What is the meaning of Matthew 27:64? So give the order Pilate is being asked by the chief priests and Pharisees to use his civil authority (Matthew 27:2; John 19:10). They want an official Roman command, not just their own guards, to make the tomb as secure as possible. Their request shows: • Their uneasy conscience after witnessing Jesus’ death (Luke 23:47–48). • Their belief that a Roman seal and soldiers will settle the matter once for all (Daniel 6:17, another sealed tomb). Yet God often turns earthly authority to accomplish His purpose (Acts 4:27–28). that the tomb be secured until the third day They remember Jesus’ repeated promise to rise on “the third day” (Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:23; 20:19). Ironically, His enemies take the prophecy more literally than His friends (Matthew 27:63). By asking for a guard “until the third day,” they unwittingly acknowledge the specific timetable Jesus gave, setting the stage for undeniable proof when the tomb is empty on schedule (Romans 1:4). Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away The leaders assume natural explanations: • The disciples might stage a grave robbery (John 20:1–2 shows their initial confusion, not a plot). • They fear the spread of a resurrection story, yet overlook the disciples’ current fear and hiding (John 20:19). Their concern highlights that Christ’s followers had no opportunity or motive to fabricate a miracle—they were discouraged and scattered (Mark 14:50). and tell the people He has risen from the dead They dread a public resurrection claim because: • Crowds had already hailed Jesus as prophet and king (Matthew 21:9; John 12:12–19). • A risen Messiah would validate every word He spoke (Acts 2:24, 32). God allows this fear to push them into actions that end up confirming the resurrection—the sealed tomb, official guard, and later the soldiers’ testimony (Matthew 28:11–15). And this last deception would be worse than the first. “The first” deception, in their minds, was Jesus’ claim to be the Christ (John 7:12; Matthew 27:63). To them, a resurrection rumor would: • Cement His messianic status among the people (Acts 5:28). • Undermine their religious authority (John 11:48). Yet the real “worse deception” becomes their own bribe to the guards to spread a false story (Matthew 28:13–15), proving that darkness will twist any means to suppress truth. summary Matthew 27:64 records the religious leaders’ request for Rome’s help to seal Jesus’ tomb. Their insistence on a guarded, sealed grave—driven by fear of a resurrection claim—provides unintended evidence for the literal, bodily resurrection. God uses their precautions to remove every natural explanation, so when the stone is rolled away and the tomb stands empty on the third day, only one conclusion fits: “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said” (Matthew 28:6). |
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