preparation - The day of preparation was the day before the Sabbath, whereon they were to prepare for the celebration of it. The next day then was the Sabbath according to the Jews. But the evangelist seems to express it by this circumlocution, to show the Jewish Sabbath was then abolished.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Guarding against the theft of the body:

v. 62. Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

v. 63. saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said while He was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

v. 64. Command therefore that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first.

v. 65. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch; go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

v. 66. So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone and setting a watch.

Whether it was due to a bad conscience or to vindictiveness, cannot be determined, but the Jewish chiefs even now were not satisfied. The day of preparation closed at sundown, and they were so anxious about a certain matter that they disregarded the rules of the great festival. Jesus was hardly laid into the grave when their delegation attended upon Pilate. It had occurred to them that yonder seducer, pointing contemptuously in the direction of the cross, had predicted that He would rise on the third day. What they now wanted was a way of safeguarding the tomb, in order that the body might not be stolen by fanatical disciples and His resurrection then proclaimed. In that event, they believe that the last delusion, the belief in the resurrection of Jesus, would be worse than the first one was, the belief in His Messiahship. Pilate, in a somewhat gruff manner, as though heartily disgusted with the whole affair, granted the request: Have your watch: there will be mighty little need of it, I am sure; secure the tomb as ye know how! This they proceeded to do in as thorough a manner as possible. They stretched a cord across the stone, fastening it on either side of the door with wax, upon which the seal of the governor was stamped. This was done in the presence and with the aid of the watch detailed for that purpose, the soldiers finally remaining to guard the tomb. Without knowing or in the least intending it, the Jews here prepared the way for a sound proof of the resurrection of Christ. The testimony of the very men whom they had chosen, soldiers that were entirely disinterested, would be strong evidence in favor of the great resurrection miracle.

Summary.Judas, in false remorse over his betrayal of Christ, commits suicide when the Lord is delivered to Pilate, while Jesus Himself is tried before the Roman court, sees Barabbas preferred to Him by the mob, is condemned to death by crucifixion by the court, though no guilt is found in Him, suffers the pains of crucifixion, dies on the cross, and is buried by His friends.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

This last paragraph of the chapter acquaints us with the endeavours that the murderers of Christ used to prevent his foretold resurrection: they ask and obtain of Pilate, that his sepulchre might be strongly guarded till the third day was past and over, when probably they intended to have exposed his dead body to the view of the people; and accordingly a threefold guard is set about the grave; the stone, the seal, and the watch; concluding that Christ was safe enough either from rising or stealing: the stone making the grave sure, the seal making the stone sure, and the watch or band of soldiers making all sure. The stone being sealed with the public seal, no person might meddle with it upon pain of death.

Where note, 1. The wonderful wisdom, the over-ruling power and providence of God; by this excessive care and extraordinary diligence, the high priests hoped to prevent our Saviour’s resurrection, but the truth and belief of it was hereby ocnfirmed to all the world. How much evidence had Christ’s resurrection wanted, if the high priests and elders had not been thus maliciously industrious to prevent his rising!

Learn, 2. That the endeavours used to obstruct our Lord’s resurrection, have rendered it more certain and undoubted: had not all this care and caution been used by his enemies, the grounds of our faith had not been so strong, so evident, and so clear. It was very happy, that the Jews were thus jealous and suspicious, thus careful and distrustful; for otherwise the world had never received so full and perfect an evidence of Christ’s doth depend. Verily their solicitous care to suppress our Redeemer’s resurrection, has rendered it more conspicuous, and freed it from all suspicion of forgery.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

62. The morrow. The Sabbath. After the day of preparation. “That is, the day before the sabbath” (Mark 15:42).

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

the Preparation

This is the day that people got everything ready for the Sabbath.

were gathered together with Pilate

"met with Pilate"

when that deceiver was alive

"when Jesus, the deceiver, was alive"

he said, 'After three days will I rise again.'

This has a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "he said that after three days he will rise again." or "he said that after three day he would rise again." (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)

command that the tomb be made secure

This can be stated in active form. AT: "command your soldiers to guard the tomb" (See: Active or Passive)

the third day

(See: Ordinal Numbers)

his disciples may come and steal him

"his disciples may come and steal his body"

his disciples may ... say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and

This has a quotation within a quotation. It can be stated as an indirect quotation. AT: "his disciples may ... tell the people that he has risen from the dead, and" (See: Quotes Within Quotes and Direct and Indirect Quotations)

from the dead

From among all those who have died. This expression describes all dead people together in the underworld. To rise from among them speaks of becoming alive again.

and the last deception will be worse than the first

The understood information can be stated clearly. AT: "and if they deceive people by saying that, it will be worse than the way he deceived people before when he said that he was the Christ" (See: Ellipsis)

translationWords

chief priests

Pharisee

Pilate

lord

deceive

raise

command

grave

disciple

die

deceive

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

62. τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον κ.τ.λ. It was after sunset on Nisan 14. The preparation (παρασκευή) was over, the Sabbath and the Paschal feast had commenced. This explanation of the somewhat unusual phrase accords with the view already taken of the Last Supper and the Passover.

While Christ’s enemies were busy this Sabbath day, his friends rested according to the commandment (Luk 23:56).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

62-66.] The Jewish authorities obtain from Pilate a guard for the sepulchre. Peculiar to Matthew.

62. τῇ ἐπ.] not on that night, but on the next day. A difficulty has been found in its being called the day μετὰ τὴν παρασκευήν, considering that it was itself the sabbath, and the greatest sabbath in the year. But I believe the expression to be carefully and purposely used. The chief priests, &c. did not go to Pilate on the sabbath,—but in the evening, after the termination of the sabbath. Had the Evangelist said ἥτις ἐστὶ τὸ σάββατον, the incongruity would at once appear of such an application being made on the sabbath—and he therefore designates the day as the first after that, which, as the day of the Lord’s death, the παρασκευή, was uppermost in his mind.

The narrative following has been much impugned, and its historical accuracy very generally given up by even the best of the German Commentators (Olshausen, Meyer; also De Wette, Hase, and others). The chief difficulties found in it seem to be: (1) How should the chief priests, &c. know of His having said, ‘in three days I will rise again,’ when the saying was hid even from His own disciples? The answer to this is easy. The meaning of the saying may have been, and was, hid from the disciples; but the fact of its having been said could be no secret. Not to lay any stress on Joh 2:19, we have the direct prophecy of Mat 12:40—and besides this, there would be a rumour current, through the intercourse of the Apostles with others, that He had been in the habit of so saying. As to the understanding of the words, we must remember that hatred is keener sighted than love;—that the raising of Lazarus would shew, what sort of a thing rising from the dead was to be;—and that the fulfilment of the Lord’s announcement of his crucifixion would naturally lead them to look further, to what more he had announced. (2) How should the women, who were solicitous about the removal of the stone, not have been still more so about its being sealed, and a guard set? The answer to this has been given above—they were not aware of the circumstance, because the guard was not set till the evening before. There would be no need of the application before the approach of the third day—it is only made for a watch ἕως τῆς τρίτης ἡμέρας, ver. 64—and it is not probable that the circumstance would transpire that night—certainly it seems not to have done so. (3) That Gamaliel was of the council, and if such a thing as this, and its sequel ch. 28:11-15, had really happened, he need not have expressed himself doubtfully, Act 5:39, but would have been certain that this was from God. But, first, it does not necessarily follow that every member of the Sanhedrim was present and applied to Pilate, or even had they done so, that all bore a part in the act of ch. 28:12. One who, like Joseph, had not consented to their deed before—and we may safely say that there were others such—would naturally withdraw himself from further proceedings against the person of Jesus. On Gamaliel and his character, see note on Acts, l. c.) Had this been so, the three other Evangelists would not have passed over so important a testimony to the Resurrection. But surely we cannot argue in this way—for thus every important fact narrated by one Evangelist alone must be rejected—e.g. (which stands in much the same relation) the satisfaction of Thomas,—and other such narrations. Till we know much more about the circumstances under which, and the scope with which, each Gospel was compiled, all à priori arguments of this kind are good for nothing.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

62-66. Mt. here inserts vv. 62-66.

(P) And on the morrow, which is after the Preparation, there were gathered together the chief priests and the Pharisees to Pilate, saying, Lord, we remembered that that deceiver said, whilst yet alive, After three days I rise again. Command therefore that the grave be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come and steal Him, and say to the people, He is risen from the dead: and the last deception shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them, Take a guard: go, make as secure as you can. And they went, and secured the grave (having sealed the stone) with the guard.]—τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον ἥτις ἐστὶ μετὰ τὴν παρασκευήν] is a very paraphrastic expression for “the morrow.” According to Mt.’s reckoning, this would be the Sabbath, since the crucifixion took place on the Friday following the Passover. Why does he not say simply “on the morrow” or “on the Sabbath”? He may have omitted Mk.’s note of time (15:42), because he felt that Mk.’s ἐπεί was inexplicable. The burial with the prior arrangements can hardly have been completed before the Sabbath entered, and “since it was the preparation” seems therefore to be unmotived. He may also have felt that the action of the authorities in effecting the sealing and guarding of the grave was an unlikely course for them to have taken on the Sabbath, and to have avoided therefore the direct “on the Sabbath.” But having written “on the morrow,” he seems to have been unwilling to omit altogether Mk.’s definition of time in 15:42, and to have added “which is after the Sabbath” by way of compensation. For a similar case, where, after omitting a clause from Mk. he inserts it later in his narrative, cf. οὐδὲν ἀπεκρίνατο, 27:12.— οἱ Φαρισαῖοι] See Introduction, pp. lxxviii f.

μετὰ τρεῖς ἡμέρας.] Since Mt. corrects this phrase where it occurs in Mk. into τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ, see on 16:21, it is strange to find it here.

κουστωδία] a Latin word. It occurs in a letter from Alexandria of a.d. 22, Ox. Pap. ii. ccxciv, l. 20, of certain people who were ἐν κοστωδεία = “in prison.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.